The World of Podcasting

One of the things that I had been looking forward to with this class was creating a podcast. There were a couple of reasons for this. One. I subscribe to a few different podcasts, and I really like listening to them. Two, whenever I talk to people at work about different training programs, in the back of my mind, I'm always thinking that we could incorporate some type of podcast to supplement the training.

First, before I begin telling about my experience, I really have to thank those of you that posted earlier in the week. Your details helped me when I was struggling with mine. So, like many of you, I started out with audacity. Sounds like there are lots of other programs out there that do the same thing, but I loved how easy it was to use. As soon as I downloaded it, I watched a YouTube video on how to record and mix in music. So far so good. Then, that was pretty much the end of the easy part. I tried downloading LAME so I could convert my recording to an MP3. I struggled with this until I was about to give up; then, somehow, I got it to work. After that, my fellow classmates came to my rescue. I tried using OurMedia.org, as mentioned in the text, for storing my MP3 file. I just couldn't ever register to get an account. I finally gave up and used the 4Shared.com site. After finally making that happen, I used podcastmachine to post my first ever, real live podcast. Check it out here on my blog. It's labeled under Spanish for Organizers. It's definitely rough, but it was fun recording it. One of the podcasts that I listen to, How Stuff Works, has two people talking to each other, and I really like that. So, it was fun to have a colleague help me out with mine.

This podcast is an example of what I think could be done for any class that is being taught either online or face to face. The recording can be used to supplement the lesson that has been taught or will be taught. In this case, if there was a "Spanish for Organizers" class, the instructor could record vocabulary and dialogues that the students could use to practice anywhere and anytime. (I was listening to my podcasts while weeding the garden last weekend. That's the first time that chore didn't seem so long and tedious. It was great.) Anyway, back to the idea. The students could listen to the Spanish over and over again and practice with it as often as they wanted or needed to. I think that this use of a podcast would be so convenient for organizers that are always on the road. Now, the next step could be to add some video that would take the lesson to another level.

Hope you enjoy the podcast. Hasta luego.