Week 5: Podcasts

I began listening to podcasts in December of 2008, after a friend and I had a discussion about mp3 players. I was in the market for a new music player because my non-iPod was damaged. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the different brands and he emphasized how easy it is to download music from iTunes and to sync an iPod to your computer. During this discussion, he also mentioned that he frequently downloads podcasts. I had heard of podcasts, but never realized the wide variety of topics and degree of quality that is available for download. He told me to go home and search for a podcast on any subject and I would likely find something “cool to listen to.”

Like any good student, I took his advice. I went home and immediately searched for podcasts on SMARTBoards using iTunes and found the Teachers Connecting podcast which I discussed in Week 4. Next, I searched for podcasts that would improve my consistently fading knowledge of Spanish and found the Spanish Connection. I searched, and searched, and searched. My friend was right. There seems to be a podcast for any subject.

As for podcasts, I enjoy listening to them. I have about four that I listen to regularly. What I really love is that as soon as I open iTunes it looks for recent editions and automatically downloads them. When I attach my iPod (which I received for Christmas) it automatically adds them to it. This convenience is crucial, for if it was not so user-friendly, I am sure that I would not even bother.

Podcasting is a great way to reach a large audience to spread your message. Your audience can listen at their convenience, which means that they do not need to be chained to their computer in order to receive your message.

So, in the end, it turns out that I am in complete agreement with my friend. Podcasts are cool to listen to.