Last updated: 10 March 2010
MAKING SENSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Podcasting

Podcasts are audio files that can be played on computers (PCs/Macs) or downloaded onto MP3 devices like iPods as well as other MP3 players. Although they get their name from the contraction of the words "iPod" and "broadcasting", you don't have to have an iPod to listen to them!

Take a look at this video from CommonCraft called Podcasting in plain English:

Podcasts are very flexible formats for delivering information:

• they are very portable, so you can listen to them not only at your desktop, but also whilst out jogging or travelling.
• audio podcasts are particularly useful when listening is important e.g. in language learning.
• video podcasts are very useful when observing is important, e.g. watching how to complete a task, e.g cooking a recipe.

Listening to audio podcasts

To listen to an audio podcast, you could

• play it on an embedded player on a web page (if available)
• download it manually onto a computer and either play it on the computer (using a media player like iTunes or transfer it to a iPod/MP3 player and listen to it there) - useful for one-off recordings, as in this example
• (where available) subscribe to the podcast feed and receive podcasts automatically as they are produced and play them on your computer or iPod/MP3 player as desired - useful for podcasts produced in a regular series.  You can often do this automatically through iTunes too - see section 8 for more on this.

iTunes

If you don't already have iTunes on your computer and would like to try it out, follow the instructions below:

• Download and install iTunes:  iTunes
• Read this tutorial on how to use iTunes: iTunes Tutorial

What types of podcasts are there?

Podcasts are produced for many different purposes: to provide both information and instruction.

• In education, they are being used by professors to deliver lecture content.  This has led to the term "coursecasting". Podcast lectures are either published at the universities concerned or else on iTunes University - as in the following examples:
  • UCL on iTunesU - University College, London
  • OpenTCD on iTunesU - Trinity College, Dublin
• In the corporate world businesses are beginning to create internal podcasts of executive briefings, short training sessions for their staff as well as external podcasts about their business as marketing and PR initiatives.

Where can you find podcasts?

If you are using iTunes, one of the easiest places to find podcasts is on the Apple iStore. But many others are to be found around the web

Examples of learning podcasts Arabic Pod - Learn Arabic with Arabic Pod BBC Languages - Audio and video courses for beginners and intermediates in 36 languages ChinesePod - Learn Mandarin with free daily MP3 podcast DailyFrenchPod - Learn French now Education.Podcast.com - Education podcasts from universities, colleges, students, teachers -- everyone who uses podcasting to learn and to teach others ESLPod - English as a Second Language Podcast FrenchOhLala - releases a new French lesson everyday. 10 minutes of French, brought to you by French teachers. Listen to free daily MP3 podcast lessons and download Lesson PDFs (Transcript, English translation Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips to Better Writing - A podcast series on English grammar iTunes Podcasts - The iTunes Store offers more than 100,000 audio and video podcasts iTunes U - Faculty are using iTunes U to distribute digital lessons to their students, e.g Stangord, Trinity College Dublin, etc. Learn French by Podcast - audio podcasts for learners of French as a foreign language LearnItalianPod.com - Learn Italian with free podcasts London Business School - podcasts Paris by Pod - learn French, live from Paris! Podcast Alley - Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts, as voted on by the listeners. PodcastDirectory - This education podcast database has been constructed and is maintained by David Noble Podcastrevision.co.uk - provides professionally produced podcast lessons so you can revise anywhere you want...and still look cool! Podictionary - Podictionary is the audio word-a-day.  For a couple of minutes Charles Hodgson discusses the unexpected history of words you thought you already knew Podiobooks - Free serialized audio books, delivered on your schedule - by podcasts Radio Lingua Network - language-learning which fits your lifestyle Spanish Pod - Learn Spanish on your terms with mobile podcasts and a global community of Spanish learners. Splendid Speaking - Podcasts for advanced learners of English who want to develop their top-level speaking skills and communication strategies Talk Irish - free Irish Podcast and Flashcard Service The Big Chair - Biweekly podcasts featuring breakthrough management ideas from HBR Idea cast (also available on iTunes) Tourcaster - The largest online library of downloadable tours for iPods and mp3 players. World Languages Podcasting - Listen to conversations about language and culture in Australia in several different languages.

Creating a podcast

The first thing to consider is why you want to set up a podcast. Will it be for internal or external consumption? Will it provide information or instruction?

Planning a podcast

It is a good idea to plan the podcast, in terms of length, style and format

• When considering the length of the podcast, bear in mind who the audience will be. Will they have time to listen to 30 minutes, or do they just want a short 5-10 podcast?
• In many cases to ensure a professional approach, podcasts are scripted. However, others take a more impromptu approach to podcasting. Will you want to script yours?
• Will it be a monologue or will it be a dialogue/conversation or interview with two or more people involved?
• Do you need to conform to any organisational podcasting policy - in terms of what you can say and how you can say it?

Here are some useful Podcasting Guidelines from Elliot Masie's LearningWiki.

Podcasting tools

There are two main ways of creating podcasts. Of the free desktop tools, Audacity is a free, open source cross-platform sound recorder and editor.

Although the Audacity interface may look quite daunting, to create a simple audio file you only need to know these 5 things:

1. Use the coloured buttons at the top to control the recording, as shown on the diagram below. Hover your mouse over the buttons to see what they do.
2. You can pause, go back and overwrite mistakes.
3. Your recording appears in the audio track (marked on the diagram below).
4. When you have finished, save your recording.
5. If you want to create a podcast, you need to Export it as MP3 (Note: you will have needed to have installed the Lame encoder)

You can download Audacity as well as the LAME MP3 encoder here -  audacity.sourceforge.net/.

If you want to edit your audio file, then you will need to understand a bit more about Audacity controls. Minor editing has been described in the video above, but you might want to refer to the Audacity Manual for other editing: Audacity Tutorials

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Further Reading: Podcasting Reading List
Directory Listing: Browsers, Extensions, Toolbars and Players