As an English
teacher, I would have parents ask me if it was okay for their child, my student,to listen to the audiobook of a novel we were reading in class. My answer was always an emphatic, “YES!”.
While some people question the equality of
the written word and the spoken word, research shows that listening to a book
or a story is almost exactly the same. Our brains still process comprehension,
decoding, and emotion when we listen instead of read (Aycock).
As a full-time
librarian, grad student, and mom, I don’t have much time to sit and read. While I will forever love the smell of a new
book and the feel of the pages under my fingers (is there anything greater than
getting ink smudges from the pages of a brand new book and smelling that
precious book smell?), I find that in my life, I can listen to at least one
book a month if I listen in between- when I am driving, doing dishes, getting
ready in the morning. I find that being
able to listen to a story allows me to multi-task and not feel I am cheating my
family of taking care of my responsibilities.
Now, as a
librarian, I encourage students, faculty, and parents to read in any format
they can. As Aycock points out in his article,
“Listening, then, is the antidote to booklessness.” In a world where we are all constantly
moving, and a world in which our children have a shrinking attention span, listening
to audiobooks and podcasts keeps us reading- and that is the most important
goal of books. So, for today’s
blogpost, we are going to try out the world of podcasts.
GarageBand
Positives: Easy to make the recording, clear recording, I already have it in my Mac so I didn’t have to download it or make an account. It uploads to podcast platforms like a file.
Negatives: I can’t figure out how to add the music or edit. There are lots of buttons and icons
and it requires some time to figure out.
Soundcloud
Positives: You can upload your
podcasts.
Negatives: I couldn’t find a way to create a
podcast on this website.
Positives: Easy to set up a free account,
able to create a new podcast or import an existing one from another website,
visually appealing and simple layout
Negatives: Costs money to use in any way
Positives:
Simple to use, I already have an account with them because I have used them
in the past, which means they are user-friendly! I can upload my podcast from GarageBand
through this program. I was able to download the app, and I can make podcasts easily, while utilize a few very easy to use buttons. From there, it uploads to my account and I can share it from the phone or the computer.
Negatives:
At least from my laptop, it takes a long time to upload. I am not able to record through the website;
it requires downloading an app. Always proof-listen before posting. My first recording from my phone sounded fine on my phone, but had warped to chipmunk speed before I could post it.
First of all, amazing topic for your podcast! This is my 3rd year working in a library and I had never heard the term library hand, super interesting to learn about! Also I love the research you mentioned about our brains processing audio books similar to reading books.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
ReplyDeleteYour introduction was inspiring! You are a great writer. Your photo at the beginning is funny and fits perfectly with the subject. I loved how you simplified your explanations for each podcast website. Sound Cloud wasn't very user friendly and as you I couldn't find a way to create a podcast there. Your podcast is great and in a very clear voice. In mine I wasn't able to add music. Music really changes the feeling!
I like that you included research into your blog post. It is very interesting how people can turn down a podcast only because they think it is not worthy like a concrete copy.Very simple details on the tools which were great and a very informative podcast.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteI love how you discussed the importance of reading in any format. I liked your clear and straight to the point pros and cons of each podcasting tool.