Podcasting

I discovered the wonderful world of podcasting when I first became obsessed with Bravo TV's reality show "Project Runway." Four seasons ago when the show had just hit the cable prime time line up, I fell in love with the fashion designers' mentor, Tim Gunn, and his candid yet eloquent commentaries about the contestants. I subscribed to iTunes in order to access Tim's weekly podcasts. Through trial and error, I learned how to download and listen. Loved it! Tim has become too busy to podcast in the last season or two and I do miss his observations. But podcasting is fun to listen to; it's like talk radio with no commercials.

I did find a few video podcasts while browsing through the assignment this week. One was an educator teaching piano teachers to podcast their lessons. The Music Teachers National Association believes that video podcasting missed lessons would help students keep up with the class.

Some audio podcasts I found and enjoyed were MuggleCast on PodcastAlley.com. Of course, this is for the Harry Potter fan. In spite of the fact that the book series has ended, the owners give out news of the fandom and of author J. K. Rowling and they even give "news reports" of what's happening in the Wizard World today. Another site was WillWriteForWine, a site where two authors discuss wine and/or the authoring process.

Vanderbilty University uses their audio podcasts to publicize the university calendar on a weekly basis. They have also used podcasts to record events from their Distinguished Speakers series and to record lectures by visiting professors so that those who are unable to attend will be able to hear the message as it was originally given. Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Business has a directory of podcasts that cover a variety of subjects, including "International Law and International Students." To revert to Harry Potter for a moment, Vanderbilt (and probably other universities) is using podcasts like Hermoine Granger used the time turner: to allow a student to be in two places at the same time. While this is not appealing to many students, it is a wonderful opportunity for others.

The audio podcast is not much different than audio taped lectures. The video podcast, I think, is a greater innovation and better opportunity to use the new technologies in education. It may even help improve a professor's ability to connect with his or her students.