Cindy and I listen to podcasts. We frequently travel by car and spend most of the time listening to podcasts rather than say audiobooks or music. I guess we are more likely to agree on a podcast than we are on a music genre or book.
We enjoy several podcasts from the TWIT network (This week in Google, MacBreak Weekly, Tech News Today) and a few others Upgrade. What I realize is that I have yet to find an educational podcast we can stick with. We have tried a few, but they tend to lack the substance that keeps you coming back.
I wonder why this is the case. I recognize that the TWIT network and RelayFM (Upgrade) are professionally done. The participants have great experience, devote considerable time even full time to podcasting, and have the advantage of organizations that can afford high quality production assistance. I would think educational organizations (e.g., ISTE) would have the size to provide similar services but I am guessing ISTE is mostly about their conference and may see a quality podcast as competing with the popularity of the conference. The multiple education conferences also support keynote speakers who make their money as professional presenters moving from conference to conference and probably workshop to workshop presenting one of a limited number of presentations. In contrast, podcasting is more demanding. You can’t get away with using the same content over and over again. You also must rely on ad support rather than guaranteed fees derived from attendee admission costs. Without institutional support provided most attendees and the fees charged vendors, I wonder if the conference model would persist.
My point is that the organizations are primarily about the conference (ISTE, FETC, etc.) rather the conference being one of the services of the organization.