Podcasts

I watched the podcast on podcasting and went to the Yahoo site to read the answers to questions about podcasting. I was all set to use Yahoo to explore podcasting, but at the top of the page Yahoo says that it is closing down the podcasting page at the end of the month. ("Yahoo apologizes deeply, but we will be closing down the Podcasts site on October 31, 2007.") So why start with Yahoo? I then decided to go to Podcast.net. The Learning 2.0 says that the three listed don't require a software download, but Podcast.net does require a software download. I am trying to download Juice, but I don't know if that's wise on the library PC, and I don't know if it's feasible as the minutes pass and the downloading continues.

Well I went back to Podcast.net and saw that you don't have to download the software, but they think it helps. I tried listening & watching podcasts without the software, and they were fine. I went under Learning and Instruction and then put in Spanish. I listened to a podcast called Doors to a World of Adventures from ISA (Iowa State University). It was interesting and gave a lot of information, including several professors talking about the value of taking Spanish or other languages, but ultimately it turned out to be a promo for ISA's foreign language programs. I tried another podcast. This one was a videocast lesson -- Spanish Arriba -- on adjectives. The teacher used cards and pictures to demonstrate as she talked about various vehicles. It was a good beginning lesson. Another podcast on Spanish was the first of a series of audio podcasts on verbs using a combination of Spanish & English. It was good also. I tried to add the RSS feed for Spanish Arriba to my Bloglines account. I didn't succeed in doing that, but I was able to add it to my Favorites. (Meanwhile when I went back to Bloglines I was reminded that I had a feed for New York Times Movie Reviews and read the review of The Jane Austen Book Club and was sent to a video preview of the movie as well. What fun!)
I also used library and libraries for keyword searches for podcasts. I did get a group from the Sunnyvale Public Library, but they were so low in volume that I had to turn it way up just to hear. I'm not sure the public would get a lot out of the ones I attempted to listen to. Another one I tried called Rock & Roll Librarian turned out to be aimed at the grandparents of the little girl babbling as her father talks about the book she is experiencing "Touch & Feel Puppy." It's funny, especially for the baby's family. The Rock & Roll Librarian has other podcasts too. One is an interview with Dave Roman from Nickelodeon Magazine, where he edits comics. The Rock & Roll Librarian himself is a young adult librarian. There is potential for libraries and librarians to produce some valuable work using podcasts.

I heard and saw Nini Beegan's podcast and vodcast on Merlin and think she did a good job of making it seem like a very accessible process. That was the feeling I came away with from the podcast lesson. Podcasts are accessible, and you can learn a lot from them or just enjoy them.