Revisiting Podcasting Resources

I am continuing to follow up on podcasting resources and keep in touch with the development of online sites that share and help extend our knowledge and use of podcasting.
The Recap group in the UK continue to exand their 'Podcasts for educators, schools and colleges' website (see the 'educate' blue link in the tool bar to the right as well!). Directed by Dave Jobbings this service aims to present a verified collection of podcasts and resources. Podcast Bangladesh has its own page am I pleased to see time has been put into developing an attractive and functional website to showcase the work of schools around the world. The Podcast Resources page provides a chronological list of relevant links. In particular I will mention the online course for educators called 'Podcasting Basics'. Using Moodle, this coures invites participants to login and share ideas and resources as they work through the content, and it's free!

Technorati Tags: podcasting podcast davejobbings

NEW! Podcast Directory UK

Thanks to David Noble for this new directory. PodcastDirectory.org.uk

From the opening page:

This education podcast database has been constructed and is maintained by David Noble, a teacher of pupils with additional support needs in Fife, Scotland. David was exposed to the possibilities of using Web 2.0 (Social Software) technologies through the work of Ewan McIntosh, and Dave and Jeff at EdTechTalk. He has been a teacher since 1996.

Although the site confirms that the podcasts in the directory are of an educational nature, it is not responsible for the content of the podcasts. We would alway advise listing to a podcast before playing it to children.

I had a quick browse through this very user friendly and well designed site. Although in its start-up days it offers a portal for educators to find useful educationl podcasts under subjetc categories such as 'ICT', Human Rights', 'Geography' etc.

I look forward to exploring this further. A great resource!

Technorati Tags: DavidNoble Podcast Podcastdirectory

An idea for a global podcasting project

I am contemplating an idea for a global collaborative project that uses podcasting as a tool to communicate the sounds (and the sights) of different locations, but with the audio being the main feature. The collaboration would be between classrooms and students from all over the world and be called 'Hear the World'.

My inspiration for this idea has come from two sources, the 'Where in the World' geographical quiz podcast brought to us by Kidcast: Podcasting in the classroom and Tony Vincent's 'Our City Podcast'.

I really admire Tony's slick website and well designed ideas that are very inclusive for educators and students alike. However, as an international educator I would like to see wider and more global participation. The theme I have in mind will be an investigation and a celebration of the 'sounds' common to the everyday life of the creators. These may include sounds heard during the average school day or sounds from around the local community. For example, for a rural community the sound of a busy city is quite distinct from that of a paddock full of cows. The sound of going to school in Dhaka, Bangladesh is quite different to going to school in London or New York.

My challenge to readers of this blog is to consider the possibilities of an international collaboration that inspires the celebration of everyday sounds and encourages students to record and reflect on their daily surroundings and share their experiences with others. We can add some visuals as well but I see this as an audio project without too many visuals 'in the way'.

I hope to meet with like-minded international educators at NECC06 in 2 weeks in San Diego and discuss the possibilities.

Technorati Tags: necc06, podcasting, audiorecording

Videos to learn about podcasting

Here are some great online resources for yourself, your colleagues and your students to help learn about podcasting.

• The Apple in Education video series "Podcasting in Education" features the basics of podcasting, how to use podcasting for curriculum integration and administrative uses of podcasting to improve communication. There is a sign up form on the webpage to order your free CD
  
• A Visual Guide to Podcasting and Video Blogging is available from seeitdoit.tv for $15. Many of the tutorials are available through Google Video for free. These videos feature the free Windows program Audacity for recording and mixing audio for podcasts
• Learn Out Loud have an online video called Podcasts and iTunes

Technorati Tags: podcasting, podcastvideo

Podcasting and NECC06

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) annual conference will be held in a few weeks, this year in San Diego, NECC06.

At NECC this year I will be presenting a concurrent session on Podcast Bangladesh and aim to make the session a cultural exchange as well as providing information about the podcasting projects happening at International School Dhaka. There are also many other sessions on pocasts and podcasting at NECC, and all session overviews are available via the online searchable program.

I also hope to be podcasting live some of the NECC events and people. Not sure how successful or effective this will be, but stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: necc06, podcasting

Podcast Resource for Educators

The website 'Podcasts for educators, schools and colleges' is a great resource!
It provides a directory for educational podcasting for teaching and learning and includes links to:

• School podcasts
• Subject podcasts
• Education news podcasts
  
• Educators tips
• Podcast resources

and much more! You can even submit your own educational podcast for inclusion in the directory. This collection of podcasting resources from the UK is a valuable addition as it collates and summarises all entries and provides a search facility for the collection.

The Three 'P's' of Podcasting

Creating your own podcast is so much fun. Here are three easy steps to get you into the swing.

PreProduction

Consider the following before even starting to record your podcast:

• What is the name of your podcast?
• How long will it be?
• Who will be heard? In what order?
• What music or sound effects do you need?
• What software do you need?

Production

Recording your podcast is easy but you need some basic equipment available:

• Microphone
• Computer and audio recording/editing software: Audacity

• Music making software: Acid XPress

• Royalty-free music: FreeSound, Common Content, Podshow Music
  

PostProduction

Now that you have created your podcast and converted it to an MP3 format where are you going to publish it?

• Archive.org allows free server space for storing multimedia files
• Join archive.org, click on Get Library Card
• When logged in as a member click on Contributions, click on How to Upload
• The easiest way to upload your podcast is by using the ccPublisher software downloadable from archive.org
• Follow the instructions in ccPublisher for uploading your podcast and wait 24 hours for it to become available (or less)
• Check on its progress by going to archive.org/contribute.php
• Find your podcast on the report page and select Copy Link Location…. You can now choose between 64Kbps or 128Kbps MP3 file
• Use this as a hyperlink to text on your blog for users to access your podcast

More Three P’s of Podcasting Online Resources

Podcasting (Tony Vincent): One of the simplest and most comprehensive websites to help you get started.
Build your Podcasting Toolkit (Gary Stager): Lots of ideas and resources

Also, check out Podomatic. It offers free server space and online recording…may be useful

Podcasting and Education: Why? Who? Where?

The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for discussion and review of podcasting in education. It is a vehicle to explore podcasting as it releates to education and to share these discoveries. I welcome your comments and contributions as well.

To get started here is a link to the school-based podcast I manage at International School Dhaka called Podcast Bangladesh. This is a collection of different educational podcasts from students and teachers at all different levels of the school. We have not been podcasting for very long but are working through different purposes and ways it can be integrated into school life and curriculum.