Creating and Using Podcasts Stanford University Continuing Studies CS 43

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Creating and Using PodcastsStanford University
Continuing Studies CS 43

• Mark Branom
• markb_at_stanford.edu
• http//www.stanford.edu/people/markb/650.725.1717
  
• Course Web Site http//www.stanford.edu/group/cs
  p/cs43/

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Course Description

• Podcasting has become the most cost-effective and
  efficient way to distribute digital audio and
  video files via the Web. By subscribing to
  podcasts, listeners and viewers can consume
  valuable information whenever they need to, not
  just whenever a broadcaster decides to present
  it.
• In this hands-on course, you will learn the
  skills needed to develop, create, and publish
  engaging podcasts. Topics include how to find
  and subscribe to podcasts, how to use software
  (e.g., Audacity) to create sound files for
  podcasts on the computer, how to plan and record
  your podcasts, how to edit, produce and publish
  them, and more. By the end of the course,
  students will know how to create and publish
  their podcasts from start to finish.

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Administrivia

• Grading
• You have the option of taking this course for a
  letter grade, CR/NC, or as an Audit.

Letter Grade CR/NC NGR Attendance Required Requir
ed Recommended Homework Required Required Recomme
nded Project Required Required Not
required By request By Request Default choice
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More Administrivia

• Resources
• Each week you will receive supplemental handouts
  and in-class exercises. Copies of the handouts
  and links to resources will be posted to the CS43
  website
• http//www.stanford.edu/group/csp/cs43/
• How to reach me
• markb_at_stanford.edu
• 650-725-1717

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More Administrivia

• You will need
• Access to a computer
• Familiarity with computer basics
• Access to the internet (many free ISPs exist)
• A tripod account (well do it in class)
• Access to the following tools
• A text editor (TextEdit for Macs Notepad for
  Windows)
• A web browser (Firefox / Internet Explorer)
• Audacity
• A microphone

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Course Agenda

• Week 1 Obtaining, Using, Planning for Podcasts
• Week 2 Recording the Audio Podcast
• Week 3 Editing the Podcast
• Week 4 Creating the XML (RSS) feed, Setting Up a
  Blog, and Publishing the Podcast!
• Week 5 Wrap-up and editing, Video Podcasts

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Assignments Final Project

• The weekly class assignments will build toward
  the final project
• The final project will be to create and publish a
  3-5 minute podcast an audio or video file and
  an RSS feed advertising the podcast.
• The final project will be turned in by sending
  the instructor (Mark Branom at markb_at_stanford.edu)
  an email with the location of the RSS feed.
• Due date for the final projectWednesday,
  December 12, 2007

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Introduction

• What Is a Podcast?
• Podcasting is the method of distributing
  multimedia files, such as audio programs or music
  videos, over the Internet using either the RSS or
  Atom syndication formats, for playback on mobile
  devices and personal computers. (wikipedia.org)

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Why Use and/or Create Podcasts?

• For Companies, Universities, or
  OrganizationsPodcasts can deliver information
  about a department or group internally (to just
  the department), to the organization as a whole,
  or to the entire world. Podcasts can be used for
  newsworthy events in the department, for
  highlighting special events and/or people in the
  department, and for presenting and disseminating
  other information to the desired audience in an
  engaging manner.
• For Teachers and Other Instructors (or staff
  supporting them)Podcasts can deliver
  educational content for listening or viewing on a
  computer and/or iPod, freeing learning from
  constraints of the physical classroom. Content
  could be anything from curriculum-related
  presentations to professional development ideas
  and used to disseminate best practices between
  other faculty. Instructors can easily create a
  podcast of daily assignments and class lectures
  from class, and publish it for all of their
  students.

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Why Use and/or Create Podcasts?

• For IndividualsPodcasts allow you to express
  yourself in a less-formal, more friendly manner
  than the written word allows. When communicating
  via the written word (sending email, snail mail,
  blogging, creating web pages, or writing books),
  you are limited by the medium although you can
  indicate emphasis by bolding or italicizing, its
  difficult to indicate such things as sarcasm,
  emotion, or tone. Since podcasting involves the
  spoken word, and since speech is a less formal
  method of expression, you can convey such
  emotional tones more effectively.

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Locating and Obtaining Podcasts

• Podcast search engines allow you to find
  podcasts
• www.apple.com/itunes/
• www.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/P
  odcasts/Directories/
• www.podscope.com/
• getapodcast.com/
• podcast.net/
• podcastdirectory.com/
• www.allpodcasts.com/
• Podcatcher software automatically downloads
  podcasts to your computer and/or iPod or other
  media device
• www.apple.com/itunes/
• juicereciever.sourceforge.net/
• www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.htm
  l

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In-class Exercise 1 Using Juice

• Download, install, and run Juice
  Receiverhttp//juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/
• Subscribe to a podcast, such as NPRs Car Talk
• Go to http//www.npr.org/podcasts/
• Click By Title, then C.
• Click NPR Car Talk.
• In the POD section, copy the URL.
• Return to Juice.
• In the Subscriptions tab, click the plus sign.
• In the URL field, paste the link from step 4.
• Click Save.
• Click the Check for New Podcasts button.
• Double-click the podcast to listen.

