Podcasting 101
with Nick Freed, Jodie Borgerding, Martha Allen, and Phil Barron

Introduction

Hello.  My name is Nick Freed, and I’ll be spending the next few minutes of our time talking about what, exactly, all of this podcasting business is about, really.

Podcasting has been around since the late 1990’s, albeit in a much less familiar and certainly not as widespread form, when the ability to not only communicate but to also distribute electronic media became simple to use for – whether it be those who were well versed with, or completely inexperienced with, computers in general.  A number of different services, all featuring some form of a voice talk program or instructional medium, surfaced in the early twenty-first century, but it was the advent of the iPod and its conjunction with the iTunes content distribution method in late 2003 that led to the current Podcasting craze.  Audioblogs, like blogs themselves, being as in fashion as they were, had just become portable.  These portable audio files, containing whatever data they may have held inside of them, would be termed the “Podcast” by Ben Hammersley of the UK’s Guardian. 

Essentially a simple portmanteau of ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcast,’ the Podcast was awarded the title of New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2005 “Word of the Year.”  In the intervening years, the word ‘podcast’ has evolved into a general term for an accessible, downloadable, or streamable form of online audio content.  Examples include autocasting, screencasting, and audioblogging - which are essentially offshoots of the original concept of podcasting itself.

Podcasts are continually increasing in popularity as time goes on, particularly as technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, as well as becoming more accessible for those who wish to use it.  This is particularly useful to those who are in an academic or institutional field in which advertisement or elaboration on a particular service or process could be particularly useful.  Thanks to the fact that nearly 20% of all American adults now own an iPod or other MP3 player, an audience can be reached even while on the go.  And particularly interesting is the fact that 14% of American adults between 18 and 30 have at the very least downloaded a podcast in some form or another.  Even with 80% of these podcasts being listened to and then deleted before upload to an actual iPod or MP3 player, the broadcast still makes it to the user in a way not possible before.

It's our goal to introduce you to the methods in which that broadcast can be made and how it can be used.  Jodie is going to start off by talk about how you can use podcasts in your academic institution. Next, Martha is going to talk about issues to consider and tips on planning your podcast. Jodie is going to come back and talk about the basics of recording your first podcast and lastly, Phil is going to finish up by talking about how you can broadcast your podcast over the Internet. Jodie, take it away....

Uses of Podcasts

Thank you, Nick.

How you use podcasts to communicate your message are varied and the possibilities are endless.

You can use podcasts to provide instruction. Bellevue Community College Life Science Informatics Center uses podcasts to teach users about life science in the classroom. A transcript is provided. Concordia Seminary uses podcasts to supplement their foreign language courses. For example, the Greek professor will upload podcasts of oral exercises for the students to practice on their own time, thus leaving more time in the classroom for lecture and discussion.

Using podcasts to broadcasts events at your library is becoming more and more popular. Moraine Valley Community College uses podcast to promote events held at their library. In one podcast offered on their web site., you can listen to a presentation offered at the library on the basics of Islam. Western Kentucky University Libraries also use podcasts to broadcast presentations. In the series called “Faraway Places with Strange Sounding Names,” scholars talk about their research in foreign countries. These lectures, which are held at the library, are recorded and then uploaded as podcasts on their web site.

Another use of podcasts is to offer an orientation or a tour of your institution. Duke University Medical Center Library uses video podcasts, or vodcasts, to offer users a tour of their facility. Users have the option of viewing the vodcast on their computer, or they can save the file and watch it later or download it on their video iPod. East Central College in Union, Missouri uses pre-loaded iPods for their library tours. Students can come in and obtain an iPod from the circulation desk. Students can then take a listening tour of the library, going at their own pace. According to the library director, the program just started in October, but students and faculty like having the listening tour option available to them.

You can also use podcasts to promote your services. Career Services at Saint Louis University uses podcasts to promote their services to students. Podcasts offer tips on interviewing techniques, changing careers, and obtaining internships through Career Services. At Pius XII Memorial Library, we use podcasts to promote our services. We have a series hosted by Nick called “Student-to-Student.” Nick talks about how the library can help students throughout their academic career. Phil Barron, who you will hear from later, is the voice of our “Just for Faculty” series. In this series, Phil talks about services available at the library that can be useful for faculty and staff. Last August, we launched a series called “Conversations” that is hosted by the Assistant Provost for University Libraries, Dr. Gail Staines. Each month, Gail interviews a faculty member about their research and how libraries have played a role in their studies.

