Podcasting
A podcast is basically just internet radio/television with a fancy new name and can be a combination of video and audio. People pre-record radio or television shows, and post them on the internet for people to listen or watch. You can download the files to play on a computer, MP3 player, or other digital devices, such as certain mobile phones. Many people think that you're required to own an iPod to listen to podcasts, but this isn't true. The audio/video files will play on any computer, and almost every portable audio device. If you're still confused, O'Reilly offers an short article explaining what podcasting is all about.
Creating a Podcast:
It's relatively cheap and easy to create your own podcast. Audio podcasts (like an internet radio show) are the easiest to create, so we'll focus on audio podcasts for the purpose of this tutorial. If you would like to create video podcasts, contact the ITRC for further training.
- Plan for your podcast
- Record your podcast
Plan For Your Podcast:
Every radio and televion show that you've ever experienced is planned in detail before it's recorded. Just like the professionals, it's important that you plan out your podcast, to receive the best results. There are a couple of ways that you can go about planning for your podcast, and we'll list the two most common here. One thing to consider at this point is your natural teaching style. Go with what feels most natural for you, and you'll feel most comfortable recording.
Script Method:
Some people find it best to write a full script for their podcast. They write down everything that they want to say, and read the script when they're recording. It may sound funny to do so, but this is how television news shows work. The important part is to make it sound like you're not reading from the script; try to sound as natural as you can while reading.
- Pros: gives a strong structure to your podcast, good for people who are nervous about recording themselves, used by a number of professional media outlets.
- Cons: makes some people feel confined about what they can say, can sound very unnatural.
Notes Method:
Some people prefer to only use loose notes as references for recording. This is more like a bulleted list that you would use to organize your thoughts for you, and then expound upon those points while you record.
- Pros: gives freedom and flexibility to your presentation, easier to sound more natural in your podcast.
- Cons: leaves one more open for communication errors, not good for people nervous about recording themselves.
Record Your Podcast:
There are a few items you will need before you're able to record your first podcast. First, you'll need a microphone in order to record your voice, and second, you'll need some sort of audio software to record your show onto your computer.
Microphone: it's important that you have a microphone in order to pick up your voice for the recording. While some laptops and desktop computers come with built-in microphones, we've found that the sound quality on them is usually not the best. We recommend getting an external microphone for recording. Our top pick for microphones goes to the Logitech USB desktop microphone. This microphone provides relatively good sound quality, is easy to use, works on any computer with a USB connection, and is very inexpensive. This microphone can be found for $20-30 from retailers.
Audio Software: there are almost as many pieces of audio software as there are podcasts. Some are created specifically for podcasting, while others for advanced audio editing, but they're all basically the same thing. We recommend using Audacity audio editor for creating your podcasts. Audacity is robust, yet easy to use, available for PC and Macs, and most importantly... it's free. Audacity requires you install a LAME library in order to save in MP3 format, which is also free.
After you've gotten a microphone and the software installed on your computer, you're ready to record. It's important to think of the location you'll be recording in. Ideally, you'll want a quiet room with as little background noise as possible. The quieter the room you record in, the less background noise that will be on your podcast. When you're recording your audio, place the microphone facing you at a distance of 1-2 feet from you. This allows the microphone to pick up your voice well, but doesn't pick up your breathing. Experiment with the placement of the microphone to see which location works best for you.
You can now record your podcast in Audacity. Dan Eliot has written a thorough tutorial for recording an audio file with Audacity and converting it to MP3.
Some people choose to use music in their podcasts. This is easy to do with Audacity, and we have a collection of royalty free music for you to choose from in the ITRC. You are only allowed to use royalty free music in podcasts, to avoid copyright infringement, and the ITRC has purchased this music especially for this purpose.