MPT's Podcasting Video "to Go"

It seems hard to believe, but it was only five years ago that the first iPods found their way to the marketplace. Since then, of course, that device and others like it have changed the way people watch and listen to many kinds of media. Podcasting is all the rage these days, and MPT is getting involved with it in a big way for the LG2G project.

MPT has already produced five LG2G audio podcasts that are available through iTunes or at this very website . And this month marks the release of the very first LG2G video podcast, a short piece about MIT’s Education Arcade team of LG2G game developers. (The video will be downloadable on our podcast page on or before November 6.) "LG2G is definitely the kind of project where we want to use cutting-edge technology," says MPT writer-producer Tom Miller. "It makes sense to take advantage of the new tools that are out there so we can tell people about our work."

While audio podcasting has been popular for several years now, video podcasting is a relatively new phenomena. Faster connection speeds and faster computers have now made it easier for people to download and play large video files, says Tom. Another important variable is that the tools necessary to create, compress and upload video have become much more widely available and in fact, come pre-loaded on many new computers. "GarageBand and other applications make it very easy to create video and audio podcasts," Tom says. "You used to have to be part engineer to make a good-looking video. The technology now is very user-friendly and that means more people can be creative and share their ideas with a large potential audience."

So look for the LG2G video podcast about the Education Arcade and for many more to come (the next planned podcast will take a look at paper prototype-testing of the LG2G game). And while it'll be great to watch these videos 2G ("to go," that is…) on an iPod, you’ll also, of course, be able to view them on your desktop or laptop computer. "It's a great way for people to communicate," says Tom. "I'm glad we're a part of it."

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