I could go on and on about how you can use podcasts in your institution, but for now, I will let Martha talk about issues you need to consider when planning your first podcast.

Issues to Consider

There are a number of issues to consider during the planning process of creating a podcast.  Firstly – choose a theme.  Content is important.  Like all technology, podcasts are a tool.  Creating podcasts for podcasts sake will result in an end product no one will want to listen to.   Meaningful content is critical.  Hand in hand with meaningful content – is the ability to understand your audience.     Don’t be afraid to have different expressions or style. Podcasts for students may have a different voice than podcasts for faculty or staff.  Nick Freed our student to student narrator has a distinctive style completely different from Phil Baron, our faculty narrator.  Nick infuses what we affectionately call “Nickisms” throughout his podcasts.

One way to ensure a distinctive style with your podcasts is to write a script.  Scripting helps alleviate pregnant pauses, um's, and unintentional trips down irrelevant lane.  Recording the podcast in one take helps to keep the timbre and volume of the narrator’s voice at or around the same level.  You’d be surprised how a voice can change over time.   You can always edit the take once it’s recorded.  It is easier to cut an existing recording than add to an existing recording.

Another issue to consider when planning your podcast is the time issue.  Again, knowing your audience is key.  Listeners may become bored or distracted. The average faculty member may have a longer attention span than the average Millennial student.  If you have a lot of content – you may want to consider breaking the podcast into smaller modules.

Once the initial planning is complete in terms of content, audience, script, and time you will want to consider additional items.  The impact of visually and hearing impaired users is often overlooked.  When you search for podcasts on the web – too frequently you will find podcasts without a link to an accompanying transcript.  Supplying a transcript is not just a courtesy – it should be a necessity.  When creating vodcasts consider including a version of the title that contains subtitles.

The intellectual property policy of your institution should be consulted when preparing a podcast.  The podcast creator should know who owns the podcast.  In most cases, the institution hosting the podcast retains ownership.  Check with the individual institution for policies.

The next issue to consider makes most people quake with fear – the dreaded copyright issue.  Most educational podcast will fall under the protection of “Fair Use.”  Having said that remember the four criteria:

Purpose and character of the use
Nature of the copyrighted work
Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

If you are ever in doubt or have even an inkling of a question – BE conservative and play it safe – check with the copyright specialist at your institution

Music can add a much needed flair or air of professionalism to your podcast.  Supplementing your podcast with music is easy to do but BEWARE…..

Music not in the public domain can be expensive.  The Record Industry of America is ever vigilant.  You don’t want to be on the RIAA’s bad side.  A way to avoid paying royalties for the use of music is to create your own music using applications like Garage Band or using music in the public domain  … typically music composed prior to 1922 or earlier.  The web has lists of songs and pieces in the public domain.  There are also web sites that have music that is royalty free and available.  Works that have a creative commons license are also freely available.  Sites like magnatune and ccmixter contain a number of pieces perfect to supplement your podcast without incurring the wrath of the RIAA.

Another important issue to consider is based on the old real estate adage: location, location, location. Once you have your podcast created, you're going to have to host it on a server. Make sure your IT Department has plenty of server space. If you do not have server space available, you might want to investigate using iTunes University and host your podcasts on iTunes.

Finally, you want to make sure when you are planning your first podcasts to be flexible and creative. Nothing is cast in concrete. You can always re-record or edit. And don't forget to surround yourself with people that share your excitement.

Now let's go back to Jodie so she can talk to you about the basics for recording.

Basics for Recording

Thank you, Martha.

Now, recording a podcast can be as easy, or as complex as you want. If money is an issue, a podcast can be recorded using the microphone and speakers that come with your computer. The downside is that the sound quality of the podcast can be poor and you have the chance of the boss interrupting and other office distractions. If you are recording a supplemental lecture for your class, then this set-up would be ideal.

Another option is to purchase a digital voice recorder. These are fairly easy to use and can range from less than $100 to more than a couple hundred. The model that we use at Pius Library has different recording modes, such as lecture or dictation, so the recording level can be adjusted to fit your setting. The quality is better than using the standard computer-issue microphone and speakers and since it is portable you can use it just about anywhere. A digital voice recorder can be handy if you are recording a brown-bag seminar or a panel discussion that you want to upload as a podcast.

