Week 9 #21

#21 In the March/April issue of Instructor I saw an article titled "10 Podcasts for Teachers and Kids." I was interested enough to save the article and share it with my colleagues but I never found time to figure out how to get the podcasts downloaded so that I could listen to them. Now, thanks to this lesson I've been able to do so. I've added several to my RSS feed and have listened to them on my computer. Among my favorites:
Book Voyages Art Spencer, a library media specialist in Auburn WA, talks about children's books, authors
Sixty Second Science Great tidbits from Scientific American to spark discussion, research
Science@NASA Longer (5-10 min) science bytes
Kankakee Public Library Range of library-related topics including a panel discussion on public school/public library cooperation from a public library in Illinois
Storytelling by Mr. Howerton Rudyard Kipling stories told by a Texan
International Folk Tales
I also found some interesting podcasts on Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown (5th grade history) and many language learning/practice podcasts.

I began with podcast.net which was easy to use, but limited in quantity. I used itunes, which had great pictures with their podcast titles, a rating system and reviews that were helpful. I also used PodcastAlley.com, which seemed to have the greatest selection, but also had distracting ads and required a couple of clicks to get to specifics about individual podcasts. I ended by checking out podcasts.yahoo.com, which didn't allow me to preview on a MAC without some installations.
I could see teachers and students using podcasts to record a walking tour of historic sites in our town, reading an original story or poem, role-playing a famous African-American or woman during February and March, or doing a book review as a book report option.
I could see myself using podcasts to highlight new books or genres, to tell a story, and to publicize some of the options available through our library. Now I'm curious about how to create a podcast and then add it to my website. I may even have to get myself an MP3 player. Learning never stops!