Podcasting in Education

Podcasting in education is wonderful idea. According to "FAQS: For Podcast Fans," podcasts are episodic programs delivered via internet using an XML protocol called RSS. Podcasting is fabulous for education because it includes audio files, videos and documents. According to FAQS, TV or radio can be transmitted, as well as lectures and performances. Podcasting is great for educators because it is free to subscribers and thousands can be enjoyed everywhere, and at anytime. Again, according to FAQS, subscribing seems very simple. Once you have ITunes, you simply go the ITunes store, click on podcasts, and then search, find and subscribe. Other reasons why podcasting is wonderful for educators is that you can find video, podcasts in various languages, and there is still the safety parental control.

According to "Making as RSS Feed", by Danny Sullivan, RRS is a means to syndicate content. Although I have not attempted this, the articles states that you can simply list the page as an "item" in your RSS file. Then you can can have the page appear in front of the those who read information using RSS. RSS allows people to easily add links to your content within their webpages. According to this article, bloggers are a huge audience. Finally, and most important for my understanding of RSS, starting a blog, generates an RSS file.

In the article, "Podcasting in Education" it becomes clear just how helpful podcasting can be in education. It is so ideal for the classroom because it goes well beyond traditional education, and meets the needs and interests of our students. Students love using technology, and most of our student know more about blogging, podcasting and other technologies than teachers. It is our responsibility to be web-educated, and meet our students where they are at. As educators we can bring students well past their traditional assignments. In the classroom, you can use podcasting to deliver content to students, distribute homework, and even narrate text to low readers. As a special education teacher, the last use sounds incredibly helpful. I am constantly searching and downloading books on tape, but if I know how to narrate text for my students I would do that. It would benefit low readers and EL students. Again, if teachers integrate podcasting into the classroom, we open up new opportunities and ways of learning for our students. The possibilties seem endless with podcasting.