Week 2

January 17th-January 23rd






Reading 1                                                                                                                       
Podcasting: Audio on the Internet Comes of Age                                                           
"Podcasting, a catchy combination of the words iPod and broadcasting, is in vogue at the moment, and everyone who came late to the blogging party wants a piece of the action. If blogging is becoming the tool of choice for many writing instructors bent on giving a real world spin to their classes, then podcasting could be just the ticket for language teachers looking to extend the reach of their classrooms..." (Stanley, 2006). Read more
Reading 2                                                                                                                       
The 4 Types of Podcasts                                                                                                    
"We recently conducted a workshop on engaging distance education students with podcasting, and there were several questions, and some confusion about the different types of podcasts. Thankfully much of the hype around podcasting has died down and is now focused on Twitter, so there is an opportunity to take a good look at podcasting to uncover any potential benefits to teaching and learning...." (The Instructional Innovations Blogs). Read more
Reading 3                                                                                                                       
Podcasting: Academic Tip Sheet                                                                                      
"The word ‘podcasting’ was originally associated with the distribution of audio files over the Internet using an XML based RSS feed. Individuals can subscribe to a ‘podcast’ and download it to their personal computers..." (Bennette, 2007). Read more





Make your own Podcasts Understanding the Podcast Revolution 5 resources for creating and hosting podcasts


Three audacity tips to enhance your recorded interviews How to create your own podcast Using Audacity for pupil radio drama with sound effects

Write comments on the readings below.

34 comments:

  1. I've just finished Reading 1 - Podcasting: Audio on the Internet Comes of Age, and I found it really interesting. It took me ages, because I was so keen to check out all the links within it. Lots of great ideas and resources to think about.

    In particular, I like the podcasts that are being created by students at bardwellroad.podomatic. I am sure they are very popular amongst efl students, as they are authentic, and the topics are relevant to the students' lives.

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  2. Hey Janet. That's why I find podcasts really interesting, you know, you can listen to loads of downloadable audio files and used them in class and/or you & your students can create their own (which I think it's even better) and publish them to share and plan lots of potential activities around them.

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  3. I finished all the readings. I think Reading 1 is most interesting because it is specifically geared toward the ESL classroom and contains extra links for resources both for listening and for recording that I find helpful for the future. I think the directions for Audacity are helpful, too. Thanks!--Jenn C.

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  4. After reading all of the articles I can't wait to try it. I've been playing around with some existing audio files I have, using Audacity. I'm about to create my first ESL lesson (newbie here!) on Moodle. Beginniner English - Level 1. The course comes with a CD of supplemental audio files which I've successfully converted from bit stream to .wav files using iTunes. I'm going to give Audacity a try to record some phonics lessons for speaking practice. Next up....get the students to record themselves so I can evaluate their speaking skills. Looking forward for more information on RSS feeds and recommendations on which podcasts are the best for ESL teaching use. Can one just use iTunes?

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  5. Hi Cheryl. Sounds really great what you are planning to do (which can be part of your final project for this session). I'd say Itunes is one of the best tools to download podcasts. Did you check out the websites your colleagues shared last week?

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  6. I find readings for this week very informative and useful. Can't wait to start making my own podcasts! :)
    I like very much Google Reader, have been using it for many years. At the moment I have 814 subscriptions in it. :)
    Audacity is a great piece of software for audio editing and I use it regularly for recording my pupils on my piano classes, so that they can hear better and analyze the music they made. They are always very curious to see the audio waves of their playing in graphical representation! :)

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    1. Hi Maja, here Maritere, I would like to ask you if it is possibe to learn music on-line and if a person can learn despite the age. Hope not to bother you. Thanks in advance for the answer.

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    2. Maja, I can't wait to hear your podcasts. I think it is going to be very interesting to listen to a musician's podcasts. Maybe you can combine speech and music and make something that is useful both for music students and for English students.

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    3. Hi, Maritere,
      I think it is possible to learn music online and despite the age - if one is willing to do it. :) You are welcome! :)

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    4. Hi Natasa,
      Thank you for your encouragement and nice expectations! :) I am still on my way to find out how to combine this course in English with podcast for my students, which should be in Serbian. My first podomatic post I published in Serbian, then in English, but people recognized that it wasn't my voice!:) I asked my husband to help me, while his English pronunciation is much better than mine. :) Now I wonder if I should do it myself anyway. :))
      In my class I have a few pupils whose English is great, so we can make some podcast together in English, I hope.
      All the best to you! :) Thanks for the comment. :)

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  7. I'm pretty sure Audacity has got be a very useful tool for those learning music...Can't wait to listen to one of your podcasts:)
    And wow that's a lot of subscriptions for Google Reader=)

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  8. I couldn't open the last reading for some reason, might be the connection.. Lots of useful info and links in the first reading -all went in my bookmarks.:)

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  9. Hey Z. Just checked them out again and they worked. Which browser are you using? If you want I can send you the links to your email.

