Podcasts

**Podcasts** are audio files that can be downloaded and heard by other internet users either on a computer or MP3 player. Podcasts are a great way to archive booktalks or allow students to create and save their own booktalks. An archive of student booktalks is a great way for student to recommend books to each other. Or, you can post podcasts from others--booktalkers, authors, etc.--for your students to hear.

Download Audacity - Audacity is open source software you can use to create podcasts.

**How to Create a Podcast Using Audacity** To use Audacity to record sound, you'll need a microphone and headphones. 1. Open Audacity 2. Click the red recording button to start recording, and the square button to stop. 3. When you've finished recording, go to "file" and "export as mp3." The program will prompt for a file name and where to save. Then the program will ask you (one time) to enter the location of the lame_enc.dll file. Click to the c:/program/files/audacity directory, then click on the lame_end.dll file. Once this is set up, you won't need to do it again. 4. Export the file as an mp3. 5. Post the file on your website or blog where students can access it.

**Sample Podcasts** //By Authors//
 * Read Carolyn Mackler's The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things then listen to this interview with the author.

//By Topic: Nonfiction Podcasts//
 * Read //Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution// by Ji-li Jiang and //Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughther// by Adeline Yen Mah, then listen to this podcast on the Chinese Communist Revolution
 * Find more Military History Podcasts
 * Read //Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers// by Mary Roach, then listen to Cemetery Science: The Geology of Mausoleums
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Find more science podcasts

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//By Colleagues// > To subscribe to Nancy Keane's daily podcasts, click here. The link to subscribe is in the bottom box on the right side of the table. > Sample: Looking Glass Wars (Frank Beddor) booktalk > Terrific chats recorded in a small coffee shop on a regular basis; authors, illustrators, and literacy "experts" are guest speakers, and a variety of age levels and genres are featured.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nancy Keane's Daily Podcasts
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just One More Book!!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Related Wiki Page:** 2.0 Booktalks