Introduction To Podcasting

OVERVIEW 1.General Introduction to Podcasting –What it is –Some Podcasitng Myths 2.About iTunes 3.About Vodcasting 4.Planning Your Podcast –Topic and structure 5.What You Need to Podcast –The 7 primary components

INTRO: What is a Podcast? -an audio file (mp4) with some computer code added so that it can be “syndicated” via the internet and downloaded to your computer. A podcast is like a radio show. –Like radio, podcasts often consist of episodes released periodically. –Unlike radio, podcasting offers more choice/variety. –Unlike radio, podcasting can use a subscription model, enabling the user to have favorite shows automatically delivered to his/her own computer. Podcasting is sort of like TiVo for the Internet.

INTRO: Podcasting Myths 1.You need an iPod You don’t. 2.You need iTunes You don’t. 3.You can’t know profile of who is listening or viewing. You can. 4.It’s expensive. You can do it for free. 5.You need a distribution deal. Nope. You can do that yourself.

INTRO: ITunes Although there are other directories, other searches, and other “podcatchers, we will focus here on iTunes iTunes –enables you to find, subscribe, manage, and play back audio, as well as transfer podcasts to an iPod or other MP3 devices) –runs on both Windows and Macintosh computers –is freely available from Apple –downloading and installing is easy

INTRO: A Few Things to Note 1.Podcasts may be cross-listed on other directories or not found in iTunes at all. 2.There is no universal list of all podcasts. 3.The information provided about the podcasts comes from the authors, not from the host. 4.iTunes directory does not display all available podcasts. –Some podcasts have associated Web sites, and visiting those sites may reveal additional episodes not downloadable via iTunes.

INTRO: Managing Files/Subscriptions Automatic subscription to podcasts can quickly fill up a hard drive. –iTunes has a built-in "safety" feature that stops automatic downloads of new episodes if there are five unplayed podcasts. You can override this by manually downloading new episodes. After you've downloaded a podcast, the files can be listened to on your computer or transferred to your portable music player…such as an iPod.

INTRO: Vodcasting Video podcasting, also known as "vodcasting" or "screencasting." –essentially the same process as podcasting, except uses video files instead of audio files. iTunes can be your gateway into video podcasting too. –As vodcasting becomes more widespread, iTunes should remain a good choice for both podcasts and vodcasts

PLAN: Choose Your Topic Choose something that interests or excites you. This will make creating your podcast fun for you and for your listeners. Podcasting for Instruction –F2F class lectures and conversations can be “audio archived” and broadcast for later study –Podcasts can support Online Learning Having something to say really matters! The first step to podcasting is choose a topic.

PLAN: Think About Structure A music podcast: 1.Intro Theme Song 2.Welcome Message 3.Announcements 4.Song Intro 5.Song 6.Song Intro 7.Song 8.Music News 9.Song Intro 10.Song 11.Final Comments 12.Outro Theme Song A tech news podcast : 1.Intro & Welcome 2.Announcements 3.Top 10 Tech News Headlines with Commentary 4.Tech Quick Tip 5.Outro A review show movies, food, etc.: 1.Intro Theme Song 2.Welcome 3.Announcements 4.First Review 5.Second Review 6.Interview 7.Third Review 8.Final Comments 9.Outro Music Instruction: 1.Welcome 2.Objectives: What we will learn 3.Planned “Lecture” or actual recorded lecture and conversation 4.Review: What we have learned

iTunes U Apple offers free podcast hosting for colleges and universities

1. Open iTunes 2. Go to 3. Click on “Take me to Berkeley iTunes,” 4. Look in your iTunes and you will see

Podcasting and 508 Compliance For required online learning activities, educators must also provide captioning or a textual component to meet federal regulations Many educational podcasts are non-compliant with Federal Accessibility Requirements (Section 508) In other words, they do not offer captioning or a text component

WHAT YOU NEED TO PODCAST 1.Computer with Internet Connection 2.Microphone &/or Recorder 3.Audio Editing Program (Audacity) 4.Web Hosting space 5.Program to create RSS feeds (Podifier) 6.FTP Program (FTP Commander) 7.Podcatcher (iTunes)

