Review of ipadio

Name of the Tool:  ipadio

URL of the Tool:  www.ipadio.com

Please select the one, primary category for this tool: Communication Tool

Please describe this tool in your own words in about 150-250 words.

ipadio is a tool that can be used to podcast directly onto the web from your phone.  Once you sign up, you are given your own “channel” where you control your broadcasts. You simply call the toll free number from your registered phone number, enter your pin, and start recording.  If you want to call and record from a number other than the one you registered, you can either enter the registered phone number or you can go online and enter a second phone number to register.  This makes it really east to record from anywhere.  Once you make your recording, it shows up in your channel on the web.  From here, you can edit all the information about your phonecast and chose who and how it can be shared.  One of the options you have with ipadio is to follow the channels of other users who may be phonecasting things you are interested in.  Another really cool feature is
the ability to post your phonecasts directly to many social media locations, such as Twitter, Facebook, blogger, etc.

What do you need to know before using this tool? (What skills do you need to have?)
               I think that it is important to understand the concept of podcasting.  However, you really only need basic 
               computer skills and the ability to dial the phone.

What do you need to have before using this tool? (Resources)

You need to have a computer, internet access, and a phone.  Preferably, you will also have something to say.

How do you use this tool? (Write the basic steps using a numbered list)

1.     Go to www.ipadio.com

2.     Click the heart that says, “Sign me up.”

3.     Fill out the registration information.

4.     Once you get the email confirming your registration, then you can go back to the home page and click login.

5.     Once you login, you just dial the number and follow the phone instructions.

6.     Your phonecast then appears in your channel.

7.     Once your phonecast is present, you can edit, delete or download it.

Please see the Snagit images below for more details:

Here is an example of the tool being used to provide an update on English School Championships.  I chose it for it's length and the speaker's great accent.

Please describe a scenario of how you might use this tool in a teaching environment (150-250 words).

I honestly think that it would be hard to use phonecasting in my teaching environment.  The one thing I thought of was the possibility of using this tool to record conferences or group discussions that do not depend on visual presentation materials like PowerPoint.  One big downside is the fact that while you can prevent your phonecast from being public, I can't figure out (even from the help section) whether or not you can restrict access to your phonecasts.  That would be important if you were recording sensitive information that you wanted to control access to, so this might make it hard to use educationally in medicine.  I did email tech support with the question, but have not yet heard back.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this tool in a teaching environment? 

It is possible to allow comments to be made on your phonecast which I think would be necessary in an educational environment, if only to ensure that the learners actually listened to your phonecast.  This could create some interesting dialogue.  As the educator, you can receive email notifications when someone comments which would help you keep up with your students.  Also of note, your channel can be followed in an RSS feed, so even remote learners could know whenever you posted a new recording just by following your channel.

Would you recommend this Web 2.0 tool to others, or suggest that they explore a different tool?

I think overall I would recommend this tool to others given it's ease of use with the dial in option and the ability to share via social media.  I remain a little concerned about the security option, but that is not a deal breaker.