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What is a Podcast?
 Podcasting is basically publishing sound recordings on a website. It’s like a radio show stored as an MP3 file. The word ‘Podcast’ (from ‘ipod’ and ‘broadcast’) is used to describe a number of things, from simply posting an MP3 file on a website to creating and publishing regular broadcasts which listeners can subscribe to and download each broadcast to play back on their PC or MP3 Player. A true podcast uses this facility and is updated regularly with new ‘episodes.’ By podcasting, you can broadcast to the world without the need for specialist equipment or a licence.
Why make a Podcast?
Podcasting is a great way to share work. It gives pupils a real and mass audience for their work and so increases motivation. Sound is an exciting and engaging medium to work with – a change from print and paper. Here are some examples of how schools are using Podcasting across the curriculum.
- Record poems and stories that the pupils have written.
- Play songs and music that the children or young people have written and recorded (but take note of copyright laws)
- Make a news programme. It could be school news, world news or news from history.
- Make an outside broadcast from a field trip or sports day and publish it on the school website.
- Make a school radio station with jokes, pupil interests, competitions, interviews etc. and ‘podsafe’ music.
- Make a recording to help with revision. Work with the pupils/students to record key facts, processes and information for any subject area.
- MFL – make a broadcast in another language.
- Make a recording to give information to pupils in the school, eg advice for new pupils.
Examples of Podcasts
There are thousands of podcasts on the internet. Many schools around the country have made some excellent recordings which are well worth listening to for inspiration.
Links
Sandon JMI have published an rss feed podcast:
Listen to a Podcast about podcasting
Click Play to hear the podcast:
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The above player can be downloaded free:
How do I make a Podcast?
Podcasts are generally recorded straight onto a computer, so all you need is a computer and a microphone. You also need some software to record and edit your broadcast. One free example of this is Audacity which is a powerful open source audio-editor. It will do everything you need to make a recording. Download it from here:
There are some tutorials available from here:
Other free and commercially available sound editors are available.
 Many MP3 players have a recording facility which means you can record away from the computer and download the recording to your PC as an MP3 file, ready for editing.
Case Study
 Dewhurst School
Podcasting & Blogging on a School Trip new
Children on a residential school trip created daily podcasts and posted online videos and photos to keep their families up to date with their adventures. More...
 Barnwell School (A Business & Enterprise School)
Using iPods for GCSE Geography new
Marie Hart, Geography teacher at Barnwell School in Stevenage, has been encouraging her students to use iPods to help with their GCSE revision. More...
 Sandon JMI School & Francis Combe School
Podcasting in Hertfordshire Schools - Using Softease Podium
Podcasting, or the delivery of radio-style broadcasts across the internet, is rapidly gaining popularity in schools. It offers an engaging, creative and exciting way to use ICT in different curriculum areas, as well as helping youngsters to develop a number of key skills. More...
Publishing your Broadcast
Make sure you save your finished recording as an MP3 file. Now you are ready to upload your file and create your podcast.
There are a few different options as to how listeners can receive the podcast.
The simplest way to do this is to upload the file to your school’s website and simply link to it from one of your webpages.
When a visitor clicks on the link, the MP3 will begin to play, or they can save it to their computer. However, if it is a big file it may take a while before it starts playing or downloads.
Another alternative is to ‘stream’ the MP3 file. This means that it will start playing as soon as you click it. To do this you can use a Flash MP3 player, which can be added to your webpage. There are lots of these available for free on the internet, with their own instructions.
A ‘true’ podcast, however, allows users to subscribe to the podcast so that new episodes are automatically downloaded, ready to be heard. This uses something called an RSS feed.
RSS Feeds
An RSS feed is a piece of code written in XML format. The code is saved as an RSS file which is uploaded to your web space along with your MP3 file. Subscribers use a program called an Aggregator or Podcatcher to listen to the podcast. See How do I receive a Podcast below:
Whilst creating RSS Feeds is a bit more complicated, podcasting has become so popular that there are now lots of programs and online services which make it easier.
Software: (please read our disclaimer)
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Softease now makes a program called Podium which is aimed at schools and which enables the user to plan, create, publish (including the RSS feed) and promote your podcast, all from within the program. www.podiumpodcasting.com
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KudlianSoft make a program called Podcaster which helps you to publish and manage your podcasts, though you will have to record them in another program. www.kudlian.net/products/podcaster/
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A free program called Podifier is available for download which takes your MP3 (recorded in another program,) makes an RSS file for it and uploads it to your webspace. www.podifier.com
- There are many programs available which will make RSS files for you. You will still have to make the MP3 file using a sound editor. An example of an RSS building program is Feed Editor.
Online Services:
- E2BN host a service called Making the News (MTN) which allows people to post articles and podcasts. It’s completely free, secure and easy to use.
- Gcast is a website that allows you to record and host poscasts. It’s free but ad supported, and not designed with education in mind.
- Podcast People also allows you to record and host your podcasts. Again, it is not designed with schools in mind, and there is a free option as well as premium options.
- Blogger & Feedburner These two services combined make a podcasting solution used by many.
Important
First and foremost, when recording a broadcast, follow the usual precautions regarding the safety of the pupils involved. You should not use full names, and obviously never give out any personal information about pupils or staff. There is information about web-safety here:
Secondly, it is important that you respect copyright laws. You cannot include any commercially available music in your broadcast. However, there is a lot of ‘podsafe’ music available online which you can use. Also, through E2BN you can access Apple’s FreePlay site which full of music which is free for educational use, and is especially useful for short clips and jingles.
Better still, make your own music!
E2BN resources including Freeplay Music:
How do I Receive a Podcast?
To subscribe to a podcast that uses an RSS feed you need to use a program called an Aggregator, or Podcatcher. The most well known is i-Tunes, but there are others available such as Juice and Doppler and they are generally free. They work by allowing you to enter the web address of the RSS file, and the program can then automatically download the sound files and notify you when new ones are available.
When you visit a website that is promoting a podcast that you can subscribe to, you will often see a web address ending in ‘XML’ which you need to copy and paste into your aggregator. An example is:
http://www.thegrid.org.uk/media/podcasts/Russell180407112212/rss.xml
This is the RSS feed for Russell Prue’s keynote speech at our Hertfordshire ICT Conference 2007. If you copy and paste this link into your aggregator, you have subscribed to this podcast!
Alternatively you might see an RSS icon on the page, which looks something like this:
This icon is often linked to the RSS file. You need to copy the link and paste it into your aggregator. To do this in Internet Explorer, right-click on the icon and select Copy Shortcut.
If you are using i-Tunes, you can go to the Advanced menu, choose ‘Subscribe to Podcasts’ and follow the onscreen instructions.
Is your school podcasting? If so, please let Chris Carter know at Hertfordshire Development Centre. He would like to hear about it and we can place a link to your podcast on this page to share your work and inspire others.
Disclaimer: Any online services or programs mentioned on this page are used entirely at your own risk.
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