Improving Podcasts

Podcasts hold a lot of valuable information and can be very interesting if done correctly. Podcasts can be found on almost any topic imaginable. Visit itunes.com and go to itunes U to find all sorts of free podcast resources. For me, podcasting has its ups and downs, but I still believe they can be great tools for research and general information.

Most of the podcasts were pretty good, they stuck to the point of the discussion and got the information they wanted to get across to the public done in a fairly organized manor. I learned a lot of new things about technology in schools from listening to the podcasts of other members taking EDM 310 this semester. There were topics focusing on no burpback education in schools, an interview with the dean on technology in classrooms, different technological tools that can be used such as ACCESS in classroom, and an interview with Dr. Strange on his theory that students have become listeners and viewers rather than readers and writers, along with many other important topics.

However, some improvements could be made in order to make podcasting more effective. One problem I noticed in many of the podcasts is that the students did not seem very interested in the topics they were discussing. Though the students may have been presenting important information, it is hard to stay focused on listening to a podcast in the students talking are not interested in what they are talking about. Maybe if the students got to come up with their own topics about technology in classroom then they would be able to hold the listener's attention longer because they would be enthused about the topic being discussed. Another thing I noticed in a couple of the podcasts was a pause in the discussions as if the students were searching for the words to say; this could be fixed by rehearsing more. I believe there should be a practice recording session before the final recording date which would allow the students to practice and hear what their podcast sounds like and what improvements need to be made before the final recording. Other than those couple of improvements, the podcasts sounded fantastic!