Unit Four: Audio Publishing Environments

Introduction: 

     Ever since I received my first Ipod Touch I really enjoyed the world of Podcasts. I liked listening to podcasts such as How Stuff Works to others that dealt with student ministries and ideas. Podcasts seemed to fade away for a bit but they seem to be making a come back. I plan to use them in my classroom in combination with simply Audio uploads. This will allow me to share longer audio bytes and make a "play list" for students to go back to if needed. As an audio learner I much more prefer someone telling or giving me instructions rather than reading it. Using podcasts will benefit ELL learners, audio learners, and those with low reading ability and comprehension.

     Please listen to my Podcast below in which I retell the history of Pasadena High School and explain the quirky history from being a 20 student one teacher school house known as the chicken coop to the huge campus it is today. Link:  http://missmorenos.podomatic.com

  

Analysis of Technology Development Environment

     For the Technology Implementation section of this unit we were to focus on digital audio publishing opportunities. I found this assignment to be fairly easy since I have worked with Podcasts and Audacity before. I decided to make a Podcast that I will actually use during the first week of my class in order to introduce the school to my freshmen. For my first week I will try to establish a personal and professional connection with the students and try to set them at ease in this new phase of my ninth grade students lives. I used PodOMatic because it allowed me to add images, tags, and some personal touches. One thing that I could see being a difficulty is having previous knowledge of software such as Audacity and plug-ins in order to play, save, and export the files. Yet once this is accomplished making the finished product itself is very straightforward. Below is my analysis of the various environments: 

• Poderator- http://www.poderator.com/ : This was a very simple and easy environment to use but I could not dig into it and see what the final product would look like and how much personalization could be added. Like other sites its only requirement was an upload of a previous audio file saved in mp3 format. I decided to not use this site because of the lack of information on their homepage.
• PodBean-http://www.podbean.com/ : This environment looks very polished and easy to use. I like the fact that it is optimized for mobile devices and uses the popular App Stores. Yet it only has a free trial and afterwards it requires payment. I want to keep and integrate podcasting and decided not to use this. Also, for my students to be able to download the apps, even though they are free, they will at least need a credit-debit card that is stored to their account. I don’t think this is digitally safe or parent friendly. Because of this I decided not to use it
• Podcast Generator -http://podcastgen.sourceforge.net/ : I really liked this environment. It had a demo tutorial and is compatible with both Android and Apple (iOS) systems. It does have a free version available as well and is customizable. I would have used this if it didn’t have to be downloaded. My laptop space is limited and downloading software is making it work slowly.
• PodOmatic-https://www.podomatic.com/login: This is the platform I chose to use because it can be personalized, is free, and does not require a download. The only thing it does require is previous use or knowledge of audio editing software such as Audacity. Yet that was explained as well. The set-up is self-explanatory and has fairly easy steps to follow to get the podcasts published. I like the fact that it gives both a link and a player embed frame available as well. This will allow me to add the podcast player to the side of my webpage or simply add the link to my LMS system, Schoology.
• Blog Talk Radio -http://www.blogtalkradio.com/: This environment seems very nicely set-up and does have a free version. It includes a live podcast capability as well. Since I will be using this with students I do not like the “openness” of this platform. I can see my students clicking other forums that are not moderated and listening to questionable material. Although I would not use this in the classroom I can using this at the professional and collegial level.