Podcasting

During the past few years, podcasting has become an increasingly familiar method of information sharing. However, it seems as though most people are using it solely for entertainment purposes when it is a perfectly useful educational tool. I think the problem seems to be that many teachers and librarians aren’t quite sure how to integrate podcasting into their lessons. The beauty of podcasting is that not only can you access podcasts made by others, but you can also easily create your own. Here are a few ways you can use them:

• Promoting the library- Create a podcast to let your school body and community know about available library programming, or even to promote books. 
• Have students create their own podcasts- Instead of having the end product of a project be a poster, paper, or powerpoint, have students create a podcast instead! They’ll probably have more fun doing it, and even be able to use it to share with their class as a learning tool.
• Professional development- Both librarians and teachers could create their own podcast (or find ones that already exist!) to aide in professional development. They could be “how-to” in nature (how to write a book review, create a lesson plan, lead a book discussion, etc.), or even just give tips for librarians and teachers. Also, if you have innovative, original lessons, record them to share with your colleagues!  
•  Share school news- You can get the community more involved by letting them know of “school nights” at local restaurants, advertise upcoming school concerts, athletic events, and family nights.

 

If you’ve never created a podcast before, follow this LINK and it will help get you started. I have found that creating a good podcast just takes a little time and experience. I have only ever created two podcasts, and you can see from my examples below I learned quite a bit after creating my first one. I had a good script prepared, but it didn’t matter much because the video and audio is so poor. Here is what I took away from my first podcasting experience:

1. The camera on your laptop probably isn’t the best to use if you want good visual and audio quality (Note the difference in the two below!).  
2. IF you have to use your laptop camera, don’t have it plugged in and charging during the filming. Sometimes, when your computer is charging, it tends to run a little louder, creating background noise that can sometimes overpower your voice.
3. Always have a script prepared, and run through it a few times before you start to film. 
4. It’s going to take a few tries! It always takes me a few “takes” to get it the way I want it…so just be patient!

First Podcast

Second Podcast