A more sophisticated approach would be to use profession recording equipment. At Saint Louis University, we have a professional recording studio housed in the Instruction Media Center. The equipment is complex and it does take a little bit of time to learn, but the staff at IMC is always ready to help. We use the studio to record our Conversations podcast series since it is more of a one-on-one interview format. If you have access to a recording studio, be sure to try it out.

At Pius, we have recorded podcasts with a digital voice recorder and the studio at IMC. There is very little difference in sound quality that we could detect. Play and experiment with various recording methods to find out which one you are most comfortable using.

No matter which method you use to record your podcast, you will need software to capture and edit the audio. Audacity is a free and easy to use program that allows you to do just that. You can record directly in Audacity, or you can open a saved audio file and edit it within the program. Plus, Audacity can run on any platform, including Linux.

In addition to Audacity, there are several commercial software titles available. Adobe Audition, Adobe Soundbooth, and GarageBand by Apple are popular audio editing software titles. The advantage of using these titles is that offer all the bells and whistles. For example in Adobe Audition, you can remove a cough heard in the background of your recorded presentation, without affecting the quality of the presentation. The downside is that commercial software can be very expensive. The current version of Adobe Audition costs $350 and even though GarageBand is $79, it is only available as a bundled package with other software you might not need. Also with the commercial programs, they are more complex and take a little bit of time and effort to learn. However, several good how-to or “Dummies” books are available and many providers, such as Adobe offer tutorial and training through their web site.

With any audio editing software, free or commercial, you can edit out coughs, “ums” or any other distractions. You can also add music, voice-overs, and sound effects to your podcast to make it more interesting.

No matter which software you use, the audio file you record needs to be converted into an mp3 format in order for it to be played on most computer media players and, hence the name, mp3 players such as the iPod. The commercial software programs out there allow you to convert or save your file as an mp3. Audacity can convert your file to an mp3 after you download a free plug-in that is available on their web site. Other freeware is available on the Internet that allows you to convert any audio format into an mp3.

Now that you know the basics of recording, Phil is going offer suggestions on broadcasting your podcast over the Internet.

Broadcast your Podcast

Thank you, Jodie.

You have recorded your first podcast now you are ready to broadcast it over the Internet. There are several different ways to broadcast your podcast.

First, you can have a link to the mp3 file on your web site. Vanderbilt University has a list of news podcasts on their web site. You can click on the link to listen to the podcast on your computer, or you can save it on your computer to listen later or to transfer to your mp3 player. The advantage of this type of broadcasting is that anyone can access these podcasts from anywhere.

Concordia Seminary is using a different approach to broadcast their podcasts. They utilize a service called iTunesU. iTunesU is a branch of the iTunes platform and is exclusive to universities and colleges. Podcasts on iTunesU can range from class lectures to news stories to panel discussions. Most podcasts are free and open to the public; however, you can set up scripts that will authenticate users if you want your podcasts to stay within the institution. One of the biggest challenges is maybe convincing your IT or Automation department that your use of iTunes is for uploading podcasts, not buying songs for your personal iPod. Also since iTunesU is a university wide venture, not just for a department, you’ll need support and buy-in from the entire university community.

Another way you can broadcast your podcast is to create an RSS feed. Now, I can spend an entire session talking about RSS feeds, but for the sake of time, I’ll give you the basics. An RSS feed is an XML file that contains descriptive information about your page. As the web page is update, the RSS feed displays the new information. The RSS feed displays the information via a program called an RSS reader or aggregator. In a roundabout way, RSS feeds and readers alert you when a web site. has been updated, without having to physically go to that site and check for yourself. So what does this have to do with podcasts? If you use an RSS feed for your podcasts, then users will automatically be notified when a new podcasts is available for download. The School of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri-Columbia use RSS feeds to promote their podcasts on issues in library science and educational technology. When you click on the RSS feed icon on the page, a new page opens up that allows you to subscribe to that feed.

To conclude, podcasting can be an exciting and rewarding opportunity to get your message heard. More and more universities are taking advantage of this medium to communicate with students, faculty, staff, and virtually anyone. The possibilities on how you use podcasts are endless, but after careful planning, recording your first podcast can be very simple. For more information on the podcasts produced by Pius XII Memorial Library, please visit: libraries.slu.edu/podcasts