Week+12

=Week 12 - Podcasting=

**//Thing 17 - Podcasting//**
The term podcast is a merger of the words iPod and broadcast. You can think of a podcasting as blogging using only sound and video. Podcasts are disseminated over the Internet. Podcasters put their podcasts online and create an RSS feed for them. When podcasts are published as RSS feeds so you can subscribe to them using //podcatchers// such as [|iTunes] or similar programs to automatically transfer new episodes to your computer or mp3 player for listening or viewing (as some podcasts are video - vodcasts). Listeners download episodes or subscribe to podcast feed to become regular listeners. To find podcasts you can use directories such as Podcast Alley (podcastalley.com). You can read more on how to create a podcast in this [|beginners guide to podcasting]. You can also read more about educational podcasting.

To listen to a podcast you need a computer with internet connection or mp3 player. To create a podcast you need a digital audio recorder that can create mp3 files and space on a server to put your mp3 file online for other people to find it. It doesn't have to cost much to create a podcast if you use free programs such as [|audacity] (digital audio recorder) and podbean (create account to store your podcast). If you are curious and excited to try podcasting please see the instructions at the bottom of the page.

Many universities have their own podcasts (available through iTunes U.). If you are curious you can check out some USU podcasts. [|National Public Radio has podcasts] for a lot of its programs freely available too. For a list of libraries that podcast you can look on Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. I have embedded a podcast from the Denver Public Library so you can see what that would look like on your library Wiki. There are so many great podcasts out there for you use in the classroom! Check out the podcasts from the Library of Congress, especially the Voices from the Days of Slavery.

Matt de la Peña and David Maes Talk about Books and Writing. media type="custom" key="8649772"

__Thing 17 Learning2.0 Tasks__
1. Watch the Common Craft video on podcasting

2. Read Podcasting 101 for K–12 Librarians (from 2006 but still relevant)

2. Use a podcast directory to find podcasts about a school library media related topic.

3. Listen to the podcast and write a blog post about what you learned.

4. Be sure to include a link to the podcast in your blog post.

5. Download and install iTunes

6. Use iTunes to subscribe to a free podcast on any topic (iTunes store => podcasts)

Optional stuff for the advanced
The langwitches blog has a great post (Digital Storytelling Part III) on how to use audacity to create a podcast. Please share your homegrown podcast with us if you go this route!