Podcast?!?

So far I have been familiar with the web tools we have learned in this class, but I can’t say the same with podcast. I have heard of them and listened to a friend’s podcast he was playing around with about his band’s (Zerochance) new album, but that is the extent of my podcast experience. I did not know that podcast not only include audio, but many have videos and other visual elements!

I began searching through podcast on iTunes, and I was surprised to find that they are wildly popular and you can basically find any topic conceivable on podcast. It seems the most popular podcast for an English classroom is Grammar Girl. It could be useful to use Grammar Girl in the classroom if students are having difficulty with a specific grammatical rule. Hearing the rule through a different voice from a podcast would most likely enable students to better understand the information. Also, since it is proven ineffective to teach grammar in isolation, but many schools demand teachers to do so, Grammar Girl could be a more effective and fun alternative.

Another useful podcast I came across is Podcast for Teachers. It gives interesting ideas for using technology in the classroom. The only problem with this podcast and many others is that they are used for more informative purposes so they may not be the most entertaining to listen to.

OK, I think I have subscribing to podcast down, but I have no clue how to create my own. I’m sure it won’t be that way for long though…

KL