Blog Post #3 - Podcasts

This was my first experience with podcasts.  While navigating the iTunes podcasts, I was amazed at how many people / organizations create podcasts and intrigued when I saw that many have schedules / episodes, and that they were all free!  I also didn't know a podcast could be in both video and audo formats.  I did not think the interface was terrific because I really wanted to search a subject in a search bar, but I was forced to search by category.

The first podcast I explored was in the TEDTalks found under the Featured Providers tab on the right hand side of the screen.  I was interested in this podcast because I have watched videos from this organization in several graduate classes.  TED stands for Technolgy, Entertainment, Design and provides access to the talks given by thinkers, artists, technologists, and more.  The organization offers podcasts in video, audio, and HD formats.

Image found at http://richworks.in/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ted.jpg

The podcast I watched was titled "Let's Take Back the Internet!" by Rebecca MacKinnon (found on the internet at http://www.ted.com/talks/rebecca_mackinnon_let_s_take_back_the_internet.html - I don't know how to link a podcast right from iTunes - any ideas?) and described the censorship and surveillance which many governments impose on the internet in various countries.  For instance, China blocks many of the social media sites like Facebook.  She describes the internet as a "Border busting technology" and I liked this term because it describes quite succinctly how the internet is a global communication tool that transcends geographic boundaries.  During her talk, I could not help associating the censorship of governments to their citizens use of the internet to the schools' censorship of many sites.  What are the positive and negative consequences surrounding this censorship?  Do schools infringe on students' rights by doing it?  I enjoyed this podcast because I felt as though I was at the talk since I was able to  see and hear the speaker as well as view her slides in her presentation.

I watched the Math Dude Quick and Dirty Tips to Make Math Easier - a podcast on union and intersection of sets found at http://mathdude.quickanddirtytips.com/ on the internet.

Image found at http://mathdude.quickanddirtytips.com/images/hosts/full/mathdude.png

In this podcast, I really hated that there were no visuals.  In order to understand math, I think it is important to visualize numbers, groups, and relationships and it took some getting used to just listening to audio.  I felt that the podcast could be of use for review, especially for auditory learners.  The Math Dude had a lot to say about his book that was in stores and used a portion of the podcast to advertise, as well as advertise his Facebook and Twitter page.  I was a little turned off by this commercialism in the podcast.  I would be interested in exploring for better podcasts, those with an option for video and those that aren't trying to sell something, for my students to use.