Week 7

 Podcasts, Video and

 Downloadable Audio

Within the past year or two online video hosting sites have exploded allowing users to easily upload and share videos on the web. Among all the web 2.0 players in this area, YouTube is currently top dog serving up over 1 million video views a day and allowing users not only to upload their own video content easily, but also embed clips into their own sites easily.
Do some searching around YouTube yourself and see what the site has to offer. You'll find everything from 1970s TV commercials and 60s music videos to library dominos. Politically themed videos are also abundant. Here are some of my favorites:
Of course, like any free site you'll also find a lot stuff not worth watching too. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't explore and see for yourself what the site has too offer. :)

 Thing #16


Discovery Exercises:
  1. Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
  2. Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or componets of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?
  3. OPTIONAL CHALLENGE: Try placing the video inside your blog using the copy and paste code for the "Embeddable Player." Note: You'll need to switch to the HTML editor - locate the correct spot, and paste the code in there.
Discovery Resources:
Other popular video hosting sites:
NOTE: Videos, like music downloads, are bandwidth hogs. It is recommended that you complete this exercise during light Internet usage times.

Podcasts: iPod not required


The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS.
In 2005, "podcast" was named the "word of the year" by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting over the last year and a half; it's easy to see why. Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There's a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don't have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.
iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don't have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.

 Thing #17


For this discovery exercise participants are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your blog reader (i.e., Google Reader) account as well, so that when new casts become available you'll be automatically notified of their existence.
Podcasts have great potential for the classroom. Creating ‘radio' requires students to write ‘visually' so that the listener can ‘see' the action without the use of pictures. Creating podcasts can meet many of the language arts standards that require concise language, interviewing, speaking and listening and research. Be sure to include your librarian when you create lessons requiring research and steps necessary to teaching information gathering skills.

 Discovery Exercise:
  1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed below and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting educational podcasts here like book reviews or educational podcasts.
  2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your blog reader account.
  3. Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here?
  4. OPTIONAL CHALLENGE:
To create podcasts using Audacity, here are some steps to follow:
  1. Download Audacity (D20 staff - consult your BTC for assistance)
  2. Download LAME (to be able to convert Audacity file to MP3)
  3. Tutorial on Audacity
  4. Create your podcast. (recommend no longer than 10 minutes)
  5. Add music if you like - must be copyright free See Creative Commons for options!
  6. Export as MP3 using Lame
  7. Load as attachment to your blog, wiki or website (School Center can only accept files 10 MB or smaller)
Discovery Resources:

There are many, many podcast directory and finding tools out there. Here are some podcast directories that don't, like iTunes, require a software download:
 Curriculum Connections

Idea #1: Interview candidates for local office, or town officials about top issues in your community. Air their interviews alongside those of students.

Idea #2: Create a daily school news podcast, including an issue of the day such as copyright/music downloading/file sharing, Internet safety tips, or newest web 2.0 applications. School news podcasts can include jokes, stories, a daily history fact, puzzles, and other fun items of interest to students. Don't forget student surveys such as: Should we have a dress codes; Should the school sell sodas or reinforce a healthy food policy; How many hours of homework should there be each week day?

Idea #3: Language Learners [English Language Learners or Foreign Language Learners] can interview each other in their chosen language. Student can then listen to the interviews in class and translate, or discuss, or continue the conversation. You could make this a ‘round robin' conversation with the recorder going around the whole class and everyone contributing.

Idea #4: Create oral history podcasts. Allow students to take home voice recorders to tape family members stories.

Idea #5: Create a tour of the school for new students. This is an excellent job for an activities / leadership class.
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