iTunes Podcasts

I have never listened to or created a podcast before. It is hard for me to focus and listen to someone that I cannot see so this was a challenge for me. The first podcast that I listened to was SmartBoard Lessons. The sound was alright, but not really the best so I'm not sure what they were using to record their session. I also did not understand the point of their podcast.

KidCast had a richer, smoother sound to my ears. Dan started off talking about the difference between podcasting and video podcasting or 'vodcasting'. He mentioned that using the term 'vodcast' could be a little confusing to people who were trying to understand what media syndication was. Well I understood what he was talking about when he said 'vodcast', but I had to look up what media syndication was. According to Wikipedia, syndication is "the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network". Dan also brought up a good point about video podcasting being a step by step development. Most people are not very comfortable in front of a camera or do not realize what is involved in the setup of video podcasting.

EdTech Talk had terrible reception and I had to listen closely to hear what was being said. One of the ladies mentioned skype calling someone. I did not know what skype was so I looked it up. Skype is a 'program' for lack of a better technical term that can be used to make calls and video chat with people for free. Well it is free to an extent, but you can look it up if you are interested in knowing.

Connect Learning had a clear reception, not as clear as KidCast though. It sounded as if it was being tape recorded. The librarians in this podcast were talking about how podcasts can be used in the schools for learning or sharing of information. They also brought up a good point regarding policies for the school children and the need to get permission from parents to allow their children to speak on audio podcasts or to show their faces on video podcasts.