Podcasts in the Library!

 

 

Podcasts are the way of the future! There’s a podcast for everything these days. Podcasts that share mysteries, religious podcasts going over the Bible, podcasts for book reviews, cooking, history, and anything you can think of! I had never made a podcast myself before this assignment, so let’s go over how that went. 

 Before I actually got to start making the podcast, I had to pick a platform. Now, I wanted to try a website that gave the full podcast-making experience. The first one I went to was Audioboom. The way that everything was set up made the website easy to use. They really broke down the process of having a quality podcast. There was a place for a title, description, and logo. I thought I had found the platform for me until I realized that I had to pay a fee before even being able to upload an episode. I was on to the next!

I tried Soundcloud. Soundcloud is a nice music streaming platform, but it didn’t really feel like it was for podcasts. There was just a place to upload, and I’m sure that there may have been more features that came up afterward, but I wasn’t motivated to continue after the upload. I decided I would continue to explore what was available. 

 The last site I visited was Podbean. It was everything I was looking for. It had a place to put in a title and description. There was a way to share podcasts easily, and you have the capacity to upload up to 5 hours of free content a month! The website seemed to be clearly aimed at podcast-making, so I was happy to use it to upload mine. 

 

Podcasts in the Library 

Podcasts should be encouraged in the library! They can be made and heard. Organizing and uploading a podcast takes time, organization, and dedication. If you are planning on implementing them into the library students need to decide on their roles and meet the deadlines set by everyone involved. Librarians and teachers should facilitate this process and give students the freedom to explore and share topics they’re interested in. This can be done with varying amounts of responsibility depending on the age of students. 

 Podcasts created by students can be shared in a variety of ways. They can be uploaded to the library website, social media, and through QR codes hung around the school. Other podcasts relevant to students, teachers, and parents can also be shared in this way! 

Some interesting podcasts that I discovered while searching through podcasts for education are:

Science of Reading: The Podcast by Amplify Education- It shares different tips and insights from researchers and leaders in the field of teaching reading. 

Teaching to the Top by Bridget Spackman & Michelle Emerson- Two teachers talk about how to master time, organization, and productivity. 

The Secret Library Podcast by Caroline Donahue- A podcast that looks into the book creation world from the perspective of those that work in it. 

Julie’s Library by Brains On! Universe- Julie Andrew’s shares children’s stories with her daughter with help from surprise guests.