Podcasts

=Podcasts=

A podcast is a digital audio file, usally in .mp3 format, that is distributed over the Internet using Real Simple Syndication (RSS). Podcasts can be downloaded onto your computer and then played on your computer or on portable music players, like iPods, Zunes, or other MP3 players. Although the name came from the popular iPod player, //you do not need an iPod// to enjoy podcasts. Individual MP3 files (or other sound files) can also be posted to web pages to make them available for download.

Think of how many students have MP3 players...think about the content you could find (or create!) to extend their instructional time and extend their //thinking//. Tips for Podcast Fans will help you use iTunes for podcasts.
 * iTunes** is the most popular podcast finder. Its **iTunes University** offers a whole catalog of university courses that can be downloaded free.

Learning to create podcasts empowers students to share their own thoughts with a real audience, and improve their organization, writing, reading, and speaking skills in the process.

Examples of How Podcasts are Being Used in Schools:
6th grade teacher's Podcast: Year in Review project

[|Radio Willow Web] is a podcast by students at Willowdale elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska.

[|Youth Radio] uses a blog to post student audio and video projects related to current news stories.

[|United World Radio] is an educational project developed by 7th and 8th graders at Rio Gallinas Charter School in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Listen to their one-minute promo from the link at the top right.

Podcasts can have video, too. For an example, [|see and hear] Dr. Tyson, when he was principal of Mabry Middle School, describing the Pythagorean Award. (Dr. Tyson has left Mabry, but mabryonline.org is archived as a best practicves example. See http://drtimtyson.com/MabryArchived.html)

In [|Making a Podcast], 6th graders talk about their experience.

To Create Your Own Podcasts
For PCs, [|download Audacity](free and powerful editing software) and [|the LAME encoder] so that you can save sound files in the .mp3 format.