Vo-tech for the digital age: Podcasting 101

In an example of how schools can use technology to enrich curriculum, one California high school is offering a class in podcasting production, reports MacNewsWorld.

Taking inspiration from the National Public Radio programs This American Life and Car Talk, Atascadero High School computer science teacher Gary Bissell has proposed a course in producing video and audio segment broadcasting on the Internet -- call it podcasting or vlogging or ...

Bissell drew up the course outline after attending a county education seminar that taught him how to podcast.

"Public speaking is involved, audio editing, script writing, organization and presentation," Bissell said. "They'll be introducing background sounds like they do on NPR sometimes, to make it a little bit more exciting, and using background music, too."

After production, movies and sound files can be uploaded onto the school's Web site for downloading by the general public. Students can also upload their work onto YouTube or other video sharing sites.

As a starting point, Bissell suggests several ideas to whet the students' apetite, such as interviewing the oldest person in their family, tutorials on how to repair or construct something, and a video of their favorite hobby.

"It's like listening to a radio broadcast on your own time," said Bissell, who has taught at Atascadero High for 22 years.