IntroductiontoPodcastingandVideoPodcasting JimmyD.

Clark,InstructionalDesignSpecialist AustinCommunityCollege April4,2008

Introduction
Podcastingisanewcommunicationsphenomenonthatbeganaboutfouryearsago.Itrefersto publishingaudioandvideofilestotheInternetthatuserscanplaybackattheirconvenience.This workshopconsistsofaninformationalcomponentthatwillbebasedonEducauseLearningInitiatives7 ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutPodcastingandahandsonexerciseinwhichyouwillsetupafree podcastingaccountandrecord,edit,andpublishyourownpodcast.Youwillalsolearnwhatvideo podcastingisandwatchademonstrationthatwillcoverthebasicsoffilmingandeditingabriefvideo podcast.

GoalsandObjectivesfortheWorkshop
PartI7ThingsYouShouldKnowaboutPodcasting
1. Whatpodcastingis 2. Whoisdoingit? 3. Howdoesitwork? 4. Whyisitsignificant? 5. Whatarethedownsidesofpodcasting? 6. Whereisitgoing? 7. Whataretheimplications?(fromEducauseLearningInitiative,onlineat: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAbout/39380.

PartIICreatingYourOwnAudioPodcast
IntroductiontothePodcastingProcess
Wemaydividethepodcastingprocessintothefollowingsteps: 1. Planyourpodcast 2. Assemblethehardwareandsoftwareneededtocreateyourpodcast 3. Setupapodcastingaccountatawebsitethathostspodcasts 4. Recordyourpodcast 5. Edityourpodcast 6. ConvertyourpodcasttoMP3format 7. Publishandpublicizeyourpodcast Wewillnowlookatthesestepsinmoredetail.

1. PlanningYourPodcast
AccordingtoGarrickChowofLynda.com(http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modpage.asp?ID=214), whenplanningapodcastyoushouldconsiderthefollowingfactors: WhyamIdoingthis? WhattopicscanIspeakonauthoritatively? Narrowdownthescopeofthepodcast. HowoftenwillIproduceepisodes? Next,weshouldthinkabouttheformatorstructureforourpodcast.Someissueswemightwishto considerare: Keeptheformatconsistentforeachepisode. Includeabeginning,middle,andendineachepisode. Startstrongandendstrong. Leadoffeachepisodewithyourstrongesttopic. Itisalwaysagoodideatobegineachpodcastepisodewithashortmusicalintroandenditwith ashortmusicaloutro.Donteventhinkaboutusingcopyrightedmusicwithoutpermission.The RecordingIndustryofAmericaisextremelyzealousinfindingandsuingindividualstheythinkmightbe inviolationofcopyrightprotection.FortunatelythereisalotofmusicontheWebthatwaspublished underaCreativeCommonslicense.Threegoodplacestolookforitare:MusicPodshow 2

(http://music.podshow.com),MusicPodcasting(http://musicpodcasting.org),andtheInternetArchive (http://www.archive.org/index.php).

2.AssemblingtheHardwareandSoftwareforYourPodcast
Yourlevelofinterestinandcommitmenttopodcastingwilldeterminethesoftwareand hardwareyouwillneedforyourpodcast.Thepersonwhowishestorecordanoccasionalepisodewill probablynotwishtospendverymuchonsoftwareandhardware,andyoucandownloadfreesoftware thatwillmeetyourneeds.Theonlyhardwareyouwillprobablyneedisafairlynewcomputerwith speakersanda$10computermicrophone.YoucanusethefreeAudacityaudiorecordingandediting programandafreeMP3encoder.IfyoupurchasedanApplecomputerwithinthepastcoupleofyearsit camewithallthesoftwareyouneedforproducingprettysophisticatedpodcasts.Ifyouareaserious amateurpodcasterwhorecordsanepisodeeveryweekyouwillprobablyspendseveralhundreddollars onequipment.Ifyouareaprofessionalpodcasteryouwillprobablyspendafewthousanddollars.Iam assumingyouarenotaprofessional.Ifyouare,IsuggestyoubuyabooksuchasthePodcastingBible,by SteveMackandMitchRatcliffe(WileyPublishing,2007)tolearnaboutthehardwareandsoftwareyou willneedandwhatitwillcost.

