Podcasting 101

Title: Podcasting 101
Title of Journal: School Library Media Activities Monthly; March 2007, p22-23
Author: Fontichiaro, Kristin
Date: July 1, 2007

This article defines many aspects of podcasting from what it is, what equipment is needed, projects , and personal safety.
What is podcasting? Podcasting is an audio file recorded on a computer and later shared with others. The term comes from a combination of the words Ipod and broadcast.
What equipment is required? Podcasting equipment is very inexpensive. A microphone and free downloadable recording software is necessary for PC users. For Mac users, a more expensive microphone is required and they will use the same software as PC users. They also have the chose of using another software entitled Garage Band. This software is normally already installed on new Macs.
What can I do? For beginners it is important to just start out with a simple recording. As you become more familiar with the software you can gradually add multiple voices, sound effects and themes.
Personal Safety? This refers to the access of your podcast. It is hard to say who will hear your podcast and so it is important to remember a few safety rules. First, have students or others involved only use first name or pseudonym. Second, make sure that there are no identifying details on the podcast such as school name or organizations name. Finally, make sure that all proper permission slips are signed before moving forward.
This particular article was quite interesting. It used lay person terms so that anyone could understand what a podcast actually is. This article would be great to send home to par nets explaining what exactly is going on in your classroom. I could definitely see myself using podcasting in a library setting. One idea that comes to mind is a weekly author highlight. I could highlight an author on a podcast. This would not only showcase the author but their books and also the library. Podcasting would also be used for a overview of the library policies for the first day of school. There are so many possibilities.