Friday, September 16, 2011

Searching for Podcasts

So I spent some time today searching through the different podcast directories. Learning to use podcasts was a fairly easy process. Like many of the other Learning 2.0 tools, I have heard of podcasts, but never really used them until recently. I downloaded iTunes and browsed through their podcast lists. I found quite a few podcasts about novels I love. I'm a HUGE Jane Austen fan so, of course, one of the first items I had to look for was Pride and Prejudice. Sure enough I found a podcast on that. I also found a podcast on Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, which is one of my favorite works of his.

Podcast.net and Yahoo Podcasts would not work on my computer, but I checked out Podcastalley.com. I did not really like it all that much because I couldn't really find anything that stood out to me. I did, however, listen to a couple of book review podcasts. Perhaps the most interesting of them was ABC Book Review in which two librarians from the Twinsburg Public Library in Ohio discuss heir thoughts on various books. It was a couple years old, but still okay to listen to. I also found a Jane Austen podnovel in which Northanger Abbey (my 2nd favorite Austen novel) was read. Podcastalley.com also had a series of podcasts pertaining to news and events from different public and academic libraries, such as "The Library Channel" from Arizona State University Library and a podcast from Lansing Public Library in Michigan.

NPR also had a huge selection of podcasts on all kinds of topics: music, cars, news, money, etc. They had quite a selection of podcasts pertaining to books reviews and interviews with different authors.
 http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php?type=topic&id=-1

In all honesty, I cannot really see myself listening to podcasts a great deal. However, I am glad to at least I know how they work and what the different podcast directories are.

3 comments:

  1. Teresa,

    Podcasts are a great way to stay on top of the latest release of information whether it be book reviews or new reels, or even shows like This American Life. The greatest thing is that most of the shows will be available for years on end so if you're curious to what was going on three years ago, chances are you can still find it. Since graduate school has started, reading and homework having taken up so much time its impossible to stay with the latest news. I hope you find a use for podcasts. I know I don't use them as much as I should. I always forget that there are weekly releases of NPR shows that always need catching up. Life is so busy, it's a good option to have if you hear someone say, "You gotta listen to this great show on such and such." Having that availability is great and sometimes the shows on networks like NPR can make you think different, open your mind to a new way of looking at something, or even giving you information on something that was never thought about before. Enjoy your podcast adventures!

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  2. I didn't know podcasts about novels existed so I'm glad you posted this! I haven't done this activity yet but now I'll be sure to look for novels when I do. Most of my podcast-listening is news/current events related but I'm looking forward to checking out the other options. Novels would be great for commuting to/from UB and for road trips.

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  3. I can't believe you wouldn't listen to a Jane Austen podnovel. I've listened to all of them! The best one was, of course, Pride and Predjudice. Oh Mr. Darcy, go with your emotions, go with your love!

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