PodcastingToolsfortheOccasionalPodcaster Thefollowinghardwareandsoftwarewillprobablybesufficientforthepersonwhowantstoproducean occasionalpodcast: 1. Computerrequirements Acomputerthatisnomorethan23yearsold WindowsXPorVistaoperatingsystemorOS10.xforaMacintosh 4GBoffreeharddrivespace Atleast1GBofRAM Linein,lineoutjackforthemicrophone 2. MicrophoneYoucanbuyadeskmicrophonefor$10.MineisaLogitechmicthatcost$30and therecordingqualityisprettygood.Youcanbuyinexpensiveheadsetmicrophonesforaslittle as$20.IfyouwanttouseaLavaliereorlapelmicyoucanbuyoneforlessthan$50.Youcan alsobuyheadphonesforlessthan$20.

Figure1:HeadsetMicrophoneandDeskMicrophones

 Figure2:MicrophoneRecordingInterface

3. RecordingsoftwareYoucandownloadthefreeAudacityprogramatSourceForge (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/).Irecommenddownloadingthelateststableversion.When yourecordapodcastinAudacityyouwillbecreatinganuncompressedWAVfile.Youwillneed todownloadthefreeLameMP3encodertoconvertittoacompressedMP3file.Youcan downloaditat(http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php).IfyouownafairlynewMacintosh computeritcameloadedwiththeiLifeprograms,includingGarageband,anexcellentaudio editingprogramfortheoccasionalpodcasterandtheseriousamateur. PodcastingToolsfortheSeriousAmateurPodcaster Ifyouaregoingtoproducepodcastepisodesonceaweekormoreyourlistenerswillexpecthigh qualityaudio.Iwouldsuggestyouconsiderbuyingthefollowingequipment,orsomethingsimilar. 1. ComputerrequirementsSameasfortheoccasionalpodcaster 2. MicrophoneYoumightwishtoconsiderbuyingoneormoreofthefollowing: Headsetmicrophones$50$100 DynamicmicrophonesSuchastheShureSM58($100approximately) CondensermicrophonesSuchastheAT4040($300approximately) Lavaliere(lapel)mic$20andup Microphonestand 5

Windscreen Popfilter Microphonecable XLRconnector USBadapter 3. IfyouuseaheavydynamicmicrophonesuchastheShureSM58andplugacableintoit,then attachaXLRconnectortothecableandplugitintoyourcomputer,theweightofallthis equipmentmightruinyourcomputerssoundcard.Itwouldbeagoodideatobuyanaudio mixerorpreampandplugitintoyourcomputer,thenplugthemicintothebox.Ifyoubuya condensermicyouwillhavetohaveapreampanyway.CheckoutthesedevicesontheWeb. Theycostapproximately$100andup.Themixerorpreampwillgreatlyimprovethequalityof yourrecordingandyouwillhavetodolesseditingtoamplifyandimproveit. 4. HeadphonesYoucanpurchaseagoodpairforaround$100. 5. OptionalequipmentYoumightwanttoconsiderbuyingsomeorallofthefollowing: MP3playeriPod,Zune,CreativeZen,SanDisk,etc. iPodrecordingattachment$50 Digitalvoicerecorder 6. Audiorecordingandeditingsoftware AdobeSoundbooth($100fromJourneyEdSoftware)orAudition($150) CamtasiaStudio($180fromJourneyEd)Youcanproduceaudioandvideopodcasts withCamtasia.

3.SettingUpaPodcastingAccount Therearemanywebsiteswherepodcasterscansetupfreeaccounts.Mostofthem offermonthlysubscriptionsforuserswhoneedextrabandwidthandstorageandother specialfeatures.Inthisworkshopwearegoingtosetupfreepodcastingaccountsatthe Podbeanwebsite.TheURLofthiswebsiteis:http://www.podbean.com.Tosetupan accountatPodbeanopenthehomepageinyourbrowserandfollowtheseeasysteps:

Figure3:OpeningScreenatPodbean

1. ClicktheSignUpbuttonatthetopofPodbeanshomepage. 2. Thenextpageofferstwoplans,abasicfreeplanandanadvancedplanthatcosts$4.95 amonth.ClicktheSignUpNowbuttonunderthebasicfreeplan.

