PODCASTThe word PODCAST is a play on the word broadcast combined with the word iPOD! It is an audio file (or it can be a video file in which case it's called a VODCAST!) which is distributed over the Internet. You don’t have to have an iPod to listen to a Podcast! You can listen to a Podcast on anything that plays MP3 files such as computers, mobile phones and any MP3 player. When you download a Podcast, you have an ordinary MP3 file. Anyone can make a Podcast (MP3 file) with the minimum of hardware and some free software programs. HARDWAREHardware requirements for creating a Podcast are quite minimal. Most laptops have a built-in microphone, but these are usually of poor quality. You will have superior results by plugging in an external microphone to the microphone input of the computer (laptop or desktop). There are also a range of microphones which can plug into the USB port. A microphone stand is also a useful device! If you would rather use stand-alone recording devices, there are some very good ones on the market. These devices have built in stereo microphones and record onto flash discs such as SD cards. The recordings are then transferred to the computer for editing via a USB cable or via a card reader. Although these devices are extremely portable, they are rather expensive, ranging in price from around £150 to well over £400!
SOFTWAREThere are many software packages for recording and manipulating audio files. Some are free but even products which you may want to purchase aren't very expensive. If you had access to an Apple Mac computer, you would find that it comes with suitable software built in - Garage Band! The most useful piece of software for PC's though has got to be Audacity - a free download from this site: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
There are a few tutorials on the Internet which will guide you through using Audacity. The first one is from the Audacity Site itself - click here. This tutorial is from the How to Podcast Website. PUBLISHINGWhen you have edited your recordings in Audacity and created your Podcast, make sure that you save the project for future editing (File>Save Project As...),and also as a stereo MP3 file (File>Export As MP3...) with a single word filename (i.e. do not use spaces in the filename). Note that Audacity cannot save an MP3 file unless you have downloaded the LAME library file and copied the dll file into the Audacity program folder. When you are ready to publish your Podcast, you will have to publish it to an Internet server in order for others to hear it. It is recommended that the easiest way to do this is to use the school's own web area. To access this web area, you will need to log on to your computer as an IT Coordinator, using the password supplied to you. Once logged on, go to My Computer and look for the W: drive. (If this drive is not available, you will have to log a call to SLTS or fill in an Incident Form on the SLTS Website.) Double-click the W: drive to open it and create a folder for your MP3 file - call it podcasts. Copy your MP3 file into this folder. To link to this file from your website, enter the text that is to be the link (or select an image if this is to be the link) and create a hyperlink. The web address for the link will be in this format: http://www.name_of_school.swansea.sch.uk/podcasts/name_of_mp3_file.mp3 substituting your school name and the name of the MP3 file in the link. Click the link on your website to check that the MP3 file loads and plays in whatever is the default audio player on your computer (probably Windows Media Player). Follow this process for any Podcast file (audio or video) you would like to display from your web folder. |
||||||
