Teacher Candidates Learning through the Creation of Podcasts

Background

Podcasts are audio or video digital-media files delivered over the Internet by syndicated download, through Real Simple Syndication (RSS), to personal computers and portable media players. The same digital media files may also be made available by direct download or streaming, but what makes a podcast unique is the way it can be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is made available. Like the term “broadcast,” podcast can refer either to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also known as podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.

Dave Winer, a software developer and an author of the RSS format, in addition to former MTV VJ Adam Curry are recognized as the originating force behind the podcasting phenomenon. Journalist Ben Hammersley coined the term podcasting in the February 12, 2004 issue of The Guardian (PoducateMe, 2008). The term podcast is a portmanteau of the words “iPod” and “broadcast”, the Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which the first podcasts were developed. The term has been mildly controversial, since it privileges the Apple iPod and to some users, implies that one must own an iPod to listen to a podcast. But podcasting is not limited to the iPod, nor MP3s or even portable music players.