 Figure4:TheTwoPlansOfferedbyPodbean

3. Onthesignuppageenteryourpersonalinformation.Youwillhavetomakeupthe membernameandthepasswordyouwishtouse. Figure5:RegisteringforanAccountatPodbean

 4. Thenextpagewillallowyoutouploadaphotoforyourpodcastingpageifyouwish.If youdontwanttoaddapictureclicktheSkipfornowbutton.Youhavesetupyour accountandyouarereadytoaddapodcast.Beforeyourecordyourfirstpodcastyou needtocheckyoursitesconfigurationandchooseathemeforyourpodcastpageifyou havenotalreadydonethis.OpenthePodbeanDashboard. Figure6:UploadaPhoto Figure7:OpentheDashboard

5. ClicktheSettingsbuttononthemenuatthetopofthescreen.Theoptionsonthispage allowyoutosetyourchannels(podcasts)privacy,uploadyourownlogo,addtagsto describethecontentofyourpodcast(Example:animals,dogs,pugs,Frodo),entera briefdescriptionofyourpodcast,etc.

 Figure8:ChangingtheSettingsforOurPodcast

6. ClicktheLayoutbuttononthemenuatthetopofthepage.Podbeanoffersabouta dozentemplatesyoucanusetocustomizethelookofyourpodcastpage.Ifyouwantto changethetemplateyouareusingyoucanselectanewone.Whenyouhaveselecteda newtemplate(ifyouwantto),clicktheDashboardbuttonagain.

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 Figure9:SelectingaTemplateforOurPodcast

7. Wewillhavetorecordandedittheaudiofileforourpodcast,thenreturntoPodbean andpublishit.ClosePodbean. 4. RecordingYourPodcast

SettingUpYourComputertoRecordAudio

Beforewerecordourfirstpodcastweneedtomakesureourcomputerissetupforaudio recording.InyourfolderyouhavethreehandoutsIwrotefortheDigitalAudiowebsite (http://irt.austincc.edu/audio).Thehandoutsaretitled:WhatisDigitalAudio?,SettingUpYour ComputertoRecordAudio,andRecordingandEditingDigitalAudiowithAudacity.Wearenot goingtocoverWhatisDigitalAudio?Inthisworkshop,butpleasereaditatyourconvenience.It containssomeusefulinformationforthepersonwhowantstolearnaboutthebasicsofdigital audio.Alltheinstructionsyouneedto setupyourcomputerandrecordandeditaudioareinthesehandouts. RecordingandEditingDigitalAudiowithAudacity. WearegoingtofollowtheinstructionsinthehandoutforrecordingaudioonPCswithAudacity. InthisworkshopwearenotgoingtodiscussrecordingaudioonaMac,butthiswebsiteatPenn 11

PennStateUniversitycontainsatutorialoncreatingapodcastinGarageband (http://podcasts.psu.edu/garageband. 5. EditingYourPodcast WewillagainfollowthehandoutRecordingandEditingDigitalAudiowithAudacity. 6. ConvertingthePodcasttoanMP3File Step9ofthehandoutonrecordingandeditingdigitalaudiowithAudacitycovershowto convertourWAVrecordingtoanMP3file.Audacitycallsthisprocessexportingthefile.Nowwe arereadytouploadouraudiorecordingtoPodbean.Thisiscoveredunderstep7,Publishand PublicizeOurPodcast. 7. PublishingOurPodcast 7.1 OpenthePodbeanhomepageandlogin.OpentheDashboard. Figure10:ReadytoPublishOurPodcast

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 7.2 TheDashboardshouldnowbedisplayed.ClicktheUploadtabandopentheMediaManager. Figure11:ThePodbeanDashboard

7.3 ClicktheUploadbutton.WhenthenextscreenopensClicktheBrowsebuttonandfindthe audiofileyouaregoingtoupload. Figure12:MediaManager Figure13:BrowseforYourFile

7.4 ClicktheUploadbuttontoopentheMediaManager.WhentheMediaManageropensclickthe Uploadbuttontobegintheuploadingprocess.OnthenextscreenclicktheBrowsebuttonand 13

locateyouraudiofile.Whenthenextscreenopensitlistsallthefilesyouhaveuploadedtoyour account. Figure13:ClicktheUploadButton Figure14:YourFilehasbeenUploaded

