Article published February 02, 2006
Perrysburg: Podcasts spread student poems, essays, music
By ELIZABETH A. SHACK
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Students with Perrysburg High School's online literary magazine, The Cellar, are sharing their poems, essays, and music with listeners around the world via downloadable audio files called podcasts.
"It provides an excellent forum to talk about anything," student David Prephan said.
Kathy Housepian, who teaches the technical writing classes that run the magazine, said the podcasts give a voice to the teenagers that isn't routed into strictly youth-oriented opportunities.
Listeners can hear their work over the Internet either from The Cellar's Web site, www.cellarkids.com, or on iTunes, where people can subscribe to have new podcasts automatically added to their iPods.
"This is out there," Ms. Housepian said.
The podcasts, often anonymous or pseudonymous, aren't simply words; they're combined with music and sound effects.Leah Dishman, writing as Luna Zen Moon Java, added a croaking toad to her poem "Ode to the Toad."
In "Life into Youth," a poem about adulthood read by Luna Zen Moon Java and her guest, Violet, the music reflects the moods of the poem, including sadness and anxiety.
Some of the podcasts are light or comedic; others are more serious.
Student Kelly Murtha said her podcasts provide a way to say things about difficult issues like depression. In one podcast, "Choices," she discusses mistakes she's made and her realization that she has choices. She listened to that one with her parents.
"It kind of brought us together a little bit," she said.
In a later podcast in which a student complains about the busywork she has to do, Kelly got Principal Michael Short to read part of the script as a higher power reminding her of the commitment she'd made in the "Choices" podcast.
Ms. Housepian said students learn writing skills as well as technical skills like maintaining Web pages or editing audio files.
Some do more technical work than others, but all have some exposure to software that includes Dreamweaver for making Web pages and GarageBand for editing audio files.
"Everybody kind of finds their niche," said Erich Koerner, who has a movie-review site.
Leah Dishman said once she's written a poem, she records her reading, adds sounds, and edits.
"I don't think people realize the hard work the kids really put into what we do," she said.
As the year goes on, the students are adding vodcasts - video podcasts - to the site. The first, "King of the World," stars Brad King and was filmed and edited by Jim Matuszak.
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