Tips for making your project less stressful and less time consuming Podcasting Made Easy Tips for making your project less stressful and less time consuming Meghan Scanlon Loretta Martin

Plan Your Project Take those few extra minutes to plan what you want your students to accomplish and how you want them to do it.

Set a schedule Lay out for yourself and the students what you want them to accomplish each day and stick to it! It helped me to put the steps they would be working through on chart paper. I then mark off each group as they finish each step. (research, writing a script, recording their script, downloading pictures and editing)

Group your students Use small cooperative groups for the podcast. Groups of 2-4 students work well This will reduce the number of technical issues that arise and allow you to solve these problems more quickly

The steps I use to create podcasts with my students Research Collect pictures Create a script Record script Add pictures Edit

Research Make sure the students have a clear understanding of their topic and research expectations Set time parameters If you aren’t looking to incorporate in-depth research, try using a research worksheet which lists focus questions for the students to answer through their research.

Collecting Pictures If you are using a digital camera, download your pictures to iPhoto. They will automatically pop up in Garageband If you are collecting pictures from the web, create a folder on the desktop to store the pictures in. You can then simply drag and drop the folder into Garageband. If you are using pictures from the internet please make sure you are following copyright rules. Email the creator of the website to request permission to use the pictures, but also make sure to provide credit in your podcast or on the website hosting your podcast.

Creating a Script Make sure the students understand the purpose of the podcast and the information they are to provide. Use a graphic organizer to help the students organize their script with their pictures and who in their group is speaking at that time. Encourage them to be creative with their writing

Teaching Garageband You don’t have to spend a week teaching the students how to use Garageband. Introduce Garageband to the students initially but then use mini lessons (5-10 min) to show them what they need for the next step. If they don’t need to know how to import pictures today, then wait until tomorrow to show them how.

Garageband Mini Lessons They can be done in 5 miniutes at the beginning of class. Show the students how to do the next step using an LCD projector if possible. Then let them test out that step in a trial podcast Answer any questions You are done. They are ready to implement their next step.

Recording the Script Make sure during your mini lesson you have modeled how to record a voice, delete a voice and change between male and female voices. Remind the students to speak clearly into the microphone Background noise is usually a big problem while recording. Try to find a quiet place for students to record.

Adding Pictures Adding pictures is as easy as dragging and dropping Remind the students to make the pictures touch each other so there are no gaps in their podcast You may want to put a limit on the number of pictures used in order to save time and space

Editing Can you hear the voices? Is there too much background noise? Do the pictures match the script? Are there any gaps in the pictures?

Extras If you somehow have extra time at the end the students can even add music I have found that if my students are adding music it works best if it is only at the beginning or end, not during their recorded script. Put a limit on the length of the music.

Once the podcasts are complete, what do you do with them? Create a day to share each group’s podcast with the class. They will love seeing the other projects as well as provide them with immediate feedback.

Once the podcasts are complete, what do you do with them? Use Iweb to easily create a webpage to host the podcasts your students created. Link it to your teacher webpage or school webpage for students to share with their families and friends. 5 Blue Podcasts

Things to Remember… Group your students Set a schedule for the project and stick to it. Set goals for each day Use mini lessons to teach garageband Encourage creativity with the script Have fun with it. It may not be a success the first time but that is ok, the kids will have fun with it no matter what.