Blog #4 - Podcasting

Have you ever wanted to work in the media industry? Perhaps you wanted to be a radio announcer or an anchor person on the news. Maybe you’re like me and rely on the industry for up-to-date news, but never considered tackling the job. Today’s post is about podcasting and this web 2.0 technology may be able to make your media dreams come true! Over the past week I have had the opportunity to create my first podcast using Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). Join me as I attempt to explain how it works and how it will impact me personally and professionally.

Reflections on learning to use Audacity

Audacity is a free audio recording program that you must download from the internet. It was easy for me to learn how to use it only because I had a professional show me! Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. This past week I went to a professional development workshop that dealt with using technology in the classroom. It was at this workshop that I was shown how to use Audacity and, to be more than honest, if I had to learn about this web 2.0 technology on my own I may still be sitting here trying to figure out where the record button is! The workshop instructor (who works in the media industry producing documentaries) took the participants through what he called the basic tools by showing us where they are located and what they are used for. It was then up to us to create an audio recording and add it to a 30 second video clip. This is much easier than it sounds (pun intended)! Let me share what I learned.

First off, it only takes a couple of minutes to download Audacity and you can begin using it right away. Simply agree to the terms and conditions and identify where you want your files to be saved. Once downloaded you will have a grey screen with a number of tools at the top. The main circular control buttons look similar to any other audio system, with the red circle being the record button. The lovely instructor failed to point this out and I spent a considerable amount of time wondering why the green arrow play button didn’t result in a recording – some of us are not as smart as others. Anyway, by simply pressing the record button, an audio track will appear and as long as there is somewhere for sound to be inputted into your computer, you should have an audio recording. The blue wiggly line is your audio track and it is under a meter measured in seconds, so you know how long it is. On the far right is an icon that looks like a curser, this is the selection tool that allows you to highlight parts of your track. Another tool in this area that you should become familiar with is the double arrow icon, or the time shift tool, which allows you to move your track along the meter. Toward the center of the page is the cut tool that has a scissor icon on it and it is used to cut or trim the audio track. Now I’m sure that the rest of the tools are beneficial, but to be blunt, I’m not a ‘music’ person and the rest of the information that the instructor shared with us went right over my head. I did get the general concept that they allowed you to alter your track in terms of volume, but with my basic understanding, I found it easier to just delete and try again. You will need to play around to find out how far you should be from the microphone. Therefore, I’ve only highlighted the tools that I actually used and that were relevant for my basic podcast production.

After you’ve made your audio recording you may want to use the selection tool followed by the cut tool to highlight and remove any distracting noises, long pauses, ums, etc. I found this to be easy to do. Similar to word documents, tracks are saved by going into “file” and selecting “save project as.” Up until this point I found Audacity easy (after a demonstration) and enjoyable to use. From here, however, things became a bit confusing. Audacity saves files as “.aup” files, which are not transferable to other programs. If you are planning on using the file elsewhere, you need to export it as an MP3 file. This is easy to do (located in the file section) and Audacity reminds you of this when you save. I e-mailed one of my files to myself at work as an .aup file only to find out that I couldn’t open it, even with Audacity. Thus, it is important to use the export as an MP3 file function. After you have this figured out your audio possibilities are only as endless as you make them.

Audacity – For my own Personal Learning

I’m not going to lie, unlike many of the other web 2.0 tools that I’ve been thrilled to learn about, podcasting did not create the same level of excitement. When reflecting on the root cause of this feeling I realized that it is because I associated podcasts with music and radio shows and I am not musically inclined in any way. To put this in perspective, not only am I lacking in the ability to play or read music, but I am a person who may know the words to many songs (yes, when I stop at lights people in other vehicles stare strangely at me) and yet never be able to identify the title of the song or the artist’s name. Just to clarify things even further this ‘ability’ also extends into the movie industry, as I can enjoy a move and the very next day not know the title or be able to identify the actors (however, I will remember the story line). Anyway, now that you’ve formed a picture of my true talents, you may start to see why podcasting didn’t strike a chord with me. Thus, I embarked on this journey at a slow pace and if it wasn’t for professional development opportunities, I may still be shuffling my feet. Fortunately, the workshop instructor demonstrated the basics and then let us play with Audacity. At the workshop my group had a gut-splitting hilarious time and I quickly realized that recording sound can be a lot of fun. Thus, I came rushing home to create my first official podcast. I read the story “A Kiwi Night Before Christmas” (http://www.iqtoys.co.nz/site/page=item/item=9943) and truly enjoyed myself. In fact, it was such an enjoyable experience, I proceeded to read the Clement C. Moore version of the story in another recording (http://www.christmas-tree.com/stories/nightbeforechristmas.html). You can listen to my podcast by clicking on this link: http://www.box.net/shared/1kfr8spx5u I discovered that it is fun to play with your voice and Audacity is simple to use. After recording the second version of the story I did realize that it is unfortunate that my audience couldn’t see the pictures, as this book was illustrated with modern images of a favourite classic by Richard Jesse Watson (http://www.harpercollins.com/book/index.aspx?isbn=9780060757410). However, upon further reflection, I also considered that by listening to a story it allows the reader to formulate their own images of the story. Hooray for creativity (remember I’m a teacher)! I think podcasting is here to stay for me; I love the idea of being able to record stories for my future children to listen to and I also like the idea of chatting at my computer, as it is much faster than typing when your really excited about sharing an idea quickly (maybe I’ll create my own radio show someday).

