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Resource Pages :: Audio Recording, Editing and Podcasting 

What is Podcasting?

Podcasting is more than just creating a digital audio recording, though that is the first step! Create a series of audio files, put them up on the internet where people can find them and subscribe to them with services like iTunes and other 'podcatchers" - then you're Podcasting!

 K-12 : examples

• Forman School Library - Sara Kelley-Mudie has recorded short audio book teasers for summer reading. mp3 files are stored on their wikispaces account. 
• Beverly Elemetary School Media Center Podcasts -- 3rd & 5th graders  (trail of tears example) (shackleton facts)
  • Sample Permission slip for student participation
• Brookline Book Review Podcasts Runkle School, Brookline, MA Book review podcasts by students and teachers. (ex)
• Book Talks - Nancy Keane

• Quick Picks - Recommended Reading --  book reviews by students

• Room 208 Podcast  -  Elementary school students podcast show (ex)
• History on the Air - History podcasts
• How are educators using podcasting in their classrooms

Higher Ed : Examples

• Western Kentucky U Podcasts -- Several series of podcasts on Southern Culture, campus research in "faraway places", library tours and more. 
• Dowling College Library Podcasts -- terrific podcasts on a wide range of topics relating to the univeristy community. Has a "This American Life" sort of feel to it. For more info read their blog post,  Learning to Speak, and listen to their podcast about the project.
• History of Health Sciences Lecture Series   -- Universith of Virginia Health Sciences Library
• The Library Channel  -- Very professionally produced podcasts and videos from Arizona State University Libraries. eg: Library Tour (mp3 format) Also available in mp4 format for playing on a video IPod.
• Fairfield University -- Interviews with databases!
• College & University Feed Directory : Podcasts -- Directory listing nearly 50 academic podcasts.

Public Libraries : Examples

• TeenCast -  Darien (CT) PL teen produced weekly podcast
• Abilene (TX) Public Library - Podcast hosted on Podomatic.com
• Writers Club - Norwalk (CT) PL - kids reading their own writings and reviewing books.
• Orange County Library System (FL) -- Stories and library news for children and teens.
• Cheshire (CT) Public Library Podcasts -- is a teen-driven cultural magazine featuring teen writers, musicians, reviewers, commentators, and more. (listen to a podcast interview about the project with Sarah Kline Morgan, teen librarian at Cheshire Public Library)
• Boulder Public Library -- Teen Podcasts
• Darien (CT) PL Event Podcasts
• Grand Rapids Public Library  -- Storytime, events and book reviews. (cow in the cabbage patch)
• Worthington Libraries : Programs to Go  --  Audio and video programs for patrons to enjoy at home. The Kids podcasts include information on activities to go along with the story, song or rhyme. 
• Pierce County Library System Podcast Blog --  Book reviews, parenting tips, interviews, library services and more. 
• City of Casa Grande Public Library News and Events  -- Podcast page on Odeo
• Gwinnett County Public Library Podcasts - Podcasts from GCPL Events & Programs

Professional Development : Examples

• Connected Learning - David Warlick podcast blog - ideas about classrooms, teaching, and learning in the 21st century.
• Classroom 2.0 Live - frequent webinars on education topics. Archives available as audio and recorded screencasts. 
• Five Weeks to a Social Library Podcasts OPAL archive of podcasts
  • More OPAL podcasts
• Sirsi Dynix Institute Event Archive - Podcasts of past events
• T is for Training - biweekly conversation of training in libraries.
• Adventures in Library Instruction
• Games in Libraries
• Podcasts for Library Staff - list of podcasts at LISWiki

Selected Podcasts/Audio: Miscellaneous

• Just Vocabulary - 2 new SAT vocabulary words per show.

• The Tech Teachers - "Teachers who talk tech... and a little bit of education"
• Tech Chicks - "Tips and tricks for teaching 21st century students using 21st century skills from two Texas educators obsessed with anything digital!"
• Cast On - for all you knitters!
• StoryNory - fun stories, tongue twisters, fairytales and more.
• Just One More Book - Great podcast about children's books. Andrea & Mark record this short podcast 3 times a week at their local coffee shop. Casual and informative. Easy to browse for books by topic and author.
• LIS3513 Audio Projects - Done for a class exercise, these are 30 second intros to imaginary podcasts. Creative and fun examples. (Florida State U LIS class in Design & Production of Media Resources)

More examples at:

• Library Success Wiki : Podcasting Libraries
• College & University Feed Directory : Podcasts -- Directory listing  nearly 50 academic podcasts.
• LIS Wiki - Podcasts - Podcasts for library staff, professionaly development, news.

