TalkShoe: AudioBlogging

TalkShoe is a Web 2.0/Podcasting site that allows users to participate or host online talk radio shows or talkcasts. If you are not participating in the show, you can still follow it through streaming audio and it can be downloaded once the show is complete. A user must download the TalkShoe software to join in a live Talkcast. If you are a TalkShoe host you will be paid a monthly fee based on the quantity of listeners that your show attracts. Furthermore, users can find your show on TalkShoe, iTunes, and other podcast sites. Users are required to register in order to participate in the talkcasts.

Do you wonder how this podcasting site got it's name? It's obviously a play on the words "talk show", but more specifically it comes from the pronunciation of the word "show" as "shoe" by Ed Sullivan.

So, the question is... what educational benefit does TalkShoe have for students and teachers? In my opinion, TalkShoe is most beneficial to those students and teachers at the college and graduate level. Students at this academic level can meet other students that have the same interests and can find and join a live Talkcast. They have the option of talking, texting or listening along with the show. Students can use this site to hold discussions on educational topics of interest that are being studied in class.

Instructors may find TalkShoe beneficial to hold discussions on various topics covered in class or even use TalkShoe to play the most recent or past lectures. The instructor may choose not to host the show, but instead search for previously recorded shows that cover the topics from classroom discussions. This would allow students to learn other perspectives and participate in these sessions. On the other hand, an instructor may host a Talkcast to discuss the content from class in a setting where students would be able to provide their own ideas and beliefs on a certain topic as well as what they have learned. It is literally a venue for audioblogging!

http://www.talkshoe.com/