iPod, uPod Response

I really liked my article and my discussion questions so I'm responding to myself...

Despite the fact that anyone and everyone has an iPod, are Podcasts even a good thing- is the fact that anyone can make their own Podcasts adding to the large amount of spam on the Internet?
I feel that Podcasts are contributing to the large amount of spam on the Internet because of that fact that anyone can make their own. Since this is a new technology, there aren't any guidelines to follow to let you know what makes a good Podcast and what doesn't. Also, the fact that people can talk about whatever they want and post it on the Internet makes me feel that there is more of a chance that it would be something unimportant.

What are some useful ways to incorporate Podcasts into the classroom?
Despite my answer to the above question, I think that Podcasts could be a very useful tool for both teacher and students. A teacher could post her Podcast on the web every week (perhaps on Sundays) for her students to listen to. She could go over the previous week's lesson so that when the students came in on Monday they could pick up where they left off.
I also think that having students create their own Podcasts is an interesting idea for project-based multimedia learning. Students have to work with computer equipment to record and edit their audio file as well as the publishing software to put it on the Internet.