Thing 6: Podcasts (Week of 1/5)

This week's topic is podcasts.

A 'podcast' is a non-music audio or video recording that is distributed over the internet to portable players and personal computers. The distribution is what makes a podcast unique. It's also what makes a podcast powerful: interested listeners or watchers can subscribe and receive updates through RSS when new content is posted.

Confused? Here's a video on Podcasting in Plain English:


Find a Podcast
iTunes, free software from Apple, is the directory finding service most commonly associated with podcasts. It's tied to their online store, but podcasts are usually free - you can browse by topic or search by keyword. iTunes also includes an amazing capacity for actually downloading the content you subscribe to automatically. And anyone can submit content for inclusion.

But what if you don't use iTunes? There are plenty of other options.

• odeo.com
  
• podcastalley.com (Note: Some of the "featured podcasts" on the right are fairly risque, but there are plenty of others from which to choose.)

Library Applications
Libraries are using podcasting to post book reviews, stories, author visits, and other programs.
As one example, see Thomas Ford’s click-a-story: http://www.fordlibrary.org/children/clickastory/.

Other Applications
Any website can post a podcast. NPR fans might want to check out the NPR Podcast directory at http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php. The New York Times also posts podcasts at http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html.

This Week's TechPlay Exercise

1. Visit the podcast directory at odeo.com.
2. Search in the box for a topic of interest (such as library, knitting, Chicago White Sox, or whatever strikes your fancy).
3. Click on an interesting podcast title. Wait for the ad to finish; then a screen will load with your chosen podcast.
4. Click on a "Recent Episode."
5. Press the pink and white play arrow to listen. Click the same button (now the Pause button) to stop. It's that easy!
6. You can search for more in the box at the top. Once you find one you like, add the RSS feed to your Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader/) account. (If you've forgotten how, here are the instructions for Google Reader: http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-2-rss-feeds-week-of-1124.html).
   
7. Post a note to your blog: did you find any interesting podcasts?

For a fun explanation of podcasts, watch this video from "Ask A Ninja." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEmss2lg-ug





Challenge:


Try listening to a podcast in iTunes. Every staff computer has the software downloaded, so just click on the icon from the desktop and get started. You don’t even have to sign in! After you have iTunes opened, click on iTunes Store in the left-hand column. You can search or browse for podcasts. You can even just double-click on a title and listen to it rather than downloading it. If you do download one, be sure to select one that is labeled as “get” rather than “subscribe”. Enjoy!