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  10. I'm quite surprised with the time that Graham Stanley wrote the first reading, 6 years have passed since that! I really hope that it won't spend such time again to get updated. I really liked the readings and I am eager to start making my own podcast. I am currently using Google Reader but what I need is more time to surf the webs and reach as much information as possible as well as time to practice.

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  11. I am sure you will enjoy learning about podcasts...and it is never late Maritere...:) Think about this session as the start for getting the basics...Then you can explore more and delve a bit more into the world of podcasting especially for EFL-ESL.:)

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  12. Thanks Mike, you are really nice!

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  13. I read all the readings, then made my attempt at the test. I wasn't bad, but I am not completely happy with my results, so I am rereading them.
    Great resources, I finally understand the difference between different types of podcasts.

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  14. Some really interesting points were raised in the articles. It really is quite astounding how many podcasts are out there on the web--and on such a wide variety of topics. It will be interesting to see what podcasting will morph into 10, 15, 20 years from now. BTW, I'm not sure why, but I couldn't sign in at the end of the quiz.

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  15. Podcasts open a new world to media and communication.They are a source of rich and authentic listening material.

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  16. I enjoyed reading all the well chosen articles, and found them useful to really understand the fundamentals of podcasting. Can't wait to explore further. The quiz is a great idea to test our knowledge and it would be good to retake it just to cement things in my mind.

    Thanks for all the great tutorials - I find them very helpful indeed! I can't wait to learn how to add music to Audacity podcasts. Will you be going into that in more detail in the next few weeks, or do we have to check out all the Audacity tutorials in the list of resources? Is there one which is for beginners like myself, I wonder, that could be referred to? Many thanks!

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  17. Apologies for my comment re adding music to Audacity above! I've just reviewed the Further readings again and my question is answered in the "3 Audacity Tips To Enhance Your Recorded Interviews"! I'll study these tips and see if I can add music. It would be sooo cool as the podcasts sound really good with music!

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    1. Janet, that's one of the advantages of using Audacity. You may add another track with music or any other kind of audio file to the original track. Then, edit the total work. The product is amazing! I'm sure you will enjoy this experience very much.

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  18. Found the readings very informative and really appreciate all the useful links within them.

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    1. It's been a pleasure, Mish. Happy to know you liked them.

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  20. I'm thinking about how important and productive it is to get students actively engaged with the target language etc. outside the classroom...podcasting seems like an excellent way to do that. I'm imagining making quick podcasts as regular follow-ups to class sessions. Perhaps reviewing the content and asking a few questions about it. Then inviting one, a few, or all students to listen and record their own responses each time. This way there's a kind of running class commentary going on 'behind' the class.

    Also, it is clear that everyone is spending more and more time online and that it's a rich, rich environment for learning and using the English language. Really any time spent doing online projects like podcasts (instead of chatting with friends in L1 or a mix etc.) is a good chance to practice the language.

    I'd also like to use it for focused pronunciation work. I can see sending out via email or posting on a class blog a short story, or poem, or reading of some sort and asking students to each record their reading of it. Asking students to pair up and listen to their partner's rendition, and offering feedback to improve their pronunciation.

    These readings were helpful in solidifying the basic overall picture of what podcasting is.

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  21. The readings are very informative. Now I understand how to teach students in publishing their own podcast. This is a great way to engage students (learners of English as a second language) in effective listening and speaking. No doubt they will enjoy recording their work and listening to others' too.

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  22. Couldn't agree more Talat. I'm sure podcasting is a way to engage students to listen and speak in a second or foreign language.

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  23. Like the rest of ye, I too enjoyed the Stanley reading and couldn't believe it was from 2006! Where have I been for the last 6 years? :) One thing that I would like to learn how to do is to incorporate RSS in a class blog or website. I understand what RSS is but I am unsure of the steps involved to make use of it. I looked at the links about this but I suppose I will not be able to figure it out until I do it myself :) Will we be looking at how to do this in later weeks?

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  24. Hi all,
    Sorry I'm a bit late at joining in. I particularly enjoyed reading the three tips for Audacity, since I have already used Audacity a few times but have only ever tried straight recording. Looking forward to trying to manipulate and improve on the audio a bit more during this course.
    Sandy

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  25. Hello Everybody,
    I´m sorry I´m so behind the group but I´m trying to catch up just from now. I Know you are all doing an extraordinary work in this workshop. Congrats!!!!
    I found Reading 1 really interesting, useful and practical, given that, not only is the topic really relevant for EFL teachers today, but it also includes loads of practical advice and free sites and resources to make the use of podcasting in, or outside, the classroom possible for any teacher in the world. Cheers for that!!!!
    I´m also astonished to discover such a variety of tools and softward available for these kind of activities. I´ve just used Audacity and Podomatic once to record a small group of student´s introductions for a collaborative work in a wiki and I found it really challenging and rewarding at the same time. Eager to learn more and create new resources for my lessons.
    Cristina

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  26. The reading are very informative, I will need to go back and explore the details.

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