7.5ClickthePublishtabonthemainmenu.Wearereadytopublishourpodcast.Onthisscreen wecangiveourpotentiallistenerssomeinformationaboutourpodcastbyfillingoutthe informationintheTag,TitleandPostfields.ClicktheAddYourAudio/Videobutton.Clickthe Selectfromaccountbuttonandlocatethefileyoujustuploaded.ClicktheAutoDetectbutton soPodbeanwilllistthelengthofyourpodcastonyourPodbeanwebsite.ClickthePublish buttonatthebottomofthisscreen. Figure15:ReadytoPublishYourPodcast Fig16:ClicktheAddYourAddAudio/Video Button

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7.6ReturntotheDashboardandclickViewSitetoopenyourwebsiteatPodbean.Clickthe ListenNowbuttonifyouwouldliketohearyourpodcast. 8.PublicizingYourPodcastPodbeanoffersseveralwaysyoucaninformyourfriendsandthe entireworldifyouwishaboutyourpodcast.LetsreturntotheDashboardandlookattheways wecanshareourmasterpiecewithpotentiallisteners. Figure17:ReadytoPublicizeOurPodcast

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 8.1AtthebottomoftheDashboardscreenfourbuttonsaredisplayedthatletusaddour podcasttoiTunes,PodcastPickle.com,PodcastAlley,andPodcastDirectory.Everyoneshould subscribetoiTunes,Applesgreatfreemusicservicewhichalsodoublesasapodcastdirectory andpodcatcher.YouwillhavetohaveiTunesinstalledonyourcomputertocompleteStep8.2 ClicktheAddtoiTunesbutton. Figure18:AddPodcasttoiTunes

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8.2IfyouhaveiTunesinstalledonyourcomputertheiTunesStorewillopen.TypetheURLfor yourpodcastinthePodcastFeedURLtextboxandclicktheContinuebutton.Youhavetosign intoiTunesbeforeyoupublishyourpodcasttotheStore,sosigninnow. Figure19:iTunesStore Figure20:SigningintoiTunes

8.3ClicktheContinuebutton.TheReviewYourPodcastscreenopens.SelectaCategoryanda Subcategoryforyourpodcastfromthedropdownmenus.ClicktheSubmitbutton.Thenext screenthanksyouforsubmittingyourpodcasttotheiTunesstore.Eventhoughyouhave submittedyourpodcasttotheiTunesStore,listenerswillnothavetopaytolistentoit. Figure21:ReviewYourPodcast Figure22:ThanksforSubmittingPodcast

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8.4TolistentoyourpodcastoniTunesopenthemainscreenoftheiTunesStore.Thereisalink toallthepodcastsoniTunesinthelefthandcolumnunderiTunesStore.Youcansearchinside categoriesforyourpodcastortypethenameofitintheSearchbox.Remember,itwilltake sometime,perhapsseveralhours,foriTunestoaddyourpodcasttoitsdirectory. Figure23:FindingPodcasts Figure24:SearchbyCategory

8.5WewillalsoaddourpodcasttoPodcastAlley,soreturntotheDashboardandclickthelink toPodcastAlleyatthebottomofthepage.Youshouldalreadyhavesetupafreeaccountat thatwebsite.TypetheURLofyourpodcastfeedinthetextboxunderWhatistheURLforyour PodcastFeed?ClickthebuttonlabeledGoToStep2:FeedValidation. Figure25:AddPodcasttoPodcastAlley Figure26:EnterURLofPodcast

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8.6Ifawarningmessagedisplayswhenyouclickthebuttontoverifyyourfeed,returntothe Dashboardandcorrecttheerrors.ClickthebuttontogotoStep3:CommitResults.Onthenext screenclickthebuttontogotoStep4:GotoFinalStep:ClaimFeed. Figure27:GotoStep3:CommitResults Figure28:GotoClaimFeed

9.ShareYourPodcastYoucanalsoshareyoupodcastwithyourfriends.Toshareyour podcastopenyourpodcastsiteandclicktheSharebutton.Thenextpagecontainsanemail formyoucanfillouttoshareyourpodcastwithyourfriends.FillouttheformandclicktheSend button.Thenextscreeninformsyouthatyouhavesentemailstoyourfriendsaboutyour podcast. Figure29:SharePodcast Figure30:ShareChannelForm

