Tips and Tricks for Podcasting - Part 2

Posted by David Wetzel

This is the second part of a three part series focusing on tips and tricks for podcasting.

Now for more tricks and tips for podcasts - recording and posting.

Recording Podcasts: Software Programs

There are two primary software programs for teachers and students to use in recording podcasts, which are Audacity and GarageBand.

Audacity – is a free downloadable program used for PCs and Macs.

Audacity is a multi-track recording software program. This means you can record or import various sections of audio and have them overlap or play at the same time. You can move tracks around to have them start and stop at specific times.

Audacity has six tools, although you will find most podcasts only require the use of the Selection and Timeshift tools when recording and editing.

One drawback with Audacity, unlike GarageBand, is the need to import all music and sound effects from other sources. See the royalty free music section below for good resources.

LAME – after downloading Audacity, you will also need to download a free copy of LAME for exporting podcast recordings as MP3 files to your website, wiki, hosting service, or iTunes.

Use the following instructions to help with downloading and installing Audacity or LAME if you have any difficulties.

GarageBand – comes installed on all new Macs. The third part of this podcast series focuses tips and tricks for using GarageBand for making podcasts.

Royalty Free Music

One issue which causes problems when creating podcasts is using royalty free music or sound effects to avoid copyright violations. The simple solution here is to not use music or sounds; however, there are many occasions where the addition of music or sound effects enhance a podcast.

Students will want to use their favorite music sound tracks and are often oblivious to copyright laws.

Teachers need to insist all music and sound tracks come from GarageBand or the following royalty and copyright free web resources when using Audacity:

Incompetech.com – music tracks

Partners in Rhyme.com – music tracks and sound effects

Posting Podcasts for Student Use

There are a few of options for making podcasts available for students. An important consideration for these options is all material must be royalty and copyright free.

Class Website, Blog, or Wiki – this is a good option for most teachers. Students and even parents can access the podcasts. Although this is the easiest method, there is no way to keep track of how many times a specific podcast was downloaded.

iTunes – allows free uploading and downloading of podcasts. Students can subscribe to iTunes (in reality many students are already subscribing) and have broadcasts automatically downloaded to their computers, iPad, or iPhone.

Once they are downloaded they can listen or transfer it to their iPod. Subscribing is a great idea because it eliminates the need to check the iTunes website or class website, blog, or wiki to see if new broadcasts were posted.

Each time a specific podcast is downloaded it is recorded, offering teachers with a method of determining the usefulness or a specific podcast.

Hosting Services – sometimes teachers find both Audacity and GarageBand are not options for them. The following are user freely podcasting services which allow you to record a podcast, post it for others to download or listen, and also provide a means for embedding a link to the podcast on your class website, blog, or wiki.