This exercise encouraged me to take a look at popular podcast directory tools, and do some exploring to locate podcasts of interest to me. A podcast is simply an audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet, usually through a direct RSS feed. The “pod” part of “podcast” seems to mislead some people, but you can actually listen to/watch podcasts on your computer, your iPod, your cell phone…any of a number of devices. First, I found my way to forevergeek.com, where I entered the search term “podcasts” and was returned many results, including applegazette.com. At this site, I learned of audible.com, which offers a free 14-day trial of the AudibleListener Gold membership plan, including one credit for a free audiobook. After the free trial, the membership is 14.95 a month. Audible advertises itself as having the widest selection of digital audiobooks available for download. Additionally, it has magazines, radio shows, podcasts, stand-up comedy, and speeches from cultural icons, and political and business figures. Audible points out the importance of “a pause, a breath, a smile you can feel through your headphones” in adding to your experience with literature, and states that they have “the best narrators interpreting books by top authors.” Interestingly, Audible also declares that “The average reader gets through 5 books a year, but the average AudibleListener member completes 17 books a year.” This made me feel really good because come the end of July, I will have finished more than 75 books this year, but then again, I had the added encouragement to accomplish such a feat from taking a children’s literature class last semester, and a young adult literature class this semester.
Next, I found myself at podiobooks.com, where I perused the audiobooks available for free. I came across one called Eleven Classic Short Stories, narrated by Mike Bennett. The chapters include Gabriel-Ernest by Saki, Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft, The Penance by Saki, The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, Sredni Vashtar by Saki, The Music of Erich Zann by H.P. Lovecraft, The Storyteller by Saki, The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Tobermory by Saki, The Cannibalism in the Cars by Mark Twain, and The Open Window by Saki. I truly enjoyed, and thus highly recommend, Twain’s “The Cannibalism in the Cars,” which you can also listen to at:
At podiobooks.com I also discovered that some of the podcasts were marked as Parsec Award winners. By going to parsecawards.com, I learned that this is an award celebrating “speculative fiction podcasting” and it has been around since 2006. It is given in several categories, ranging from content to audio quality. Podcasts are nominated by fans, chosen by a yearly steering committee, and then voted on by an independent panel of judges. The next awards ceremony will be in September.
Then I found myself checking out podcastalley.com. Here, I could search podcasts by genre, so I chose Education. I found that people can learn a new language via podcasts, or even how to play instruments! Try “Let’s Speak Italian!” or “The VerbCast” for French, or learn to play jazz and blues piano. I believe I could have benefitted from “Coffee Break Spanish” as a little extra tutoring help in high school and college with my Espanol. Teacher Mark and student Kara’s lessons teach you much about the language. The opening tune is catchy with “A bit of Spanish you can try, it’s not hard, now don’t you cry…Coffee Break Espanol, you’re in control!”:
Finally, I discovered an excellent article entitled “Beginner’s guide to podcasts and podcasting (plus: how to create a basic Podcast of your own) by J. Angelo Racoma (http://www.forevergeek.com/2006/04/beginners_guide_to_podcasts_and_podcasting_plus_how_to_create_a_basic_podcast_of_your_own/). And I got excited. Because I decided I not only could, but would, create my own podcast. I decided right away that it would be a booktalk. I just performed this booktalk in my Young Adult Literature class, so I thought why not make it my very first podcast? Why not, indeed. So, to round off my blog post regarding podcasts, here for your very own listening pleasure, is my very own first try, hope you enjoy it!
http://www.box.net/shared/2x04kxh21zlblp569mgk
(You can also access this link by clicking on the title of this blog post.)
http://www.box.net/shared/2x04kxh21zlblp569mgk
(You can also access this link by clicking on the title of this blog post.)
Obviously, I see podcasts as having a number of uses in an educational setting such as a library or school media center. First, I refer to my own homemade podcast of a booktalk. However, a librarian could also make a video or audio podcast of storytelling performances, readings from books and stories (see the above link for Eleven Classic Short Stories; also, this use of podcasts is wonderful for giving additional voice support to eyes-on-text for readers working at all stages of literacy, from phonics to comprehension), workshops held at the library, an orientation to the library for newcomers or as a refresher for others, meetings or minutes of meetings, instructions for class examinations or projects, how-to guidance for tasks, tutorials on specific subjects (see the above “Coffee Break Espanol” link), reference instruction, Battle of the Books practice, community events, author visits, publicizing library events, outreach to parents of school children or outreach to the homebound of a community, and so much more! The possibilities are truly limitless! And the format is very appealing—I mean, who would prefer wading through French verb conjugation in a comparatively dry textbook format over listening to the beauty of the language as it is spoken? Podcasts shift the paradigm of education. It is a more “real” experience and therefore, hopefully, more lasting.
No comments:
Post a Comment