Have you tried podcasting in your classrooms? Would you like to see practical examples of how to use podcasting to support your pupils' learning across the curriculum?
Would you like to get involved in an informal project to see what you can do with podcasting in your schools?
If you do, Sean O'Sullivan, Deputy Headteacher, Frank Wise School is awaiting your e-mail.

Podcasting has come at us out of the blue, with no particular educational origins and for some of us, no immediately obvious educational uses either. But it only takes a brief look to begin to see very motivating ways that schools can turn these emerging tools to their advantage.

Originally podcasting referred to audio files, such as internet radio broadcasts, which were made available for download. When a user chose to download such a file, it could be brought straight into their iTunes library and then automatically uploaded to their iPod the next time they plug it in. Software emerged which allows the user to register the websites that they want to check regularly and this software can then check all of those sites without any effort by the user, downloading the files to locations specified when the user sets the software up.

However, things have moved on rapidly and these 'Aggregator' programmes can now cope with video as well as audio, image files and PDFs, and for all I know virtually any other type of file too.

So the process of receiving podcasts is made up of two key steps. First, choosing the aggregator that you want to use and getting it set up on your computer. The second part is locating the various websites which you think it would be useful to subscribe to (subscribe meaning simply to make links in your aggregator, rather than a fee).

But the more interesting side of this is in enabling your pupils to get involved in putting their own work out there as podcasts, creating the content rather than only ever having it handed down to them. The most important side of this is in the pupils having a genuine voice and something they want to share with people around the world. In most respects therefore this is no different from any standard website. The technical issues around how the content is exported in formats suitable for access by aggregator programmes are more arcane as far as I am concerned, but thankfully there are several sources of step-by-step information on how to do this.

The project I'm talking about here would be simply to gather together any audio files which schools would like to send to me to be put up on a website, a blog. All material would have to be original, music pupils have created themselves, or sound or voice files they have made themselves. I'd be particularly interested in any work created using Apple's Garageband, since that's what we'll be using here at Frank Wise School. Please do get in touch by e-mail if you are interested in joining in with this. My e-mail address is: sean@frankwise.oxon.sch.uk.

Aggregator programmes

iPodder X http://ipodderx.com/
iPodder http://www.ipodder.org/
Ant http://www.antisnottv.net/

Sound editing programmes

Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Sound Studio http://www.felttip.com/products/soundstudio/

Step by step information

DV in Education http://213.232.94.135/dv/content.php?article.93
Engadget http://www.engadget.com/entry/5843952395227141/

General Podcasting sites

http://www.ipodder.org/ and http://www.podcast.net/