Podcasts

Podcasts have been around for a very long time. However, this is something that many people in education have only just been taking advantage of. Podcasts have many uses in the library and the school. They can be used on the teacher end to get information across to students, parents, and other faculty. Students can use podcasts to present information that they have learned, as projects, or to create book trailers.

There are many different platforms that can be used for creating and sharing podcasts, however, for the purposes of this blog I will discuss three different platforms.

• Sound Cloud

I have used this service in the past for classes in my masters program. This service requires account creation in order for users to have the ability to create podcasts, however, the account is free and easy to create. After you have created your account you can choose the "Upload" button and you have two choices, you can either upload a podcast you have already created or use this website to record your own. After you have either recorded or uploaded your podcast you can access it from your account profile. This service also has an app for iOS. This could be very helpful if you are having students create podcasts for their projects. They would have the ability to carry their devices around the classroom or school.

• Audioboom

This site was also easy to create an account, and like Sound Cloud it has an iOS app. However, creating a podcast with this site was not so easy. Users have to fill out an application describing the podcast they would like to create, in the online version. This can be very inconvenient. Especially if users want to create podcasts for their students to use, or for student creation of podcasts for projects. I would not recommend using this service for podcast creations, using the online version. In the app it is a great deal easier to create a post, all you have to do is choose the record button and you are creating a podcast. Users even have the option to edit their podcast. The app is very much easier to use than the online platform. Even though the app is a great deal easier to use, I do not think that I would choose this service for my library or my students.

• Podomatic

This service is very similar to Sound Cloud in ease of use, and account creation. However, unlike Sound Cloud, with Podomatic you do not have the option to use this service to create a podcast, you can only upload. This can be aggravating if you do not have other options for creating your podcast. This service seems to be a platform for storing and sharing your podcasts only. Also, unlike the other two platforms, this one does not have an iOS app. This is not the site that I would choose for creating podcasts myself, or for student creation. 

Here is an example of a podcast I created using Sound Cloud, which is the platform that is easiest to use in my opinion. 

After looking into these services, as well as reviewing podcasts created by other educators, I think that it would be a good idea to create podcasts that students can access on the library website. This could be something that is used for updates about what is happening in the library and I could even invite other faculty members to create podcasts as guests. I think that students would enjoy that. 

Happy learning everyone!