Podcasts

Even though I have had iTunes for quite some time, I never knew much about Podcasts or even listened to one. After listening to these podcasts, I see how podcasts can be full of useful information. Some of the podcasts were better than others, but they all had something to offer. Some of the speakers were great and others were hard to understand and follow along with. It was sometimes hard for me to pay attention to the podcasts because there is only audio and no video, but that is a personal problem, I know. The podcasts resembled a radio show to me, maybe because it was only audio. I learned some things from the podcasts as well as how podcasts in general can be useful and sometimes not so useful.

The SmartBoard Lessons podcast was entertaining, though not as helpful as it could have been. I listened to episode 11 that talked about techniques to use for the end of the year. The people that were talking were funny and energetic and spoke clearly, but they got off subject a lot, which was not good. There were several useful things mentioned, though I thought they were more for elementary teachers. One idea was getting the kids to use iPod Touches because they have so any apps that are useful. I really liked that they read people's feedback about the podcast and they discuss the comments and questions that the listeners mailed to them.

The KidCast podcast was even better to me than the SmartBoard podcast because the speaker got right to the point. It wasn't as entertaining maybe, but it was more informative and saved time that the other took with jokes and stories. The man was comparing video podcasts and audio podcasts, which was very helpful to me because this is the first time I have been introduced to podcasts. The information he gave about what type of podcast you should use for different audiences was useful. I liked that he mentioned that you can save time by using video podcasts, but using audio podcast may make you a better speaker because you learn to use more precise, colorful language. There were several other informative tips and comments that will help me later when I have to make podcasts.

The Macbreak weekly podcast may have been useful to Mac users, but I didn't understand much of it. The speakers were very well spoken and they did not stray from the topics they were supposed to discuss. The This Week in Photography podcast was another one that I wasn't very interested in, but it was probably very helpful to people interested in photography. They discussed several different cameras and techniques, and they spoke very clearly. I listened to the EdTechTalk episode 162, and it was about voice thread in libraries. There was quite a bit of background noise that was distracting, and at times, the speaker was breaking up and pieces of words could not be heard. There was useful information, but that podcast could have been made better. I listened to the NPR Education podcast and I thought it was done very well. The woman talking spoke clearly and stayed on subject. They used several clips from outside sources to supplement their information. It was quite interesting to me. After listening to all of these podcasts, I know have a better understanding of podcasts.