Podcasts

I visited the site and found the interface to be uninspiring. While seemingly dedicated to and created for educators in the Social Studies area, there was a lack of categorization that would make this site easy to use if it actually produces a large inventory of useful material.

I listened to two podcasts from the Colonial Williamsburg site and two from an amatuer Podcaster from Beijing. It reminded me of my youth, creating a crystal radio to pick up Ham traffic: the reward fell far short of the effort. While I may be generally dismayed by conventional media broadcasts these days, I am astounded by the 'vacation slideshow' nature of the podcast community.

I did learn from a former New Yorker in Beijing that he had a Bar-B-Q on Easter that involved live music and invited guests representing over a dozen foreign languages I couldn't understand. Passing an MP3 recorder around at a party constitutes something worthy of sharing on this site according to the author who billed it as his 'best podcast ever'.

The Williamsburg casts were much more intersting, but perhaps only because I visited the place. In reality, one would only really listen to this stuff if it were broadcast on the only radio station available while driving overnight. The risk of falling asleep at the wheel may actually be increased by exposure to this content. Nonetheless I did learn more about Pocahantus and the jealosy of the loyalists to the Jamestown settlement over the Plymouth Rock afficianados.

In truth, this technology could be used to stimulate student learning if properly channeled. I could see student assignments being submitted, lectures disseminated and student debates recorded for posterity. The Internet is a big place and I'm sure there are better places than this to look for useful content for my students.