Podcast 101

C. Candace ChouUniversity of St. Thomas

Nov. 10, 2010

Table of Contents

• Introduction• Create a Podcast Episode with Audacity• File Upload to a server

– Upload to Blackboard Wiki– Upload Screencast.com– Upload to PBWorks wiki

• How to Provide RSS Feed• Subscribe Podcast Episodes in iTune

Definitions

• Podcast: “A digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.” (Oxford dictionary, 2005)

• VODcast: VOD standards for “video-on-demand”. Vodcast is similar to podcast except that the content is in video.

Why Podcast• News broadcast• Social commentary• Creativity• Advertising• Student voice• Teacher lectures• Information portal• Museum or campus self-guided tour

Instructional Strategies• Modality principle: Present words as speech rather

than onscreen text (Clark & Mayer, 2003)• Overloading of visual channels with presentation of

written text and graphics

Printed Words

Pictures

Ears

Eyes

Multimedia Sensory Memory Working Memory

Phonetic processing

Visual processing

Modality Principle• Access of visual and auditory channels with

presentation of narration and graphics

Spoken Words

Pictures

Ears

Eyes

Multimedia Sensory Memory Working Memory

Phonetic processing

Visual processing

Higher Education Examples

• Learning Technology Podcast, http://blog.stthomas.edu/education/ltpodcast/

• Podcast lesson plans• Critical Thinking podcast/webcast,

http://www.criticalthinkingtutorials.com/ •

K-12 Examples• Motivation

Midwest project: http://spsmidweststates.blogspot.com/

• Community buildingPoetry Connectionhttp://spspoetryproject.blogspot.com

• Language learninghttp://mylcpodcasts.blogspot.com/

• Recommended Reading: Diott, A. M. (2007). A (pod)cast of thousands: Creating podcasts inspires elementary students-and prepares them to speak through digital media. Educational Leadership, 64(7), 80-82.

E-Learning Portal• Stanford on iTune U• http://itunes.stanford.edu/ • Duke University Digital Initiative,

http://www.duke.edu/ddi/• UC Berkeley on iTune U• http://itunes.berkeley.edu/

Examples of Podcast in Education and Training

• Broadcast lectures• Share audio/video interviews• Showcase student projects• Student-run radio program• Online video tutorials• Story telling or oral history recording

What You Need?• An audio recorder (MP3 or iPod with microphone• Computer with microphone• Programs to create audio Podcast

Audacity (free, Mac & Windows)QuickTime Pro (Mac & Windows, $30)Garage Band (free on Mac only)

• Programs to create video podcast– Mac: SnapzPro, iMovie, JING, Camtasia– Windows: Camtasia Studio, MovieMaker, JING

How to Create a Podcast

• Record audio with Audacity (free) or a digital recorder (MP3 recorder or iPod)

• Microphone for the computer• Export the file as .MP3• Upload the podcast• Create a Feed• Publicizing the podcast

Recording

• Use a digital recorder and download to iTune

• Convert the audio into MP3 from the Advanced menu

Recording (2)

• Record with Audacity and export as MP3, http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Download Lame library for MP3 export, http://spaghetticode.org/lame/

Podcast Model

http://edmarketing.apple.com/adcinstitute/wp-content/Missouri_Podcasting_White_Paper.pdf

Creating a Podcast Episode with Audacity

Audacity Interface

Record Audio

• Launch Audacity to see the recording window.• Click the red Recording button to record your

podcast.• When done, click the yellow Stop button to stop.• To play back, click the green button.

Edit Audio

• To delete a segment of the audio, use the Selection tool to highlight the segment to be deleted.

• Hit Backspace or Delete key to delete• Adjust the volume by moving the marker toward +

or – sign.

Export as MP3• To export an

audio file as MP3 file, go to the File menu and choose "Export As MP3."

• Enter the information for title and artist for iTune file management purpose.

LAME MP3 Encoder

• First time Audacity user will encounter the following message. Before clicking "Yes" to locate the LAME library on your computer, you need to download it to the computer. Go to the right platform to download the LAME library.

• Windows: LAME MP3 encoder http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/pop.php?lame_enc

• Mac: Lame Lib for Machttp://spaghetticode.org/lame/

Locate the LAME MP3 Encoder

• In the PC lab, you will find the file following the path:

• MyComputer (start with your username)

• C drive• Program Files• Audacity folder

Export Complete

• Next Select the LAME file (for Mac it is called Lame.lib) and click OK to export the file. You only need to do this once on the same computer.

• Choose a location to complete the export process.• When the file export is complete, you will see the

MP3 extension in filename.

File Upload

Upload to a Blackboard Modules

• You can choose a learning module or a Blackboard wiki to embed the audio.

• To upload the MP3 file to a learning module, create an item first inside the learning module.

• Browse the MP3 file on your computer and then click submit.• Preview the file and then click submit again.• The file is now embedded in the textbox. Provide the

introduction text and the item name and click submit again.

File Upload to Blackboard Wiki as a Link

• Create a wiki page• Click Upload File icon• Click Browse to locate the

M3 file on the computer• Click Upload• Click Insert • A link to the audio appears

on the wiki page• Save the page

Embed Audio in Blackboard wiki• In the Edit mode, click the

“Insert/Edit Embedded Media” button

• Click on the button next to the space for File/URL to browse for the MP3 file

• Enter a dimension, width x height (e.g., 220 x 20)

• Click Insert and then Save

File Upload to Screencast• Login to http://screencast.com• From the left menu, choose Create Folder• Provide a folder name and check the box for iTune Feed. Click

Save.

• Click the folder once to enter the folder• Click Upload Content to Browse the MP3

audio file or a MP4 video file• You can upload multiple files at the same time• When you are done browsing files, click close• You will see a file or list of files on the screen• Now you are ready to subscribe the podcast in

iTune.

File Upload to PBWorks wiki

• Choose Upload files from the upper right corner of the wiki to upload your MP3 file

• Select the MP3 file on the computer• After the file is uploaded, right-mouse click on the

uploaded MP3 or MP4 file and choose “copy link location”

Embed a MP3 File

• Create and edit a page, from the toolbar choose "Insert" and then "HTML/Java script"

• Copy the above embed code in yellow highlight to the space for html code

• Replace the SRC with the actual URL of your podcast by highlight the URL and use “control+V” on PC or “command+V” on Mac to paste over the URL of the MP3 file.

<EMBED height="20" SRC="http://capsonline.pbworks.com/f/test.mp3" VOLUME="50" loop="false" controls="console" AUTOSTART="FALSE" width="128">

• Check the box for “Allow JavaScript and other potentially unsafe code”

• Click Next• You will see a green box. Click Insert Plugin• Save the page to exit the edit mode. Now you should be

able to view the MP3 file.

RSS Feed

• RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication which is a way to publish frequently updated blogs, podcasts, or news.

• To create a RSS feed for your podcast, the easier way is to use the RSS Feed in Screencast

• At your screencast Podcast folder, there are three buttons on the upper right corner.

• Click Publish and copy the iTune Feed URL

Subscribe in iTune

• Launch iTune• From the Advanced

menu, choose "subscribe to Podcast"

• Paste the URL of the link to the space provided

• Click OK

• You will see the names of the Podcast episodes on your iTune Podcast listings.

• It will only load the first episode, you can use the get button to load other podcast episodes.

Resources

• Podcast booklet for teachers and students, http://bit.ly/aPXLWa