Podcasts

Some might wonder what exactly is a podcast? Well, a podcast is an audible information file. These digital media files can be audio or visual. Podcasts are usually a series that are releases episodically. These podcasts are usually broadcasted over an RSS feed. The modes of delivery also vary. Podcasts can be delivered using the Internet, streamed webcasts and podcatchers. Podcatchers are user programs like iTunes, Zune, Juice and Winamp. The podcasts can be downloaded and then they can be viewed on the computer or they can be transferred onto a digital audio device like a Zune or iPod.

Some podcasts that we thought were good in regards to math are:

Math Factor -- Math Factor is a podcast that is a site that is run through the University of Arkansas. This site is a site both for podcasts and blogs. The contributing authors range in profession from radio journalist to a mathematics professor. The different contributing authors post a podcast or a blog that are on a variety of topics. Math Factor is a collection of different math problems and classics math brain teasers. They are in a bunch of different topics such as logic, calculus, and infinity along with other topics.
This site could be used to show students a different side of mathematics. The one thing that I think the website could do better would be to make navigating to podcasts a little easier.

Sudoku (mathgrad.com)

I found it interesting to think about how much math really is involved in a Sudoku. The author of the podcast addresses the misleading idea that some people have about how Sudoku has nothing to do with math besides the fact that it involves numbers. In reality the way to find the number of possible Sudokus was only discovered a few years ago. And even today, real people are better at solving Sudokus than computers are.
I thought that this podcast was going to be a very confusing description of how to solve a Sudoku, but instead it gave a plethora of interesting background information about its history (surprisingly not of Asian origins) and relations to other mathematical areas. It was more like a radio show than a tutorial, which could be useful for getting the attention of students and getting them interested in math, or, in the case of other podcasts, other subjects as well.

Math Mutation -- Math Mutation is a website that has multiple podcasts on the math that you probably didn't see in high school. These podcasts are for all ages and range from "Fractals in a Hat" to "Homer's Lsst Theorem". Most of the podcasts are fun and interesting brain teasers. These podcasts help to get people excited about math and to expose them to math they weren't sure existed.
One thing about this website that could be improved is the fact that there is now organized system for how the podcasts are listed. The podcasts are just listed in order on one page with a really long scroll bar that feels like it goes on forever. Other than that, this site seems like a good way to get people involved with math.

One use we thought a podcast has could be that it is used to walk students through problems. Often students are attempting to do their homework and they get stuck and after time spent in frustration they give up. One way to reduce the frustration is to have similar, or even the exact, problems being worked out in a podcast. This gives the students a refresher on how exactly things were done in class. Also, it allows the students to see how the concepts in class were applied to different situations.

Another idea that we had was to have the students podcast for themselves. Students could post a question when they have trouble and then other students could respond. Students could create a podcast with the answer to the question and walk the other student through the problem or the concept. This allows learning from both ends of the process. The viewer of the podcast learns specifics of the application and the creator of the podcast tests and solidifies their knowledge by helping others.

One last idea that a podcast can be used for is to keep parents and guardians updated. The teacher can put out a podcast every week laying out the overview of the week of learning. The teacher could also talk about what the homework was for that day or even the week so the parents know what homework their students have.