Internet Audio Resources for Science Learning!
Snacks4theBrain!
Podcasting is the growing phenomenon that, in essence, is simply capturing automatically downloadable radio shows to a computer by means of a free "aggregator" program and then either burning them to CD or transferring them to a portable device (an iPod, iRiver, etc. or a handheld PDA) to listen to at one's convenience. In some important ways, podcasting is changing the face of radio on a global scale.
Snacks4theBrain! is a podcast program brought to you bi-weekly by the Center for Science Outreach. Shownotes (Important links and commentary!) will appear at the Snacks4theBrain! blogsite and the show will be available there, as well as its rss feed so that you can add S4theB to your podcast aggregator of choice. You may go download any of the S4theB shows from our Podcast Downloads page.
Some shows will be showcases of just what it is that the CSO does, including:
- Videoconferencing connections between scientists and K12 students nationwide
- Laboratory Hosting
- Classroom Visits
- Teacher Professional Development Programs
- Summer Camps
- Kids and Computers
- Science Hotline
- Teachers' Night Out
- The Scientist-in-the-Classroom Program
Other shows will feature volunteers from Vanderbilt University's extensive pool of working research scientists sharing their valuable knowledge about specific topics. Still other shows will feature nationally prominent educational technologists and classroom teachers sharing their visions for the future of teaching and learning. Topics covered will include, but will not be limited to, the following:
- Science standards
- Inquiry
- Space and space travel
- Using sample hands-on science kits
- Frontiers in Biomedical Research
- Chemical reactions
- Diffusion
- Endothermic/exothermic processes
- Fluorescence
- Light
- Minerals
- pH
- Sound
Other Excellent Science Podcasts:
ipodder.org offers a science podcasts page which may contain more links than the ones here (and in fact has recently added Snacks4theBrain!), but for starters, check out (courtesy of that site):
- NEW! "Stellar Conversations" podcast from Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory!
- Berkley Grocks Science Program
- Consciousness - the Inside Story
- Dr. Karl
- Illinoise!
- Intellectual Icebergs
- Living on Earth
- One World Expedition
- RADIO Frontier Channel
- Radio Parallax
- Red Giant Radio
- Regulus! The Astronomy Newsletter
- Science @ NASA Headline News
- Science Friday
- Sciencecast.net
- SETI Institute
- Singularity
- Slacker Astronomy
- Stardate
- This Week in Science
- The Watt Weekly and Mini
- Universe Today
All About Podcasting
Detailed, easy-to-understand introductions to podcasts and podcasting can be found at
- Engadget
- Audioblogs
- Contentious Blog
- There is a wonderful quick video tutorial about rss feeds at Rocketboom, November 10, 2005.
Adam Curry's site at curry.com is another good place to start.
Ipodder.org will get you the free download of iPodder Lemon, available for PC or Mac.
Purchase iPodderX for a reliable aggregator that will also automatically convert text webpages into audio--very neat.
Purchase Podspider or use their free edition for an alternative, also reliable aggregator.
Odeo, a concept still in beta testing, has opened up its site so users can "take it around the block" to see how well it works. The good news is that it appears to work very nicely!
PodcastAlley is a fine place to look over the ever-growing list of myriad podcasts.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
