A Podcast is an audio or video file (also called vodcast) that is recorded by using a computer program or a digital recorder. The word podcast comes from the combination of “iPod” and “broadcast”. You can distribute your podcasts by using an RSS feed and your students or listeners can directly receive the information instead of searching for it. The biggest advantage of a podcast is that it is accessible at any time, any place. The most common file extensions for an audio podcast file are WAV,MP3, M4a, the most common extensions for a video file are .MP4, .M4V, .MOV,. AVI, .WMV.
What is a screencast ? “A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. Although the term screencast dates from 2004, products such as Lotus ScreenCam were used as early as 1994 (…). From Wikipedia
Timeshifting is a word that is often associated with podcasting. When you time-shift digital media, it means that you can listen to the content on your own time and with maximum flexibility, just like TiVo has recently done for television.
These are some of the most common definitions of a podcast
This video created by CommonCraft.com provides a very effective visual explanation of a podcast
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBgO30h2cY8&feature=related[/youtube]
How do you make a podcast ?
These are the tools you need to make a podcast: the web, a microphone, a software program, and a digital player.
How do you get a podcast ?
You can get a podcast by going online and subscribing to the thousands of sites (blogs, podcast servers) that allow the RSS feed option. Subscribing to a podcast is very similar to subscribing to a blog or news channel. For example, there are many directory of podcasts, such as the itunes directory in which you can find all sorts of interesting topics worth a subscription.
Another news feed reader, RSSOwl is an application that allows you to organize your podcasts downloads with more flexibility.
Who can make a podcast ?
Anyone can record, edit and upload podcasts in one of the many free podcast servers available on the web. If you feel you want to share your ideas about cinema or your recipes, or class notes, you can easily set up an account to a free podcast server.
© G. Guarnieri
