In this unit we look at podcasts and podcasting.
If these words are new to you, let's back up - a 'podcast' is a non-music audio or video recording that is distributed over the internet. The distribution is what makes a podcast unique. It's also what makes a podcast powerful - interested listeners or watchers can receive updates through RSS when new content is posted. You can read Wikipedia's entry on Podcasts for additional information.
Variety
Podcasts come in many shapes and sizes. They can be brief (like those you've seen in Learning 2.0) or considerably longer (interviews, panel discussions, radio shows, etc). They can be slickly produced radio broadcasts or home-grown recordings done with a $30 microphone and free software.
And, despite the name, you don't need an iPod or a MP3 player to listen or watch - all you need is a computer with headphones or speakers.
Find a podcast
iTunes, free software from Apple, is the directory finding service most commonly associated with podcasts. It's tied to their online store but everything is free - you can browse by topic or search by keyword. iTunes also includes an amazing capacity for actually downloading the content you subscribe to automatically. And anyone can submit content for inclusion.
But what if you don't use iTunes? There are plenty of other options.
Podcast.net is one
Podcastalley.com is another
Yahoo Podcasts is still another
Many podcast creators also post links to their podcasts on their websites. The NPR radio show Radio Open Source, for example, featured an excellent program on web 2.0 tagging, classification schemes, and libraries. I missed the show but downloaded and listened to the podcast.
If you are interested, here are some articles about librarians and podcasting to get a library perspective of the phenomenon:
Activities:
1. Take a look at one of the three podcast directories listed above.
2. Do some searching; locate some interesting library-related podcasts.
3. Add the RSS feed for the one you like best to your Bloglines account.
4. Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here?
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1 comment:
podcast.net and yahoo podcasts links are broken.
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