I've never been an avid podcast follower. I have friends who are cult followers of various podcasts, and I have always admired that. They will listen to Joe Rogan interview some obscure scientist or philosopher while they make dinner. They will listen to This American Life as they drive to work in the morning. They will learn Spanish as they clean the house. I'm not like that. And I have always felt a little inadequate. Until this summer... because this summer, I learned about The Serial. If you want to learn about it, click the link... seriously. I'm not going to spend all day talking about it, even though I gladly would and could. But let me just say, The Serial Podcast is amazing, and I now see why so many people get so engrossed in podcasts. So, when I was asked to follow a few professional development-type podcasts for EDL 7510, I gladly jumped to it.
Podcasts have this great non-confrontational way of teaching you about something or other. For me, I find that I can zone in and out as I see fit. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Sometimes I have to go back and listen closely to what is being said. I think it will be the same, if not worse with professional podcasts. I imagine that the information presented will be very much scaffolded, and if you miss one thing, you're out of luck for the rest of the podcast. For this reason, I've chosen to follow some shorter podcasts so as to not lose interest. The majority of the podcasts I'm following are for English courses. While they have little to do with using technology in the classroom, they will be great refreshers for my content area. Additionally, I think podcasts will be a great way to share information with my peers. Because, we all know that one person who is just crazy about podcasts.
Podcasts have this great non-confrontational way of teaching you about something or other. For me, I find that I can zone in and out as I see fit. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Sometimes I have to go back and listen closely to what is being said. I think it will be the same, if not worse with professional podcasts. I imagine that the information presented will be very much scaffolded, and if you miss one thing, you're out of luck for the rest of the podcast. For this reason, I've chosen to follow some shorter podcasts so as to not lose interest. The majority of the podcasts I'm following are for English courses. While they have little to do with using technology in the classroom, they will be great refreshers for my content area. Additionally, I think podcasts will be a great way to share information with my peers. Because, we all know that one person who is just crazy about podcasts.