In addition to creating podcasts I also took the time to listen to a few (http://www.cbc.ca/spark/) and again I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Now I can’t believe I’m writing this, but Santa if you’re listening, I’d like an iPod for Christmas! Earlier today I was actually comparing the differences (and price) between an iPod and an iPod Touch (http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/shop_ipod?afid=p219%7CGOCA&cid=OAS-CA-KWG). The main reason for this shift in thinking is that with a device that plays MP3 files I can use my RSS feeder to send the files to a handheld device that plays MP3 files (Will Richardson, 2009, chapter 8, http://www.amazon.com/Blogs-Wikis-Podcasts-Powerful-Classrooms/dp/1412959721/ref=ed_oe_p). This means that I can listen to podcasts whenever and wherever I like. Talk about convenience! And you never know, I just might find the time to create my own play list and gain some knowledge about the music industry! With web 2.0 technologies anything may be possible!?!

Audacity – for my Professional Learning

I am as excited about podcasting with my students as I am in my personal life. Digital storytelling is the first thing that comes to mind. Students can read stories, listen to stories, share stories that they have written, and this medium even allows for them to go a step further and explain their thoughts on the selection. Reading recovery teachers could really utilize this tool by allow students to practice their reading skills in a fun way that enables them to play back their reading and learn from their mistakes. Teachers who teach another language and/or who work with English Language Learners (ELLs) could use this tool to practice the oral aspects of language. All teachers will appreciate the way student work can be saved for assessment purposes. Podcasting is an excellent way to engage the learner in the language arts concept of voice in a meaningful setting with a real audience.

Another way of looking at the educational value in podcasting is the learning that surrounds the actual podcast. Students will have to prepare a topic, think about what they are going to say and consider their audience. This is a lot of learning packed into a web 2.0 tool and I haven’t even mentioned the networking aspect. Ok, so I just did. There are endless possibilities when it comes to having a student, class, or school podcast internet radio show (which can also be live). Students can reach a global audience and of course this means that others can reply to their program and help to create an on going conversation. Podcasting may also be a viable means of reaching parents in order to inform them of upcoming events and to allow their child to demonstrate their learning. I could use podcasting to connect with my students; I could even make podcasts of lessons and other pertinent information and share them with students, parents, colleagues, and even the greater community. The Education Podcast Network (http://epnweb.org/) is an excellent site to visit for information on podcasting and education-related shows and the Apple website (http://www.apple.com/education/) offers technical support as well as lesson plans. A post on Open Culture lists the top 25 educational podcasts on iTunes and you may be interested to know that teaching foreign languages, particularly Spanish, is one of the most popular activities (http://www.openculture.com/2008/02/the_top_25_educational_podcasts_on_itunes_.html). Another aspect of podcasting includes the use of video as well as audio, but since I’ve already written a post about YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/canadanz16), I’m going to move on.

Here are my pros and cons of podcasting:

Pros
Easy to create audio
Requires readily available (often built in) or inexpensive equipment
Caters to a variety of skill levels (depending on how technical you want to be)
Can stimulate higher order thinking skills
Bookmarks can be made public or private
Encourages collaboration/networking
Connect/share with others locally or from around the world
Provides opportunity for students to play with their “voice”
Real audience
Cross-curricular
Allows for differentiated instruction
Creates excitement (engaged students)
Deepens understanding of a topic
Creates a venue for students to critically examine society
Medium for students to reflect and create/discover their personal identity
Supports inclusive education
Can select level of privacy

Cons
Some programs may be technical (depending on how you use them)
Saving in the right format can be tricky
Negative outcomes (e.g. embarrassment)
Privacy could be an issue

I look forward to podcasting with my students and feel that this valuable and easy to use web 2.0 tool will benefit all of my students in many aspect of the curriculum. I think I’ll begin by sharing a digital story with them, after all, Halloween is fast approaching and I feel up to the challenge of adding spooky sound effects.