Week 10 Podcasts and Video

I explored several of the podcasts directories and was dazzled by the array of interests. Since we already have an ITunes account, I decided to use this service to select some podcasts. Again, so many topics areas to choose from. I found the Book Lover's section and subscribed to Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac". Then I found the podcast for the NPR book review site and also one for podcasts on young people's books featuring one of my favorite authors.
Without the list of podcasts directories, it would have been harder to find a catagorized list of podcasts. I am sure that on YouTube or Google, I would have found some, but it would have been very scattered without the organization and annotations that the directories supply.
I can see using podcasts in school libraries as book promotion tools. Individuals, clubs or classes could use podcasts for book reviews or to present projects based on books. As a media specialist, I can see using podcasts for instruction on research procedures, as well as for library operations. My natural instinct would be to use my student library aides, but I would have to check on the policies for using student faces online.
At the moment, we have a love/hate relationship with YouTube in the media center. A number of teachers use the clips for classroom projects and we have seen students add good video clips to powerpoint projects. We also see lots of students using YouTube to view videos with dubious content. Like any new technology, we have to work out the best ways to gain the most benefits from this new application- teachable moments.
As librarians and teachers, the more ways we can show students and the public effective and creative ways to use these new tools, the more discerning they will be in their use and evaluation of potential applications in their own lives.