Podcasting is a great way for learning. At first you may think that just having auditory deprives you of the visual portion that we all need. But what it does is forces you to imagine and create a picture of what is going on. It actually increases your attention whereas with both sound and picture ones mind might more easily wander.The podcast that really sparked my interest was one on Einstein's famous equation E=mc2. The sight of this equation creates a strong magnetic pull for any science-o-phile. NOVA has 10 of the world's top physicists (including 2 Nobel Prize winners) describing the equation to the non-scientist type. You can listen to it here .
This definitely has inspired me to subscribe to podcasts. And I know as time goes on there will be more and more selections. These I can give to my classes to listen to with some questions or other assignment attached. Perhaps I or my students can make their own podcasts with activities that go along with it. There are lots of possibilities out there.
You made an excellent point.."increases your attention whereas with both sound and picture ones mind might more easily wander." Thing 2's Things made a similar point when she described her purpose for using podcasts in her classroom.
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