Podcast a how to…Everyone seems to be talking about podcasts - but what are they and how do you make one?

Here at Southern Cross Distance Education Centre our students were shown how to record their oral responses in a new mode — the podcast. We are integrating blended learning into our new units because the days of reading, writing and repetitive boring comprehensions are finally over. Teachers are now faced with new tools: blended materials; we ask students to post wikis and respond to discussion board posts. Instead of learning focused on facts and statistics, our materials are now focused on what we can do with the information presented.

In my role as Gifted and Talented Coordinator I was eager to bring the concept to our learners; the fact is that our students are using technology which is not only above what we in education generally use to teach but also a good springboard into what we can use for our lessons. Kids aren't as tech savvy as we think; they know the software on their mobile devices or home computer because they share this with friends and learn from each other. So I decided it would be a good idea to introduce podcast software to our teachers and students so we are all on the same page.

Like most subjects, our students' knowledge in regards to technology varies. My colleagues and I were surprised about the lack of knowledge the average student had in regards to educational software and advanced search engine pathways. Generally, our students' Internet knowledge was heavily focused on all things social networking, and that few students ventured very far outside of that.

True, we’ve all the heard the story about ‘a student that could hack into a supercomputer’, but that is in the realm of folklore and in reality is extremely rare.

A What-Cast?

So, a podcast is a media file that is distributed over the internet for playback on mobile devices (MP3-4 players, mobiles) and personal computers. Podcasts can be made and published free so if you have something to say to the world then this is a great way to do it. Many are created by professional media organisations like the ABC. Others are made by people at home, with little more than a computer and a bit of know-how. You can star as a host or DJ on your own digital radio station. The technology is so new and so simple that every podcaster is equal! Generally podcasts contain audio or video, but they could also be images, text, PDF, or any other file type. Many podcasts follow the radio show format, but they're also used in many other ways, including distribution of school lessons, audio tours of museums, and by police to distribute public safety messages.

All itunes accounts have a podcast app and they are available on android as well. Most of us have been using podcasts to watch movie trailers and listen to our favourite songs online.

When our teachers wanted students to break out of the boring old way of ‘recording an oral on a topic’ they came up with the idea of asking students to make podcasts. That resulted in our team looking for a suitable template to help and encourage anyone. A colleague searched high and low and found a site used by teachers in the United Kingdom called Audioboo. The site is very easy to use and it is internet based so our students can use a mobile phone to record, upload and email to the teacher. Here is a simple video and colourful instructions made by a teacher Nik Peachey, its fool proof and as you will see, Nik’s a chalky just like us. Nik Peachey how to podcast

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Tech Tools for Teachers by Nik Peachey

Podcasting How to make a podcast using Audioboo

This how-to guide will show you how to create a podcast using a web-based tool called Audioboo. You can also download a how-to video tutorial from onestopenglish. Although the term podcasting may be new to you, and the idea of using a computer to create digital audio may seem difficult, in fact creating podcasts is very easy and quick to do.

1 First, go to Audioboo at http://audioboo.fm/.

2 When you want to start making your digital recording, click on the green Make a Recording / Upload File button. This will open the recording tool in a new window.

3 Click on the square that says New Recording.

4 The first time you do this, you may be asked to allow Audioboo to access your computer’s recording equipment. Click on Allow.

5 Now you should be ready to start your recording. Click on the green Start Recording button. You will be able to see the changes in the audio level as you record.

6 When you have finished making your recording, click on Pause Recording. You can now listen to your recording by clicking on Preview Recording. If you made a mistake, or you don’t like what you hear, click on Restart Recording to start your recording again.

© Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2012 METHODOLOGY / Tech Tools for Teachers / Podcasting / How to make a podcast using Audioboo

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Tech Tools for Teachers by Nik Peachey

1 When you are happy with your recording, and you’re ready to finish and publish it, click on the green Happy? Add a Title button.

11 If you want to save your recording, you will need to sign up and log in. Click on the pink sign up / log in button.

2 Now you can give your recording a Title and add Tags to help you identify it (e.g. news). If you want to, you can also add an image to go with the recording. When you’re ready, click on the green Publish button.

3 Wait while your recording is uploaded to the internet. When the pink bar is complete, you’ll get a link; click where it says here to see your recording on the Audioboo website.

4 To listen to your recording, click on the Play button. There are a number of different ways you can share your recording: • copy the URL and send it as a link • share it on Twitter • ‘Like’ it on Facebook • embed it in your blog or website • share it via email

12 Choose a username, add your email address and create a password. Be sure to accept the Terms of service, then click on Join Audioboo.

13 Once you’ve signed up and logged in, you’ll see that students can add comments on the audio page. These can be audio or written comments. In order to leave a comment, students will also need to be registered on the site.

So now you’ve seen just how easy it is to create a podcast and upload it to the internet, why don’t you give it a try? Good luck!

© Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2012 METHODOLOGY / Tech Tools for Teachers / Podcasting / How to make a podcast using Audioboo

So after going out to meet students in person we have had some unforeseen results, like the very shy Year 9 student who told us a bit about his skateboarding, he uploaded a photo of a trick he performed and to our surprise the photo was taken and photoshopped by a Year 12 student at the same Tutorial Centre. As I mentioned earlier, the key to making all this work is sharing the technology and watch students take control. Another student who is isolated geographically from our school has adapted successfully to the mode of podcast recording, as you can see he has his own account on Audioboo and is up and running with a couple of posts, playlists and other suggested sites.

(Stay Gold is a formal recording for a Year 10 English task)

Stay Gold Author of the Week

(Author of the week is an informal recording done at a Tutorial Centre, for our podcast mini school in Grafton, where students were asked to talk — just like a radio show about a favourite topic with a friend or teacher)

The function of the software provided on the Audioboo site is to make recording easy and allow for users to access a variety of podcasts from sport to literature. Another added bonus is now we have a whole new range of texts which we can share on topics from cell biology to the World Economic Forum; this means our learners can access materials without having to read and that gives them an informed voice for responses.