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10.PutPodcastPlayeronYourWebsiteOnelastthingyoucandoisputanembeddable podcastplayeronyourwebsite.ClicktheEmbeddablePlayerlink.Copythecodeintheboxon thenextpageandpasteitintoapageonyourwebsite.Figure32showsthepodcastplayerIput onthePodcastspageofmywebsite. Figure31:AddEmbeddablePlayer Figure32:PodcastPlayeronWebsite

CreatingaVideoPodcast
Creatingavideopodcast,unfortunatelysometimescalledavodcast,isamuchmorecomplex andtimeconsumingprocessthancreatinganaudiopodcast.Ifyouwanttobecomeavideo podcasteryouwillneedsomeofthefollowingequipment: 1. Videocapturetools InexpensiveDVcamcorder Webcam Videocamera Externalmicrophone 2. Videoeditingtools: WindowsMovieMaker AdobePremiereElements AdobePremiere AppleiMovie FinalCutPro SonyVegas 20

 Thelearningcurveisalsoconsiderablysteeperthanthatinvolvedwithaudiopodcasting. Timeconstraintsdonotpermitustoshootandeditavideopodcastinthisworkshop,sowe willviewoneIcreatedentitledCustomizingYourBlackboardCoursesite.Iwilldescribethe processIfollowedtoproducethisvideo. 1. PlanningtheVideoPodcast MyvideopodcastiscomposedofscreenshotsIcapturedfrommyBlackboardsiteandaudio recordings.Iusedthesefivesoftwareprogramstocreatethismovie: BlackboardImadeascreenshotofeachstepinthetutorialandsavedthemasJPEGs. AdobePhotoshopIopenedthescreenshotsandsavedthemfortheWeb.Iprintedeach screenshotandnumberedeachone. MicrosoftWordItypedascriptforeachseparaterecording.Scriptsalwaysmakethe recordinggomuchsmootherandfaster. AudacityAudacityisafreeaudiorecordingandeditingprogramthatwillprobablymeetmost videopodcastersneeds. AdobeCaptivateCaptivateisagreatprogramforcreatinginteractiveslidepresentations whichcanbeeitherdemonstrationsorsimulations. Whenyouareworkingwithseveralsoftwareprogramsitisalwaysagoodideatothinkaboutyour workflow,orhowyouwillorganizeyourresources.ForthisprojectIknewIneededtoopenall fiveprogramsandkeepthemopenuntilIfinishedthemovie.Iusedlotsofkeyboardshortcuts tosavetime.Forinstance,toprintanimageinPhotoshopIpressedthesekeys:Crtl+P>Enter >Enter>Enter. 2. CreatingtheMovie a. IopenedBlackboardandperformedeachstepinthetutorialoncustomizingyour Blackboardcoursesite.Iusedascreencaptureprogramtomakeascreenshotofeachstep andsaveditasaJPEG. b. IopenedeachJPEGinPhotoshopandadjustedthequalityabit.IchoseFile>SaveforWeb andDevicesandsavedeachimageasahighqualityJPEGimage.Iprintedandnumbered eachimage. c. IopenedMicrosoftWordandtypedabriefdescriptionofeachstep.Forexample,Open Blackboardandsignin.Iprintedeachscript. d. IopenedAudacityandsetitupforrecording.Irecordedeachscriptandlistenedtoit.Idid somebasiceditingtoimprovethequalityoftherecordings.Inormalizedeachsoundbiteto 21

maketheaudioasloudaspossiblewithoutdistortingit.Iexported,orsaved,eachrecording asanMP3(compressed)file. e. IopenedAbodeCaptivate.Icreatedaslidetoholdeachscreenshot.Itypedacaption foreachslide.Isetthecaptiontoplayforthedurationoftheslide.Iimportedtheaudiofor eachslideandsetittoplayforthelengthofeachslide.Ipreviewedeachslideandlistened totheaudio.IpublishedtheCaptivateprojectasaSWF(Flash)movie. f.IconvertedtheSWFfiletoanAVI(uncompressedvideo)file. g.LargefilesuploadfasterthroughFTP.Ifyouneedtouploadlargevideofilestoyour Podbeanaccount,clicktheFTPUploadtabontheMediaManagerpageandfollowthe directionsthere.YouwillhavetodownloadafreeFTPclientnamedFileZillabeforeyou uploadyourvideopodcast.Ifyourfileissmall,followtheinstructionsinthishandoutfor uploadingaudiopodcasts.

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