Blog Post Four: Why Podcasts? How do we do a Podcast?

Blog Post Four: Why Podcast? How Do We Do a Podcast?

By: Douglas R. Jarvis Jr.

    We live in an age of technology today. Children of the 21st century, are exposed to information continuously through television, internet, and social media resources. Thus, the method of learning that it most familiar to them is computer based projects. Podcasts have become very popular since the advent of the ipod. Podcasts are radio quality recordings that can be heard through the internet at anytime by anyone with a computer and internet. There is also another form of podcast known as vodcast ; which is a podcast that includes video. In “The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom” by Joe Dale, I learned that podcasts can be very valuable for the student of the age of technology. This resource allows students to view lectures as a source of review and study as well as allowing students out with illness to keep up with the class while recovering. Another way in which podcasts can be beneficial in the classroom is by allowing students to use their creativity and technological knowledge to create their own podcast. Many examples of student podcast can be viewed at Langwitches.org . In my viewing of the Flat Stanley podcast and podcasting with 1st Grade, I was able to see excitement on the faces of the 8-9 year olds and amazed by the creativity and skill these young people brought to their projects. It was obvious to me that the children were engrossed in the project and because of that they were very open to learning. After seeing this type of education method, I am a believer in the merits of using podcast as a source of  educational enrichment.

    So how do you create a podcast? You need a few simple files and equipment such as: Microphone, Audio editing software, a website or hosting service that you can upload to and access to a RSS feed. I watch a video on youtube by tinkernut called “How to Create a Podcast” that i found to be very informative. I learned of several websites that provide free hosting such as Podango.com, Wordpress.com, Easypodcast.com, and Podcast.com. Audio editing software such as Garageband on Mac or Audacity ( downloaded for free),can be used in order to remove background noise and to normalize the audio so that there are no spikes in the podcast sound. You will also need to download a MP3 encoder so that you can save your podcast in MP3 format. Once you have all the tools, you can use any of the aforementioned websites to format and edit your podcast. Finally you will want to enter it into a search engine so that it can be found and viewed by people on the internet.