Relivin' the Famous 1984 MacIntosh SuperBowl Commercial

Podcasting has been a techology buzz word in education circles for a while now. Most think of it as making a recording using a program such as GarageBand with its fancy jingles. But it's more than just a recording; it must be episodic to be a true podcast. Why are we encouraging teachers to have students podcast? Is it so the children can use a web 2.0 tool? Does it provide them with an opportunity to communicate using technology? Does it foster creativity? Does listening to podcasts help students learn? Yes to all the above.

I have spent a great deal of time listening to various podcasts. Many seem to be ones for a long car ride. The conversation is sometimes painfully slow. I just listened to an iOnMac Podcast which has a 5-star rating (don't ask me why!). Blah...blah...blah.

But I also listened to jutech's lesson on podcasting (it seems as if he owns the web!). In addition to many other podcasts, some good and some seemingly a waste of time, a couple favorites were the Macworld San Francisco 2009 Keynote Address and a discussion on how the MacIntosh computer revolutionized the PC industry back in 1984. I loved the flashback to the debut of the MacIntosh ad during the SuperBowl third quarter (real recording!). Just recently I purchased a poster on eBay commemorating that infamous commercial, with the same runner but with an iPod attached to her hip. The web referred to the Macworld keynote address as a podcast...maybe a video podcast?

A couple weeks ago I met with my tech mentors and discussed different projects they could complete with their students to add richness to their lessons. Topping the list were wikis and podcasts. It was decided that our fifth graders would be podcasting during Newspapers in Education Week. They will record one minute of news (national, local, sports, and weather) as a radio broadcaster does. Short and sweet. I decided that I will make one for this class to be used as a sample project for the students in the language arts classes. I have a webpage linking various online newspapers. I hope to link the completed podcasts to this page for others to enjoy. I've written the script and look forward to creating my very first Podcast. :-) I will record tomorrow and it should appear here if all goes well.