A Variety of Podcasts

After listening to six different kinds of podcasts, you can really see a lot of similarities as well as a lot of differences in the ways people choose to present their podcasts. I found some podcasts to be more pleasing to me personally just based on the way they chose to present their information. I think it is important to consider your audience when deciding what sort of podcast you should do in order to gain the best results. However, they all did have positives to them.

I found "SmartBoard Weekly" to be a pretty interesting podcast. It revolves around using the SmartBoard Interactive Whiteboard which I had never heard of until now. I thought it was a very intriguing product I would like to learn more about. As for the podcast itself, I really liked the way they did it. It was a man and a woman who were just discussing things in a very informal a light-hearted manner. They were often humourous and they had a good repertoire with one another. They presented different ideas for using the SmartBoard, many of which I would consider using in my own classroom. I thought another podcast I listened to, "Podcasting for Teachers (Techpod)" was pretty similar to the former. It used older hosts, a man and a woman, who were established teachers as well as educational technology experts. They discuss the revolutionary changes that technology is having on education and the ways teachers can integrate it into their classrooms and curriculum's. They have special guests on the programs who present the new ideas and technologies that are constantly being developed.

The second podcast I listened to was "Kidcasting". This was the only one I listened to that had only one host. That was one aspect I did not like about it. I think having more than one person if very beneficial because they can talk off of each other and make what I think is more effective conversation. From what I listened to, the host mainly talked about different techniques that can be used in the classroom, including using podcasting. I think his ideas were pretty good, but I thought the presentation left something to be desired.

"Ed Tech Talk" consists of a few hosts and weekly guests. The interesting thing about this podcast is that it is interactive. The entire show the hosts and guests are actually testing out the techniques they are talking about and listeners can participate as well. On their website, www.edtechtalk.org, you can visit a chat room where you can post questions and comments which can be answered on the air.

I think the last two podcasts were probably my favorite. "MacBreak Weekly" and "This Week in Photography" both used a very informal method of discussion which is appealing to me. I really enjoyed "MacBreak Weekly's" podcast. They seem to use different hosts but you see the same people appearing on the show, just in different combinations. I found the show to be very funny, with four or five guys cracking jokes while talking about all things Apple. I also found it very informative. I have a lot of Apple products so it was interesting to get their perspectives on the good and bad of the companies products. I also enjoyed listening to "This Week in Photography". Though I am not a professional photographer by any means, I think even amateurs could benefit from this program. Again, I liked the very informal back-and-forth of the two hosts and the wide range of information they provided. I think this show would be interesting to professional photographers as well as just people taking family photos.

There are so many different ways of disseminating information through a podcast. Choosing the correct way of presenting your show will have a big impact of who will listen to it. I learned the type of show I prefer to listen to and the types that I am not as crazy about. But they all present a great way of getting information out to the masses.