Podcasting

Podcasting for Little or Nothing
by Frances A. Hunter

What is Podcasting?

The term “Podcast” can refer to both the content and method of delivery. A Podcast is an asynchronous syndicated multimedia content served through the Internet. Podcasts first began in 2000, when David Riner created the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format. Podcasts are usually 5 to 30 minutes long and can be anything from music, to news, to instruction, to special interests. If you are new to Podcasting, my suggestion is to subscribe to several podcasts that you are interested in. A good one to start with is by listening to podcasts (to listen click 2 x on the arrow):

6 Steps to Podcasting (Listen to a Sample Podcast that describes these steps)

1. Create content!!! - most important step!
2. Record and edit content (need computer, microphone and speakers or headset, and audio recording and editing software such as Audacity which is free);
3. Uploading to web server (we recommend Gcast, a very simple hosting site and it is free.);
4. Submit the RSS feed to a podcasting service such as iTunes or send the link to your class;
5. Subscribe to content which is delivered to the subscriber through a podcatcher service such as iTunes;
6. finally, LISTEN to the content on a MP3 player, hand held, or computer.

 For a visual demostration of Podcasting: http://members.cox.net/niessen/podcasting-thebigpicture.htm

Content is the Driving Force

The most important thing to have when starting a podcast is something interesting to say. The best produced podcast in the world won’t do well if the content is lacking and/or uninteresting. And so the first question you should ask yourself is, “Do I have something to say?” If the answer is ‘yes’, then answer this second question. “Am I passionate enough about it to work at it to make it happen week after week?” A podcast is a commitment to consistently providing content on a regular basis. Podcasting is a lot of work. It takes work to write content, find interviewees, make recordings, edit recordings, find music and trailers, upload and manage files, answer listener responses, fix bugs, and do it all again week after week.

As you begin to think about creating your very own podcast, you should then start working on the format. How often will you publish it? How long will it be? Will you have music? Interviews? Essays? Listener feedback?

The best way to make these decisions is to listen to different kinds of podcasts and take note of their format. What about them do you like and don’t like? There are numerous directories for podcasts, but some of the bigger ones are Podcast Alley, IndyPodder and Podshow Network or go directly to iTunes or iPodder.

Record and edit content

When ever you hear someone talk about podcasting they usually mention that it is a very inexpensive activity. After you have written your script and have your content ready you record your podcast using a microphone and headphones. It is best to get a USB headset with microphone attached such as Logitech Internet Chat Headset. To record your content you will need a computer and some software.  Audacity is a good open source free software to use to record and edit your podcast. Audacity can run on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, or later and Audacity it can run on as little as 64 MB RAM and 300 MHz processor. All you need is a computer with a good sound card can work and a USB.  

If you need to convert your audio file to a "wav" format to use in Audacity, there are products such as Creative Audio Converter that can do that conversion quickly and easily.  http://www.fairstars.com/audioconverter/index.htm 

Upload Your Content

Now your audio files is ready for the world to listen to. For the world to have access to your podcast the audio files that you created need to be hosted, that mean they need to be stored on a web server. My suggestion is a service that I use called Gcast (http://www.gcast.com). Not only will Gcast host your content for free, but they also create that confusing thing called XML. As soon as you upload your audio file a window pops up with the RSS feed URL that the world can use to subscribe to your podcast. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is a way of publishing just about any content. Basically, an RSS feed is a file that describes your podcast and lists the episodes in it including descriptive information. The other advantage to using GCast is that they also give you a customizable UI (user interface) or player that can be added to a web page so that visitors can listen to your podcast directly from your web site or blog.

Once you have created your podcast, it is time to get it out there so the world can enjoy it. My suggestion a is to list it with iTunes Music Store. This of course is free and only requires you to set up an account with a credit card……but once this is done, your podcast will be available to millions of people to subscribe to.

Have fun podcasting! If you need help with podcasting or for more information, email us at cehdtech@gmail.com or call us at 979-845-1111.

Thanks to help from David Sweeny at TAMU (http://podcasts.tamu.edu/) and
Brad Niessen at the Tech Teacher Project (http://members.cox.net/niessen/).