I like my tunes in the car and my prime time as much as anyone, so don't call me crazy yet. Still, with the advent of podcasting and YouTube, I often download my favorite programs and listen to them on my iPod, or watch TV shows online (like this 2007 version of Jane Austen's Persuasion).
Oh readers, I can hear you now, "I need a Common Craft video on Podcasting, stat!" And that you shall have, my friends:
To start listening, here are some places to find podcasts: PostCastAlley.com and ODEO (also a podcatcher, like iTunes). Traditional radio, like NPR, is also creating podcasts of their shows. Browse NPR's Podcast Directory to find your favorite show.
You might have noticed, that the video up there was brought to you via YouTube- Common Craft produced it, and Lee LeFever posted it for all the world to enjoy (and even post to their own blogs). Videos can be promotional, educational, tutorial, personal, commercial, nonsensical, and just about anything else. Are ya gettin' it yet?
As you can imagine, both of these tools are becoming increasingly popular for schools and students. Why limit lectures and project presentations to just the classroom audience, when the world at-large could be watching or listening in? For libraries, podcasting and YouTube are both another way to connect with your users. YouTube is not only a Web site- it is a community. People say, "Thank you, YouTube," and they're talking about the other people on YouTube, not the company.
The possibilities are really limitless for librarians and educators... instead of only promoting a "design a bookmark contest", ask people to submit videos to YouTube about why they need a bookmark. Or, if teaching, why not use educational Podcasts and YouTube videos to add to the content in your curriculum? Or, on the administrative side of things, why not create podcasts or videos for training purposes? I'm sure that now you're hip to this technology, you'll get a big light bulb over your head next time it can be used in your library or classroom.
As for me, I'm going to go look for a podcast with Guy or Pierre on beginner conversational French...
About The Saucey Librarian
- .molly
- Molly, aka the Saucey One, is just getting her feet on the ground as an elementary school librarian. Previously, she was a coordinator for a library's early literacy program to give books to over 17,000 children a month, and before that, a medical librarian for a national non-profit consumer health organization. She loves her patrons because she never knows what is coming next. They seem to love her because she helps them locate information that can change their life, help their project, make them laugh, or sometimes have a good cry. It doesn't get much better than that. Also, she doesn't usually refer to herself in the third person.
Get This Feed
