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Adventures in Podcasting

Image by Csaba Nagy from Pixabay
I have been listening to podcasts for a couple of years now, and while my personal tastes run towards creepy ghost stories or NSFW humor, I can still appreciate the educational potential of this insanely popular medium. You can find podcasts on any topic, from obscure historical events to pop culture phenoms, church sermons to erotica, sports trivia to scientific breakthroughs. There is literally something for everyone in the world of podcasting, much of it easily discoverable on one's phone. For school librarians, podcasts can be a great way of keeping up with new book releases, picking up technology tips, or learn about best practices for librarianship.

If you are primarily interested in listening to podcasts, here are some great recommendations that can help you stay current:

Dewey Decibel Podcast
This delightfully named podcast from American Libraries magazine (a publication of the American Library Association) has episodes covering everything from practical concerns such as weeding your collection or finding a job to more entertaining topics such as haunted libraries. New episodes are published monthly.
Hey YA
Keep current on what's happening in the YA world with news on hot new releases, upcoming movie adaptations, favorite authors, and more. New episodes are published every two weeks.
The Biblodames
This podcast is brought to you by two high school librarians in Texas. They chronicle their experiences with integrating technology and innovative programming, and they aren't shy about discussing their failures along with the successes. As an added bonus, they have a fabulous rapport with each other, leading to some highly entertaining banter. New episodes are published about twice monthly.

The Shake Up Learning Show
This brand-new podcast is looking like a good choice for inspiration on the teaching and technology side of things. Tech integration is the major theme across most of the episodes published so far. New episodes are published weekly. If you are completely new to podcasts, be sure to check out The Teacher's Guide to Podcasts by Bell.
The Google Teacher Tribe Podcast
If you are on a Google campus, you need to be subscribing to this podcast for everything Google in the world of education. Recent topics have included apps that integrate with Google Classroom, Google My Maps activities, and using Google for enrichment activities. New episodes are published weekly.



If you are feeling adventurous and want to try creating your own podcast, there are quite a few options out there for getting started. Here are a few that I looked at when preparing to write this blog post.

Audacity
If you are looking for a platform to record your podcast, Audacity is free and a popular choice thanks to its wide range of sound editing features. Unfortunately, it is also known for its rather steep learning curve when getting started. There are numerous tutorials available for those who are less easily daunted than I, but for me Audacity was just too complicated. Another possible drawback is that you must download their software in order to use the program, making it an impractical choice for our 1:1 Chromebook campus.


PodBean
If you have already recorded your podcast and are looking for a website to host it, PodBean offers up to five hours of storage for free and makes publishing your podcast simple. You can also record your podcast in PodBean if you download their app to your phone or tablet, and the recording feature allows you to add sound effects and music as you record.  If you live and die for data, then PodBean was made for you with stats on number of listeners, location of listeners, listener retention, and more.

Anchor
If you have no idea what you're doing and want a free and simple one-stop-shopping option, then Anchor is my top recommendation. I actually learned about Anchor from the Bibliodames (see podcast recommendations above) in their recent TCEA session, "Podcasting for N00bs". There is no software to download, and you can record, edit, and publish your podcast all on their website or within their app on your phone. It is ridiculously easy to use, and my only complaint is that there is no "undo" feature when editing, so making a mistake can mean having to start over.

I collaborated with two of my classmates, Erin Goad and Angela Naiser, to create a podcast for this module. The finished product is available on Anchor:









Comments

  1. MelanieApril 15, 2019 at 11:07 AM

    Anchor seems so easy to use! It is something that I haven't heard of before, but I am eager to check out! I also follow Shake Up Learning and The Google Teacher Tribe, but I haven't listened to their podcasts. It is something that I am going to be adding to my to-do list! I love all of the tips and ideas they share on their blogs and through social media. What great resources! Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KleptoTasApril 16, 2019 at 6:48 AM

      I learned so much from your post. Thanks for some of the fun podcasts that I can be listening to. Want to suggest some ghost story ones that I could get into? I enjoyed your breakdown of the different platforms. Your group podcast was well done and informative!

      Delete
  2. Sandra GuerreroApril 16, 2019 at 11:51 PM

    Thanks for sharing your podcasts for teachers and librarians! I really would like to listen to more and these are great. I've been listening to SERIAL and the must-listen list is expanding quickly. We used PodBean for our blog because it is extremely easy and hassle-free to use. I would also like to try Anchor since I hadn't heard of it before. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jackie's Book PageApril 30, 2019 at 10:09 AM

    I have listened to podcast for many years and they have basically replaced music for me. I have learned countless new information from them and its a great and educational way to stay entertained. Thanks for the new podcast recommendations.

    ReplyDelete

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