Week 9! - Thing 21 - Podcasts

I went to Podcast.net and attempted to listen to some podcasts. Today, as in the past, I had some technical difficulties which were frustrating. My experience is that the audio starts and stops, then starts over from the beginning. Aargh! It definitely deters me from seeking out podcasts. The podcast I attempted to listen to was just an interview with Kirby Larson about her Newbery Honor book, Hattie Big Sky.

However, I finally had success and listened to the following: "Gary Shipe of Sandusky Radio interviews Kirby Larson and Chauni Haslet, of All for Kids Books & Music in Seattle and former president of the American Booksellers for Children. As part of National Chil..."
Podcast Date: Nov 13, 2006 16:15:02

I enjoyed hearing Kirby Larson tell that she has ghost written a few books. Interesting!

Listening to a podcast is just like listening to radio. One great feature is that you can multi-task on the computer while the audio is streaming, i.e. you can play a game or post a blog, etc.

I think for kids, listening without a visual image is more challenging than "watching" something. It feels a little abstract. When you listen to a 3-way interview, there is a tendency to lose track of who's speaking. For those of us who have listened to radio, podcasts are great, as long as the technology is cooperating and you get a clear stream.

One huge advantage to creating a podcast, especially if you are doing this with students, would be that their anonymity is preserved. I wondered about doing a video book report or something like that and was concerned about student exposure on the Internet. A podcast would remedy that problem.