Podcasts are audio or visual files that express information about a subject. Podcasts can range from political, educational, to recreational even scientific. Podcasts are designed to inform the listener or audience. Each podcast has an intended audience, though the purposes of podcasts may vary. Some people who podcast use them as a means of income, others use them as a means to have their voices heard. Podcasts are media expression.
The Process:
I started this investigation by accessing some tutorials and websites on the how to's of Podcasting. The two pages that gave me the best results were directly from Apple: http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/specs.html and http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/15-audacity-download.htm
Apple walks the user through step by step, as does the How to Podcast Tutorial. The tutorial page was a bit more beneficial for me as it provided links to audio recording software. Audacity is software users can download to their applications. The program is very user friendly. I simply plugged in my USB headphone and microphone set, and it automatically read the headset.
I did a short test run to make sure the software was reading my voice. I created a short 2 minute podcast on the topic of 21st education. I saved the file, but Audacity saves their audio recordings in a .aup format. This format can only be read by the Audacity application. In order to create a file that is readable by most users I had to export the file and convert to .mp3. Audacity has a built in converter called LAME. I, however, had not downloaded it in my initial download, so I had to revisit the Tutorial page and get the additional plug in. Also note, even if you have downloaded the plug-in, you still have to install the software before it will be readable by Audacity. (Yes, I tried to jump the gun).Once the software is installed, I went to Audacity, file, Export. Clicked Okay, and Voila! I now have a short, converted .mp3 podcast.
Now I have to upload the file, which is proving to be difficult. I have created .mp3 file, this is only audio. Blogger accepts video files to be uploaded. I have tried two different techniques to convert into a video format. First was using iMovie. This proved frustrating as I had to keep applying a picture for the audio to play over. The second way is using QuickTime Player. I opened my .mp3 and saved it as a .mov. The .mov was not accepted by Blogger, so I have Exported the file a second time and changed it to a .mp4 format. This did not work either, and the "There has been an error processing your video" popup window has once again graced my screen.
I have now enlisted my husband's assistance. It turns out I had to upload the file to a different server, in my case, onto my Telus server, and link to it through Blogger. If you are interested in checking out my podcast, please click on the link.
http://www3.telus.net/public/lwp83/Podcast.mp3
Class Application:
I can see students using podcasts to deliver presentations. Some students become very anxious when doing a presentation for a class. Focus on Inquiry emphasizes the importance of students feeling successful and confident through their inquiry-based learning projects (2004). If a student is less comfortable speaking in front of the class teacher should be willing to make adjustments. Podcasts would integrate the technology curriculum, while meeting the communication outcomes.
Students could also be encouraged to create podcasts about their learning, an audio or video journal. This could especially benefit students who have difficulty using expressive written language.
Our classrooms are supposed to incorporate differentiation, podcasts are one differentiation tool I will be encouraging my students to access.
References:
"Focus on Inquiry: A Teacher's guide to implementing inquiry-based learning."
(2004). Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning. Retrieved from
http://education.alberta.ca/media/313361/focusoninquiry.pdf
How to Podcast: The difinitive step-by-step guide on how to podcast without
breaking the bank. Retrieved from http://www.how-to-podcast-
tutorial.com/15-audacity-download.htm
Making a Podcast. Retrieved
from http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/specs.html
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