Annoucing Our City Podcast!

Yesterday's blog entry was all about how much we love podcasting at my school. Today I want to tell you about a way you can easily participate in a podcast!

Our City Podcast is an audio program for kids and by kids. Students from around the globe are invited to submit a recording all about the city they live in (with the help of their teachers or parents). Our City Podcast is hosted at learninginhand.com, which means teachers don't need to worry about uploading, posting, RSS, and promoting the show because I'll do all of that for them.

Third grade students at Willowdale Elementary produced the very first edition of Our City Podcast titled Outstanding Omaha. Hosted by Sophie, the podcast is paced with a variety of segments all about Omaha, Nebraska. It should serve as a great example for future editions. And, while you listen, there are links you can click to learn more about Omaha. You can subscribe to Our City Podcast in iTunes by clicking here.

I invite you to not only listen to Our City Podcast, I invite you to participate! In fact, I've tried to do as much as I can for teachers. There's plenty of Teacher Resources for Our City Podcast, including the script for the Omaha example (in PDF and eReader formats), a complete planning packet, and a discussion forum. Soon I'll record a podcast for students that gives them tips for researching, writing, and recording a podcast. I know these resources will evolve as participating teachers and I work with them, so supply me with feedback on what you'd like to see. I'm hoping that by providing these resources and publishing the podcasts, we get many classrooms participating in Our City Podcast!

Whether you're just getting your feet wet or you're a podcasting pro, consider contributing to Our City Podcast--students will have a real audience and a genuine purpose. Our City Podcast is a great way for students to participate in podcasting! Please spread the word!