Great tips for the best podcasts

If you're one of the tech savvy teachers who are exciting your students by encouraging them to create their own podcasts (a terrific way to give them a "voice") then I want to call your attention to Tony Vincent's latest Learning In Hand blog post titled Advice for Better Podcasts.

Tony responds to a recent a article written by Matt Villano, Building a Better Podcast found in January 2008's T.H.E. Journal. You will find some great tips from Tony and get an overview of what Matt wrote.

If you are a "newbie" to podcasting, then be sure to check out Tony's very complete Podcasting in Education web page. Lots of excellent resources to help you get started.
You could also consider signing up for an upcoming CESA 7 ETS (Educational Technology Services) workshop coming up in fall of 08. Wisconsin podcasting expert Naomi Harm from CESA 4 will lead you and yours truly will be there to assist you in creating your first podcast!
For more info on this workshop, you can contact Chris Rogers, ETS director with info found on the ETS home page.

You can also check a previous post in this blog for some additional resources and info.

So...start podcasting! You'll have great fun and so will your students. (They'll think you're the coolest teacher of all and they'll learn some fantastic lifelong skills in the process.)

PBS programs added to iTunes U

Feb 4, 2008
Teachers, students, and lifelong learners now have a new source for free, educational multimedia, as PBS and local PBS stations KQED (San Francisco), WETA (Washington, DC), WGBH (Boston), and WNET (New York) are offering high-quality video clips and other educational resources on iTunes U, a dedicated area of the iTunes Store showcasing educational content.

Available in the Beyond Campus section of iTunes U, the initial online offerings from these local PBS stations include a wealth of educational video clips, lectures, interviews, teacher’s guides, and a variety of other materials.

“iTunes U presents a tremendous opportunity for WGBH to expand the reach of our educational TV, radio and Web content to a global audience,” said Jon Abbott, president, WGBH. “We look forward to making even more of our programming available in the future by regularly adding new video clips and lectures to our presence on iTunes U.”

“We’ve already discovered how offering extensive free video, audio and lesson plans has empowered teachers and students to develop the skills necessary to thrive in the 21st century and to bring skills which can be applied to their own communities,” added added Tim Olson, KQED’s Interactive executive director. “iTunes U is a natural environment for public broadcasting companies in this effort.”

For more info, check out the full article at PBS.org

iTunes
iTunes is free software for Windows and Macintosh. iTunes has a built in podcast directory that is quite comprehensive. After launching iTunes, click on iTunes Store. Then choose iTunes U. While there, be sure to check out iTunes built in podcast directory.