IST675 Podcasting Toolkit The who, what, where, when, and how of podcasting. Michael Finnerty 3/12/09

Focus & Description The focus of this toolkit is to help the entire school community to develop, distribute, and listen to educational podcasts. The toolkit will be used to help showcase work, disseminate information, and engage students. The target audience for this toolkit is primary age students and their teachers.

Purpose & Goals The purpose of this toolkit is to provide students and teachers with working knowledge of podcasting equipment, software, and strategies to produce and listen to educational podcasts. The goals of this toolkit are to get students and teachers using podcasting technology to enhance lessons, engage students, and provide better assessment tools.

Learning Standards NYS Learning Standards The Arts Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts English Language Arts Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction Mathematics, Science, and Technology Standard 2: Information Systems Standard 5: Technology ISTE Technology Standards (NETS) Standard 1: Creativity and Innovation Standard 2: Communication and Collaboration AASL Standard for the 21st Century Learner Standard 3: Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.

Students will... Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. Use technology and other information tools to organize and display information in ways others can view, use, and assess.

What’s a podcast? iPod + Broadcast = Podcast Podcasts provide an easy way to distribute engaging multimedia content out to the masses who can listen to it whenever and wherever they like on a variety of readily- available platforms. Essentially it’s “talk radio/video on demand”

Teachers - Why podcast? Offers authentic opportunities to meet Learning Standards –Incorporates reading, writing, research, editing, critical thinking, creating and publishing –Perfect for differentiated learning opportunities Engages otherwise reluctant students Teachers can communicate with students who don’t/can’t come to school.

Students Why podcast? Fosters cooperation Improves reading, writing, listening, and public speaking Empowers the learner – Perfect for inquiry-based instruction Instills life-long learning skills

Samples My Podcast –podcasting4school.blogspot.com Mrs. Nicoll’s 4 th Grade class podcastsMrs. Nicoll’s 4 th Grade class podcasts –Le Roy CSD – Le Roy, NY

Ideas for Podcasts in the classroom Record public domain literature –Check out podcast legal information at guest.portaportal.com/podcasting4school guest.portaportal.com/podcasting4school Book talks! Author interviews, other interviews (veterans, Sr. citizens, experts in the field, etc) Original student compositions and essays Field trip reports Community updates Enhance the classroom lecture

Step 1 – Recording (after you have your idea) Equipment –Computer with Internet connection –Microphone I prefer a headset – young children tend to move around – a headset stays in place. That’s all the equipment you need for basic podcasting.

Step 2 – Recording Software and Editing Audacity – Audacity is a free (open source) software package that allows you to record and edit your voice. Garageband for Mac – An intuitive record and mix program. Great if you have a Mac.

Audacity

Step 3 - Publish Once your podcast is recorded, you need to distribute it to the masses. You will need to upload that podcast to a server, post that podcast on a webpage (I post mine to my blog), and publish that webpage. If you want that on iTunes – you will have to submit your webpage/podcast’s RSS feed. Sound tough? It’s not. Watch this step- by-step guide.step- by-step guide.

Podcasting Resources My Blog – My Portaportal – Episode #1 of My Podcast –Look for it on iTunes!

Podcasting Toolkit IST675 References Fontichiaro, K (2007). Podcasting 101. School Library Media Activities Monthly 23(7) Schmidt, D (2007). Creating a broadcasting empire… from the corner of your classroom! Multimedia & Schools 14(1)