Week 3- Podcasts

This week in class we discussed how to set up a podcast. This is not something that I have ever done before, and was happy to see that it was actually quite fun to do. Creating podcasts allows for a lot of creativity and individualism. You can incorporate music, and other things to make it more interesting, and unique.

A podcast is a non streamed webcast, and is a recent phenomenon. The use of podcast began to catch on with the general public in 2004 and has grown in popularity ever since. Podcasts are a series of digital media files that are released episodically. They are similar to radio shows, and can be listened to from anywhere in the world. I view podcasts almost like a blog in audio form. Rather than writing down your thoughts and publishing them on the internet, one can record their thoughts, and present them in a similar way.

Podcasts are becoming more and more popular in schools. The class that I observed during my practicum didn't use them, but several others in the school did. I feel that this would be useful technology to understand and incorporate into a classroom. We are learning in many classes the importance of flexibility in our teaching, and allowing choice with the projects that students do in class. A podcast is a unique and fun way for students to present information. They would also be learning about different media sources, and how to use technology in different ways. I feel that I have a lot more to learn about podcasts but I have full intentions of doing so, so that I incorporate them successfully into my class.