 Planning for college can be time consuming! Career and college planning podcasts give you, as college-bound students and parents, a way to listen to relevant content on your time schedule. While listening to music may be way more appealing than listening to podcasts, they can be easily downloaded and played while driving or walking. But you need expert advice to complement what you’re learning from your guidance counselor or college consultant. Listening to podcasts can also make good use of your time between eating food, submitting applications, hanging out with friends at school events, and procrastinating your dissection homework for biology.
Finding quality, relevant podcasts is important. First of all, if the recording sounds like they are walking along the beach, camped out in a cave, or trying to be the college-whisperer, don’t waste your time hoping it will get better. It probably won’t. But you already know that! Next, look at the dates for the podcasts. Some information shared in 2012 might be relevant; some might be time-sensitive. One example would be taking the ACT. While the strategies and tips would still be relevant, the testing deadlines and possible test prep sites might not. One benefit of podcasting is saving time. Unfortunately, some average 40 minutes in length – without commercial breaks! TED talks are limited to 18 minutes. Half-hour shows (like sitcoms) are typically 18-21 minutes long. So as a student, your attention span is generally equivalent to your age – which means you are anxious to find out why your phone just beeped. So if a podcast is longer than 20 minutes, just download it or bookmark it for listening later. You’ll also want to consider the content. There are podcasts sharing test prep tips, admissions do’s and don’ts, and ways to make the most of a campus visit. You should also listen to a few podcasts to determine if they are they informing you about a topic or interpreting how to master the topic. Also, many colleges have student-led blogs sharing about life on campus. Finally, you’ll want to know who is delivering the content. Always check the About Me tab on the website to learn more about who is sharing. Find out how long have they been working in college planning. Ask yourself if their education and credentials would benefit you as the listener? Are they interviewing experts or just sharing what they know? It’s a lot to consider, so to save you time, I’ve listed some preferred podcasts on my website under Resources. Contact me if you need help finding career and college planning podcasts. Here are some to get you started:
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 By taking the time to read this blog, you are using technology to plan for college. If you are a novice in the search process, welcome! If you are helping your 189th student complete their common application, congratulations! You are taking part in the digital college admissions process.
Search The role of technology in college admissions is growing each year. From virtual meet-and-greets to video applications. Your goal is to learn how to use technology to help your students. Today, let’s focus on blogs. During your planning period next Thursday, you can start reading the 30,400,000 college admissions blogs available on your preferred search engine! Or you can search for “college admissions blogs” to narrow your results down to 2,610. Wait, did you notice the difference? Look closely one more time. That’s right, quotation marks could save you thousands of hours. Searching for the right information quickly is a part of our technological world. We cannot afford to waste time reading and applying dated information from unqualified sources. Source When you are searching for local, regional, and national blogs that offer quality, truthful information about career and college planning, pay attention to the details. Here are a few things to consider:
Success! Now that you’ve read about how to search for quality sources, you can successfully find and read college admissions blogs. Although I focused on college admissions blogs, you can apply this same process to college scholarship websites, career assessments, social media outlets, college planning websites, and more. Your success will be contagious! Eric Stoller wrote a blog titled Digital Leadership for Inside Higher Ed. His challenge centered on having a willingness to learn. We are successful as educators if we are learning how to learn and sharing that knowledge with others. As you embrace technology, your confidence will be felt by your students. Eric shared that “our ability to learn and experiment is often connected to our internal sense of bravery.” Being brave means you are facing your fear of technology. You may make few mistakes if you are just getting started, but you’ll eventually become a “digital leader” for your students. |
AuthorCombining my youth ministry and educational consulting experience, I guide students to connect higher education with God's calling. 
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