What is meant by “podcast”?

At its simplest, to podcast is “to (distribute (multimedia files) over the internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer)” WordNetWeb

Multimedia files can be audio or video; can be viewed immediately or downloaded and saved for later convenience; are available as individual files or on a regular broadcast schedule, as with a radio or TV series with a host and theme. A podcasted series can be subscribed to for free and downloaded automatically with an RSS feed.

The files have come to be referred to as podcasts, a mashup of two words: Apple’s iconic “ipod” and the verb “to broadcast”. You don’t need an ipod to listen to a podcast - podcasts can be accessed from a regular web page by clicking on the Play button, or on the screen, as below.

Why use podcasting in school?

A teacher might use a podcast as an educational tool to add extra dimension to a lesson. A podcast of an author interview might offer students insight into an author’s inspiration, and the book’s themes, historical context, and stylistic and structural elements.  Podcasting gives you control over what you listen to, and when you listen.

What subjects do podcasts cover?

Everything! Here’s a short list of available titles: Mental Math, Art of Photography, Scientific American, NASA, Wildlife Highlights, Yoga, and my favourites, World Book Club, Big Ideas, and The Age of Persuasion, hosted by Terry O’Reilly.

Are there variations on a podcast?

The Podcast Novel (also known as a Podiobook) is a literary format that combines the concepts of a podcast and an audiobook. Like a traditional novel, a podcast novel is a work of long literary fiction, however this form of novel is recorded into episodes that are delivered over the Internet, usually on a regular basis. Wikipedia Authors Find Their Voice, and Audience, in Podcasts, nytimes.com

How do I find a podcast if I don’t know one exists?

Do a search of the words that you hope to see in your results. For example, if I want to know if a podcast interview of Stephen Jay Gould, the evolutionary biologist, exists, I would search:

Stephen Jay Gould interview podcast   …and, yes, there are many, though Gould died 7 years ago.

Go further, and search:

Stephen Jay Gould lecture podcast    …and hear Gould “discussing creationism and fossils while reminiscing on his involvement in McLean v Arkansas 1981”. The Dispersal of Darwin

What is a podcatcher?

A podcatcher is an application you can use to subscribe to podcasts; the podcatcher automatically downloads podcasts as they are posted to a site.https://kb.iu.edu/data/auej.html

 iTunes is the best known podcatcher (also referred to as podcast aggregator).

The screen capture below shows a list of episodes from the podcast “Big Ideas” on iTunes. Margaret Atwood, Gwynn Dyer, and Umberto Eco have been downloaded.

Other podcatchers.

PodcastDirectory.com by Category

Podcast.com Channels

PodcastAlley.com by Genre

npr (national public radio) podcast directory by topic Markus Zusak on The Book Thief

Guardian.co.uk audio&podcasts, Author series:  Jasper Fforde, Meg Rosoff, Eoin Colfer

Google searches usually yield excellent results. Just enter the words you hope to find in your results, e.g.     Stephen King interview podcast   yields the TIME magazine podcast:   Stephen King on his 10 Longest Novels

LEARN360 includes Discovery Channel, Reading Rainbow, and all curriculum areas.

How do I create a podcast?

Do you want to record your own audio podcast? Go to WikiHow.com for instructions in how to record an Audacity sound file (using a Mac? record with Garageband). Tip: find a good microphone and a quiet spot.

Or, make a video podcast. Follow the simple instructions on PodcastBlaster. You’ll need a digital video camera and a computer.

Ultimately: publish your podcast. How? Upload to a podcatcher like Podcast Directory, or Podcast Alley, Ready, Set, Podcast with Apple in Education, or, create professional podcasts with iTunes Podcast Producer2.

Resource links:

Podcasting Tools, Resource for Podcasting

For EVERYTHING you need to know about podcasting including creating, submitting, and directories, link to PodcastingTools.com