Emerging Technologies, Podcasting!

For this blog posting I will be exploring Podcasting.  Podcasting is offered on many websites one being Gabcast.com.  Until exploring this technology for this particular assignment, I have never heard of podcasting.  However, now I have learned that podcasting is an audio or video recording that can be shared with anyone!  The website Gabcast.com is a podcasting and audio blogging webpage that shows an easy way to create and distribute audio content or podcasts.  You can add you podcast on a website or blog and communicate with your friends, family, and/or colleagues.  The website states many different ways and reasons for using podcasts.  You can voice your political opinions or use it as part of a political campaign, record Greetings, or conduct interviews.  You can be a Citizen Reporter, use it for get-togethers, or just simply speaking your mind.

Through searching and exploring this technology I first reviewed the website Gabcast.com to see what podcasting was all about.  The layout is very simple to understand, separated by tabs.  I clicked on the listen tab to see what others use this website for and the types of podcasts they post.  You can browse by category or simply type in a search.  I typed in education to see what types of information I could find.  One post was someone encouraging their faculty and staff to use podcasts.  This way the teachers could voice their opinions, talk about how their day or how lesson plans went, discuss field trips, or school events.  I think podcasting is interesting, but I have not seen it used in any of the classrooms I have been in.  Also, some features on this website are free, and others you have to pay for.  I think podcasting could be used educationally, but it is somewhat difficult to understand.  I would have to see how podcasting is used in the classroom by other teachers, and see have effective it really is!

I tried to make my own podcast to post on my blog.  Gabcast.com gives you 5 free minutes, so I created an account.  First I had to sign up just by giving my email address and creating a password.  Then I logged in and clicked on create a channel, gave my podcast a name and description and was directed to call the number on the right of the screen.  I had to type in the podcast password, record at the beep, and it was automatically stored on my page!  However, it did not work the first time, and I could not hear me very well at all.  Also when I tried to put the link onto my blog, I was unsuccessful.  I kept trying over and over and eventually got it.  Podcaasting is fun, not that simple and would definately take some getting used to.  The link below will take you to my first podcast creation.  I also created a greeting, but I could not figure out how to link it on to my blog, so this is my first episode of podcasting!
My first podcast

Tips!

1.       Keep exploring! Don’t give up!

2.       Have an open mind to new ideas and new technology.

3.       If something does not work the first time, try again!

4.       Have fun =)