Podcasting

=Using Podcasting to Engage Students=

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What is a Podcast? USEFUL!!!! WHOO YA
Podcasts are audio files (usually in mp3 format) that are created and shared through the internet. Creators record podcasts as episodes (like a radio program) and host them either on [|websites] or through [|iTunes]. Users "subscribe" to podcasts through [|iTunes] or some other podcast service and this enables new episodes to be automatically downloaded to the software.

A common misconception is that you need an iPod to listen to Podcasts. Since these files are mp3 audio files, they can be played directly on a website, downloaded to a digital music player or saved to a portable music player (like an iPod or any other portable device).

What Can Podcasts be Used for in the Classroom?
The question should be **what can' t ** podcasts be used for! Here are a few suggestions:


 * a "virtual" lab report where students record their observations and conclusions in Podcast format
 * a language lesson where students listen to the correct pronounciation of words and can review the class material
 * in place of a traditional presentation -- students listen to each other's podcasts and provide a written response
 * differentiated instruction -- as a tool that a student could choose to use if their learning style required it

How to Record A Podcast
To record a simple podcast all you need is Microsoft's [|sound recorder] which is a tool that allows you to record from a microphone. For more complex podcasts (with music and effects) you need a more complex tool that can record multiple tracks. On a Mac, you can use [|Garageband] while on a PC there is [|Audacity] (an opensource freeware tool). Since the majority of computers in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School are Windows based, this wikispace will focus on [|Audacity].

Recording a Track
To record a track, simply plug in a microphone and click on the record button. Remember to hit the stop button to end recording.



Adding Music
Once you have recorded the vocal track, you might want to add music to your project. Music can heighten a proejct by providing some background interest to what you are saying and is a great way to teach students about creating a mood for a piece of work.

To add music, go to the **Project** menu and select **Import Audio**.

When selecting music to use in your project it is crucial to respect copyright laws. This means that music tracks used and republished in a podcast must be royalty-free (unless you pay the artist for the right to use the music). There are a number of websites that provide royalty-free music tracks and many of these can be used to remix a podcast and post online. A great search engine for royalty-free music, images and videos is [|Creative Commons]. A excellent resource for royalty-free music is [|Incompetech]. This site provides music tracks that are able to be remixed and republished on the internet. Another fantastic site is [|ccmixter]. This site includes but music and vocal tracks as well as remixes and mashes of the music and vocals. Students can find many genres they are familiar with and many of the artists have songs out that are relevant to various projects. When choosing a royalty-free music source, make sure that you check the "fine print" for the site. Many sites provide music that is conditionally royalty-free. For example, you can use the music track for an in-school project, but it cannot be rebroadcast in a public forum (i.e. the web). A little background reading can help you avoid breaking copyright laws and is an excellent demonstration of [|digital citizenship].

Editing the Tracks
Use the Envelope Tool to change the volume of a track. With this tool you can have a music track fade out when you talk and then fade back in when you are done speaking (or during a silent moment in your content).

Use the Time Shift Tool to move a track forwards and backwards on the timeline. If you move a track forwards, silence will be inserted.

Exporting as an MP3
Once you have created your podcast, you need to save it as an MP3 document. This is a music format that portable music players can open and play. The format that Audacity saves in is .aup. This is only able to be opened by Audacity.

Audacity does not have an built in MP3 encoder, but can use an additional file to export in MP3 format. The necessary file is called the lame encoder (here is the file: [|lame_enc.dll] ). Save this lame_enc.dll file to your computer in a location that you will remember.

To link this file:

Go to **Edit --> Preferences ** Navigate to where you've saved the [|lame_enc.dll] file, click on it once and then select **Open**.

Close down any open windows. Now to save your podcast as an MP3, simply click on **File --> Export as MP3**.

Subscribing to Podcasts in iTunes
A true Podcast has an special file attached to it called an [|RSS] feed. This feed is what iTunes uses to check and see if new episodes have been uploaded to the site. By doing this, you simply have to subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes and do not need to regularly check the original site. RSS feeds are used not only in Podcasting, but also on [|blog] sites and news sites. The benefit of this system is that you can aggregate all the various feeds of information into a single location without having to check each individual site (basically the news, or in this case podcasts, gets delivered right to your virtual door!).

To subscribe to a Podcast in iTunes, first find the website with the podcast you are interested in. Some websites have a feature that automatically will subscribe the podcast in iTunes for you. For example a button like this:

Other sites simply provide the RSS feed as a link like this:

If you have the RSS feed, highlight it and select **Edit --> Copy**. Open iTunes and select **Subscribe to Podcast** from the **Advanced** menu.

Paste the RSS feed into the window that opens (by pressing CTRL-V). You can now see the podcast inside of the Podcast menu item on the left of iTunes.

Useful Websites
While the websites that are used in this wiki are linked directly in the document, here are the actual addresses:

iTunes: www.apple.com/itunes

Audacity: audacity.sourceforge.net

Incompetech: www.incompetech.com

ccmixter: ccmixter.org (no www in front!)