Recording your Audio

• Audacity  Free & open source for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux. Audio recording and editing.  Also need LAME encoder to export files in mp3 format
• GarageBand - Mac software for recording and editing.
• PodcastPeople.com -- Record your audio directly to their website. Very handy. No post recording editing though. Limited storage and bandwidth. Upgrade to pay account for more resources.
• Skype ---  Using  Skype to have a speaker "call it in"? You can record your conversation with PowerGramo or Pamela plugins. There are other plugins also, but these seem to be the most popular.

   

Audacity Demo

The basics in 3 minutes!

Nice video showing some of features of Audacity, including amplifying an audio track.

Using Skype for for recording interviews

| View | Upload your own

Where to Host your files?

• On your own server if you have the bandwidth and storage space.
• Free online hosting:
  • Podbean.com - Automatically posts your podcasts to a your own wordpress blog. Limited free account. Fee for more services.
  • Internet Archive  -- Non commercial, geared towards sharing content. Embeddable players. Closely tied with Ourmedia.org
  • Podomatic - 15 GB free bandwidth per month
  • libsyn.com – $5/month, unlimited bandwidth

Quick "How To" Steps:

• An idea: This is key!! Perhaps a script, though you don't want to sound like you're reading a script. Be relaxed. You can edit out the 'ummmmsss'
• Hardware: Microphone and computer (Or some other way to record and get file to computer)
• Software: Record with Audacity - Open source software for recording and editing
• Edit recorded file with Audacity
• Save files as WAV files while still editing.
• Export to MP3 - You'll need the LAME MP3 Encoder to export to MP3. (Download info on the Audacity web site.)
• Upload file to web server - your own, your blog space or some other hosting service.
• Add the file to your blog and your blog software should take care of making the RSS entry for it. Read your blog's help files for more info.
• Your blog readers can listen from the link in the blog entry and RSS feed readers will let people listen to your podcast too.
• With the RSS feed, people can subscribe with their iTunes software.
• You're Podcasting!

Suggested audio settings

(from Greg Schwartz' Sirsi Dynix Institute on Podcasting)

• Sample rate - set before you start recording
  • higher = better quality, but larger file
  • 44.100 khz is standard

• Bit rate - set when saving your file
  • higher = better quality, but larger file.
  • Suggestion: 64 kbps for voice; 128 kbps for music

Podcasting Tools 

• Directories / Search Tools 

  • iTunes
  • Odeo
  • Podcast.net
  • Podcast Alley
  • Podcasting Station
  • PodNova
  • Feedzie - Audio, Video, Feed search tool

• Online Recording

  • PodcastPeople.com
  • Gabcast

• Other Tools

  • Levelator - Levels out uneven volume in your recordings. Edit your audio in Audacity, save as a WAV file, run it through Levelator,

Learn More, Resources & Tips

• Music & Sound Resources
• Podcastion 101: An Introduction  - Greg Schwartz excellent "how to". Includes a great list of  "libraries that podcast".
• Library Podcasting Resources - David Free
• Podcasting Basics 
• Podcating Underground: Podcasting Tips for Podcasters (blog)
• How To Podcast - step by step tutorial on podcasting. Hosting audio, posting to a blog, rss feeds.
• Beginners Guide to Podcasting
• Kirk's Eight Rules of Effective Podcasting
• Podcasting 101 - Nice overview from School Library Media Activities Monthly.
• Podcasting Legal Guide  - Check out this guide to the dos and don'ts of podcsting.
• Learning to Speak: Creating a Library Podcast With a Unique Voice
• Podcasting Toolbox: 70+ Podcastsing Tools & Resources Links to getting started guides,  hosting services, editing software and more.
• Podcasting Legal Guide
• Converting Audio File Formats - wma to mp3  -- step by step instructions for using iTunes to convert files to mp3 for edting in Audacity.
• Podcast Information Page - example of a information page for the public. Lansing (IL) Public Library.
• Edirol DVR
• WebTools4U2Use: Audio & Podcasting - Part of a wiki about new tools for school library media specialists.
• Podcast Answer Man -  A podcast on podcasting!
• Podcast Tech Roundup - Helpful practical tips on how to record a meeting or conference session without investing in tons of expensive equipment.

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10/20/08 - notes from today's session  -- ideas for podcasting contributed by students.

• course intros in campus learning environment (Blackboard, moodle. etc)
• ntros to library services and faq's in various languages
• training for staff
• tutorials about research tools (narrated powerpoints)
• storytelling, storytime
• audio book snippets as teasers
• reports from events, conferences, library events, programs
• community stories -- eg: what do you remember about this location, town, building, person. link to photos on flickr etc
• upcoming events, news,
• interviews with staff, trustees, faculty, reasearch, etc.