Skip to main content

Podcasting - From Idea to Publication

By Colin Davitt
This post was created to help teach podcasting to a few classes.

What is a podcast?
A podcast is an on-demand video or audio clip that is usually published sequentially. A listener/watcher can download or have the media automatically pushed to their device.

The key to a great podcast is creating a show about something you are super passionate about but not necessarily an expert in.

What does it sound like?
It is sometimes hard to define something that really should be experienced. 

 Task

  • Listen to a tenish minute portion of one of the podcasts listed below. Some of the links require you to log into Google Play Music on the web. If you are signed into your school Gmail account it should just pop open. Make sure you scroll to the proper episode.
  • Use the Listening Guide to help you focus on specific elements of the podcast.
Sample of the sheet we used to guide their thinking.

Dream Big Podcast - Episode DB 104: The Secret Is To ....SHOW UP!
But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids - Episode: Why Do People Like Different Types Of Music?
Tumble Science Podcast - Episode The Snapdragon Hunt

Talk
  • Share out what you found and how this new learning shaped your vision of what a podcast could be.

Creating a podcast.
We recommend using Anchor to create and publish your podcasts. It is free, works on mobile and aggregates across all the major platforms.

Your first step is to create an Anchor account. You must be 13+ to create the account. You can also have a teacher log into Anchor and publish through that shared account.
When you login click New Episode to begin creating.

1. Click if you do not have any audio clips already. It might be a good idea to have an external microphone as the ones built into the laptops are not very good. We do recommend recording on a mobile device, like an iPad or phone.
2. Already recorded some clips in Anchor? They can be found in the Library tab.

1. Clicking the Record button leads you to this page.
2. Click Record A New Segment to capture your first audio clip.

The first time using Anchor on a laptop/Chromebook might seem to take forever. Just wait about a minute or less and you may see this popup. Make sure you allow the site to use the microphone.

It is wise to just choose the default.
If you have an external mic, select that one.

Click to start/stop recording.

Click the small pencil next to the recording to change the name of the clip.
This tiny move will save you hundreds of hours worth of work.
It would be wise to be descriptive when naming the files.

Assembling the show.
1. Click Library.
2. Click the + sign to add tracks.
You can drag and drop the clips to reorder them.


Transitions
You can add short tracks of music to transition between different clips.
On the Anchor mobile app, you have more options such as Sounds and Songs.


Click the big purple button at the top when you are ready to publish.

Fill in the episode information.
Publish the episode.

The Magic
The initial syncing of the podcast took 24-48 hours to show up on Spotify and Google Play Music. Now it only takes minutes to sync my podcast across the platforms.

Check this Anchor page for all the places your podcast will show up.

Resources
     Anchor's YouTube channel is a great place to start learning about the app/site.
     Anchor's Socials: twitter, facebook, instagram
     Anchor's How To Start A Podcast
     A handy guide to starting your podcast - A newer Medium article written by Anchor's head of production.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Like your ELMO but with an iPad (elementary classroom teachers)

By Colin Davitt
I used AirServer to create the infinity mirror effect. We were in a meeting today and Dominic told us about this fantastic idea. As we discussed all things technology he explained one method of using the iPad as a portable ELMO. It was too cool not to share. Step 1 Make sure you have AirServer running on your laptop. 1. Click the Windows key on your keyboard or click the icon in the lower left of your screen. 2. Just start typing AirServer. 3. Click AirServer. Don't see it? Contact technology or your building tech person. Step 2 Connect your teacher iPad to your laptop. 1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Start by swiping in the bezel, the black plastic part surrounding the screen. 2. Click AirPlay Mirroring. 3. Click your name. Step 3 Open the camera app and instant portable ELMO! Anything you see in the camera's len will be broadcast to the big screen. I just used this method to take a picture of my notebook as a demonstration of how co
5 comments
Read more

Who is emailing me? The Blue Man Group??? (Add an image to your Google account.)

By Colin Davitt
WHY It is always nice to put a face with a name. Sometimes we need a tiny little reminder of what someone looks like because we don't see them very often. Follow these steps to add/change the image associated with your Google account. HOW Open your email. Click your image. It might just be a blue circle if you have not added something already. Click Change . Find an image you like. Your amazing new image will appear. From now on everyone can put a name to a face!
117 comments
Read more

Annotate PDF? How might I do that?

By Colin Davitt
So I have a PDF and I need to edit it. Here is one method that works pretty well for me. Open Word. Click File .  1. Click Open . 2. Click Browse . 3. Find the PDF you want to annotate. 4. Click Open . Click OK when you see this box. Bam! Your PDF now opens in Word. Note: you maybe have to click Enable Editing at the top of the screen. Finished editing and want to turn it back into a PDF? Click File . 1. Click Save As . 2. Click This PC . 3. Pick a location. I usually save things to my desktop. 4. Click Save as type - and choose PDF. 5. Click Save .
49 comments
Read more