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Still one of the best sources for simple, to-the-point explanations of emerging tech concepts, Common Craft has now produced “Podcasting in Plain English.”

Podcasting in Plain English explains, in about 3 minutes, the essential hows and whys of podcasting. The process is pretty easy and really requires only a microphone and some free software in addition to the equipment you probably already have in your room.

(Reading this post via email? Click here or visit TeacherTube to view the video.)

From an educational perspective, what I like best about podcasting is not the actual recording and editing of the final product – that’s just a bonus. The real value of podcasting in the classroom is the research, writing, and revision process that goes into preparing for the production process.

Contrast this with a typical “report” assignment:

• Writing for an authentic, unlimited audience vs. writing for the teacher’s red pen
• Revision for my personal best before my audience vs. a better letter grade on my paper
  
• Working toward choosing key ideas to keep it to a reasonable length vs. meeting a minimum length
• Focus on a clear, well-paced delivery vs. ?

The production part of the podcasting process is relatively easy and represents the smallest portion of the time invested. The majority of the time commitment goes to solid writing processes. I’ve seen some unexpected students really shine in this type of activity.

Are you or your students podcasting? Post a link to your podcasts in the comments!

In case I haven’t mentioned before, I am a big fan of the folks at Common Craft. I think that somewhere deep down inside, these folks missed their calling into teaching. They’re very good at simple explanations of otherwise complex topics.

Common Craft has produced “Blogs in Plain English,” the latest installment in their “Plain English” series. You may recall the “RSS in Plain English” video I referenced back in September.

This is the clearest explanation of blogging, what it is, who does it, how, and why that I’ve heard or read – and all in under 3 minutes. Take three minutes and watch the clip below (email readers of this blog, click here). You’ll be glad you did.

(video source: TeacherTube)

The video can also be viewed on TeacherTube and YouTube .

RSS is a term probably unfamiliar to most, both in and out the education field. You may have noticed a “subscribe by RSS” option in the lefthand column of the blog’s main page. Same idea.

The folks at Common Craft have a series of “In Plain English” videos where they describe some recent web tools and trends in, as the series title suggests, plain English. They do a pretty good job which is why I am going to let the video clip (3:43) explain the fundamentals of RSS.

RSS In Plain EnglishVideo clip missing above? View the full post at tech.tricountyesc.org to see the clip or go directly to TeacherTube. TeacherTube loading too slow (it has been lately)? See the clip on YouTube .

This is a great means to have the information from several worthwhile sites brought together for you in a friendly format on a regular basis.

Start with one or two feeds that you know or just look interesting (may I recommend this tech blog as a great starter?). Over time, particularly in the case of blogs, you may begin to note other authors that your author references who also seem worthwhile. This is a great way to connect with information about your teaching specialization or even hobbies written by others with similar interests.

This certainly isn’t a complete explanation of the topic. I’ll stick to the vocab lesson and cover some of the other nuances in future posts.

Sidenote: The video clip embedded in this post is hosted at TeacherTube.com which is kind of like YouTube , but for educators, and – at least for the moment – is filter friendly.