What You Need: 1. COMPUTER WITH INTERNET CONNECTION PC –at least 512 MB of RAM. –at least 2-3 Gigabytes of Hard Drive Space –Soundcard –In/Out or Mic/Headphone Jacks Mac –Any recent Mac that runs OS X ALMOST NECESSARY: Broadband Connection

At Your Computer –Headset microphones work $35 - $200 Or….. On Location –Best digital recorder you can afford $50 - $400 For approximately $30.00, you can get a Voice Recorder Plugin for your iPod What You Need: 2. Microphone and/or Digital Recorder

Audio Recorder & Editor: Audacity Free, easy to use, runs on PC or Mac. What You Need: 3. Audio Editing: Audacity Note 1: Audacity requires an MP3 Encoder: LAME Note 2: You can also use iTunes to convert your audio to MP4.

Before you write the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file, which allows listeners to subscribe to your podcast, you need to know where you are going to put the files on the Web. You need Web Hosting Space We suggest: For students: McDaniel’s Student Server For faculty: There are, of course, many commercial Web Hosting Sites available. What You Need: 4. Web Hosting Space

Once you record your audio and know where you are going to upload it, you need to create an rss feed. –RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is code that allows listeners to subscribe to your podcast, as well as learn information about it (title, author, type, size, program notes, etc) –You can write this, or use a FREE program to write it for you. –We suggest Podifier If you plan on doing just a one time podcast, you may just want to write an XML file. Podifier does that as well. What You Need: 5. Program to Write RSS Feeds: PODIFIER

Your Final Step –is to upload (FTP) your mp4 and your rss files to your Web site A number of programs do that (including Internet Explorer and Podifier), but we suggest you use FTP COMMANDER What You Need: 6. Program to Upload files to Web: FTP Commander Once you have: 1.Recorded your audio 2.Edited it with Audacity and converted it to an mp3 – mp4 3.Determined your Web space (URL) 4.Written your RSS feed with Podifier

What You Need: 7. PodCatcher: iTunes iTunes is recommended here and has already been discussed. But there are other Podcatchers and Pod Searching Programs. Including: Juice PodNova Odeo

A Few Resources and Links

iTunesiTunes ( The program to get for subscribing, searching, managing, and playing podcasts AudacityAudacity ( "Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems." An Audacity installation and simple usage tutorial can be found at: Podifier: Podifier: ( Automates creation of RSS feeds TUTORIAL How to Podcast Nice overview. Good instructions. Great tutorial on recording and using Audacity. Resources and Links

Podcast NetworkPodcast Network "Unlike a directory, all of the content available on The Podcast Network is managed by a central production team ensuring not only the quality and consistency of the actual content itself but also of the audio quality and the other technical elements.“ Podcast BunkerPodcast Bunker "We're about Podcast Quality, not Quantity! We only list The Very Best Podcast!“ NPR PodcastsNPR Podcasts "NPR Podcasts include selections from Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning programs from NPR and partner organizations.“ Podcast AlleyPodcast Alley "Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts (as voted on by the listeners). You will also find podcast software, the podcast forum and great podcasting info.“ PodcastPodcast iPodderiPodder VodcastsVodcasts

Podcasting News Podcasting News ( Information, tutorials, hardware and software suggestions PodNovaPodNova (Podcatcher) Vodcaster Vodcaster ( Tutorial on vodcasts. Software to help you create vodcastshttp:// Playlist.com Playlist.com iTunesUiTunesU Resources and Links

iCube "Podcasts in mp3 format hosted by Dr. David B. Miller, Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, U.S.A. The podcasts are discussions of course material for each week's lectures hosted by David Miller, who is joined by several students from his class in General Psychology I. (PSYC 132)." PodGuides.net Tutorials and tools for creating enhanced podcasts available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. iCube PodGuides.net ArtMobs, Marymount Sharing52.html Unofficial audio guides to art in the Museum of Modern Art. iGeneration Sharing52.html iGeneration Blog and student-developed podcasts. Resources and Links