Educational Podcasters Unite!

Teachers, educators, and students are utilizing technology to reach out to people all over the world - to share ideas, inform, and explore. In addition to using online blogging, teachers and students are using podcasts. According to Wikipedia.com, a podcast is, "a series of audio or digital video media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated download, through Web feeds, to portable media players and personal computers". By using podcasts, in conjunction with online blogging, technology-based education can be even more accessible. The following are excellent examples of educational podcasting (they can be found in the iTunes store - under Education/K-12):

SMARTboard Lessons, a Canadian educational podcast series, is hosted by Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger. Their podcast series is dedicated to helping teachers and students (or anyone else for that matter) to learn more about smartboards, especially in terms of function and purpose. Hazzard and Badger conduct their podcasts using a radio station-style format, in which the two "podcasters" act as disc jockeys (at times, they even inject corny jokes and weather stories). In their podcasts, Hazzard and Badger discuss a variety of topics concerning smartboards - such as The Nicolas Felton Report, smartboard/whiteboard software upgrades, collaboration projects (such as the Freedom project), and answer frequently asked questions (such as "What does a smartboard do?").

Kidcast: Learning and Teaching with Podcasting is an educational podcast series hosted by Dan Schmit. In Episode # 58 - The Medium is NOT the Message, Schmit begins by describing his Thanksgiving weekend (from this past year). By using an editorial type format (much like the style of Andy Rooney), Schmit makes observations on student content within podcasts (students focusing on "the act" of creating a podcast, rather than focusing on "content quality"), as well as offers his own solutions (suggests that students form a group- one in which the students share a common interest. Next, the students brainstorm a topic. Finally, the students research, organize, polish, and record their topic - thereby making a well-informed podcast). Throughout the episode, Schmit often conveys constructive thoughts on students creating podcasts (such as: "Academic content is the message", "Podcasts let kids have an extended academic conversation", and "Continuation and depth are the key"). Schmit concludes the episode by asking the audience for their input and thoughts on the topics covered, via email (www.intelligenic.com/blog/).

Connect Learning is an an educational podcast series hosted by David Warlick. In Episode 96 (recorded April 3, 2008 in San Diego, California), Warlick conducts a live podcast before an audience of over 9000 teachers and educators. In this episode, Warlick notes that his audience (and their schools) are of a "peculiar" nature (court community/ day school programs - students are enrolled an average of 45 days). In the episode, Warlick also talks about the implementation of weblogging and podcasting within the student population (as an educational "bridge" between students and motivational learning through technology). During the podcast episode, the live audience members are encouraged to ask questions, as well as give feedback to various topics. EdTech Talk is an educational podcast series hosted by Maria Knee (a Kindergarden teacher from Deerfield, New Hampshire). Knee describes the series as one which "welcomes conversation, encourages discourse, and enjoys discussion" about anything related to education within technology. In Episode # 25 (February 1, 2009), Knee talks with Lisa Priesty (a 5th grade teacher from Long Island, New York) and Shelia Adams (a 7th grade science teacher) about the EduCon 2.0 conference (January 23-25, 2009).

The last two podcasts of interest (though they are not education based) provide much useful information into getting the most from your technological devices. MacBreak Weekly, hosted by Leo Laporte (Episode 126/February 3, 2009), dicusses various information/topics regarding technical information, updates, and viewpoints (interviews) about "all things MacIntosh". This Week in Photography, hosted by Alex Lindsay and Scott Bourne(Episode #067), discusses digital photography topics, such as HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging) and "Showing Off Your Assets (web-based photography applications)".