The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS. In 2005, "podcast" was named the "word of the year" by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting over the last 36 months, it's easy to see why. Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.
iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.
For this discovery exercise participants are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your aggregator or into iTunes as well, so that when new casts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.
I use podcasts to stay up on technology and to pass the time when I drive back and forth between Illinois (where Dominican University is) and my home in Indiana.
Some of my favorites?
GrammarGirl (Great for remembering grammar rules and tips)
MacBreak Weekly (I'm a Mac geek through and through, but check out all the tech offerings at TWIT)
Discovery Resources:
To find out more about podcasts start with this tutorial.
There are many, many podcast directories and finding tools out there. Here are just three of the more popular ones that, unlike iTunes, don't require a software download:
Apple's Garageband comes ready to record and share podcasts in easy steps.
Discovery Exercise:
Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed (or iTunes if you have that program on your PC) and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news. Also look for podcasts about your interests or hobbies.
Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your RSS aggregator or iTunes.
Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here? How might your library use podcasts?
Create another blog post titled "My Favorite Podcasts" and list your favorite(s). I'll add some to our NetVibes portal.
July 28, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Sara commented:
The college course that I teach almost mirrors what you are doing with your blog. Blogs, RSS, podcasting. (We had to start a little early on podcasting so that they could create their final project as a podcast.) I'm really impressed with the products we're getting!
Here's a resource we use: Learning in Hand by Tony Vincent
www.learninginhand.com/podcasting
July 28, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Ruth L. commented:
I found this useful list of suggestions in a wiki (a future 12 things?)for using podcasts in media centers:
webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Audio+&+Podcasting#toc4
July 28, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Ruthie commented:
Sara and Ruth, thank you both for the links- they're both chock full of information and ideas.
July 28, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Melissa commented:
Wrote a nice comment but it got yanked - when I clicked "submit", the error box said no HTML code, no words found in spam...please edit - so I clicked OK and my comment was gone and therefore couldn't edit. I did put links, but so did Ruth. What was the spam trigger word and how would I know? "Finland"? "comedy"? "Merlin"?
July 28, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Ruth L. commented:
Melissa,
If you leave out the h ** p (asterisks instead of t's here)and the back slashes & colon from the link you insert, you'll be able to post a comment containing the link. Hope this makes sense.
July 29, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts evemerc commented:
I found "Thing 3" extremely interesting. Imagine, being able to subsribe to shows that download automatically. Who knew!
July 29, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts evemerc commented:
I found "Thing 3" extremely interesting. Imagine, being able to subsribe to shows that download automatically. Who knew!
July 29, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Christie commented:
I interrupted a new book I was reading Jess Winfield's My Name is Will to complete this assignment. After I spent 10 minutes watching the video and locating a podcast I was interested in NPA's Fresh Air I realized how bored I was and went back to the book. To me print on paper still trumps all.
August 11, 2008 In response to:Thing #3 Podcasts Stefan RO commented:
For a beginner,podcasting, it is not so easy.I have successful convert an audio file with Audacity in mp3 file but have a problem. All what i learn here is amazing
