Podcasting Made Simple - AKA - Michael Pollock is My New Hero!!

Many of you know that my day job is as "Learning Specialist" at a small community college in Oregon. One of the things I do in that role is encourage the Luddites on campus to experiment with new technology. I coordinate a weekly seminar called "Technology Tuesday" and am in the process of putting together a series of online modules to give them tips and tutorials for using the various tools we have here (Everything from starboards to clickers to Elmo to who knows what.)

My latest project has been to focus on Podcasting - keeping in mind some of the folks I am working with are so leery of technology they won't use a mechanical pencil. So I began wading through DOZENS of websites and read way more stuff about podcasting than I ever wanted to. I looked at or listened to a phenomenal amount of information until my eyes were going glassy and I just wanted to go sit in a quiet room. Just when I was ready to run shrieking down the hallways and join the ranks of the Luddites out of sheer self preservation, I stumbled upon Michael Pollocks work: The Podsnapper Beginner's Guide to Podcasting.

This is a CLEAR, CONCISE, very easy to understand overview of what podcasting is, what tools are required, and just enough depth to walk the balance between not overwhelming the newbie while still offering some meat for those who are already a bit more familiar. It's visually appealing - nice bright pics, plenty of white space and manageable chunks of text. Pollock NEVER gets condescending or overly technical but he also doesn't write as if he's speaking to idiots. His tone is engaging and informative, with enough personal examples of his own experience learning how to do podcasting to make it seem vey genuine. Honestly - this little guide is PERFECT for what I am trying to accomplish.

So I will still type up my list of other resources that I sorted out, grouping them by categories of:
Tutorials and "How To" Articles
Products and Services
General Information
Directories and Search Engines

But at the TOP of that I will have a box with the following text:

For the best overall summary of what podcasting is and how to get started, go to Podsnapper Guide by Michael Pollock. If you only read ONE resource, make sure this is the one you read. It will give you clear information to understand what podcasting is and how to get started. If you want further information after that, then you can refer to the resources below.

Thank you ever so much Michael. If you lived close I'd bring you a pan of my killer good enchiladas or bake you cookies. But since you don't, you'll just have to accept my undying appreciation.