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In-class Exercise 2 Using iTunes

• Open iTunes.
• In the Store section, click iTunes Store.
• In the iTunes STORE section, click Podcasts.
• Click Todays Top Podcast.
• Click Subscribe to subscribe to the podcast.
• To listen to the podcast, in the Library, click
  Podcasts. Then, double-click the podcast.

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Creating a Podcast

• Planning a Podcast
• Research your topic.
• Write out what you plan to say.
• Block out the segments of your podcast.
• Typical 60-minute radio show
• Introduction and hook (a snapshot of what is
  covered and why listeners would want to listen)
• Segment 1
• Break
• Segment 2
• Break
• Segment 3
• Break
• Final points and summary of podcast
• Typical 10-minute podcast
• Introduction and hook
• Main segment
• Summary of segment
• Final points

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In-class Exercise/Homework Mapping Out a Podcast

• Next week, you will pair up with the person
  sitting next to you.
• Map out a one-minute podcast with your neighbor.
  Dont record it (well do that later) just plan
  what you will say.
• Introduce yourself
• Hello, and welcome to the YourName show. Im
  your host, YourName. Today Ill be
  interviewing NeighborName.
• Interview the person sitting next to you
• So, NeighborName, please tell the listeners a
  little about yourself.
• I see, and where do you live?
• What exciting things are going on in the
  neighborhood?
• Anything else you would like to add?
• Closing remarks
• Well, NeighborName, it looks like weve come
  to the end of time for the show. Thank you so
  much for allowing our audience to learn a little
  more about you and your neighborhood. This is
  YourName, and youve been listening to the
  YourName Show, brought to you by Stanford
  University and the Continuing Studies department.
  Until next time, thanks for listening.
• Then, you will switch roles with your neighbor
  and practice again.

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Recording and Editing Podcasts

• To record a podcast, youll need
• A computer (any modern computer will do Mac,
  Windows, Linux)
• A microphone (a good microphone will cost around
  100)
• http//radio.about.com/od/podcastin1/a/blcomparemi
  kes.htm
• Software to record and edit the podcast. For
  audio podcasts, Audacity is a good choice. For
  video podcasts, Windows Movie Maker (Windows) and
  iMovie (Mac) are good choices.
• Storage for the audio file you create (a web
  server such as Tripod, a free podcasting service
  such as Podshow or Podbean, etc.)

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Software Audio

• Audio Software
• Free tools
• Audacity (Mac/Windows) http//audacity.sourceforg
  e.net/
• GarageBand (Mac only its part of iLife, and is
  free with new Macs) http//www.apple.com/ilife/ga
  rageband/
• Other tools (35 - 500)
• Audition (Windows only) http//www.adobe.com/prod
  ucts/audition/
• Soundbooth (Mac/Windows) http//www.adobe.com/pro
  ducts/soundbooth/
• SoundEdit Pro (Windows only) http//www.rmbsoft.c
  om/sep.asp

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Software Video

• Video Software
• iMovie (Macintosh only) http//www.apple.com/ilif
  e/imovie/
• Windows Movie Maker (Windows only)
  http//www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemake
  r/create/
• Avid FreeDV (Mac/Windows) http//www.avid.com/fre
  edv/
• MovieWorks (Mac/Windows) http//www.movieworks.co
  m/
• Quicktime (Mac/Windows) http//www.quicktime.com/
  
• Director (Mac/Windows) http//www.adobe.com/produ
  cts/director/
• WindowsMedia http//www.microsoft.com/windowsmedi
  a/

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RSS Feeds

• What is RSS (Really Simple Syndication)?
• RSS is a family of web feed formats used to
  publish frequently updated content such as blog
  entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS
  document, which is called a "feed," "web feed,"
  or "channel," contains either a summary of
  content from an associated web site or the full
  text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up
  with their favorite web sites in an automated
  manner that's easier than checking them
  manually. (wikipedia.org)
• An excellent 2-minute video explaining RSS in
  plain English is at
• http//www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

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RSS Feeds, continued

• RSS feeds are XML files. Here is a sample RSS
  feed
• lt?xml version"1.0"?gt
• ltrss version"2.0"gt
• ltchannelgt
• lttitlegtTitle of Feed Goes Herelt/titlegt
• ltdescriptiongtDescription of Feed Goes
  Herelt/descriptiongt
• ltlinkgtLink to the Feed Goes Herelt/linkgt
• ltitemgt
• lttitlegtTitle of Podcast Goes Herelt/titlegt
• ltdescriptiongtDescription of
  Podcastlt/descriptiongt
• ltlinkgtLink to Podcastlt/linkgt
• ltguidgtLink to Podcastlt/guidgt
• ltenclosure url"Link to Podcast"
  type"audio/mpeg" length"file size in bytes"
  /gt
• lt/itemgt
• lt/channelgt
• lt/rssgt

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Submitting RSS Feeds

• Doing it yourself

Yahoo MSN Search Fyber Search Bulk Feeds Truth Laid Bear
Moreover Blog Street Memigo Feeds Farm Blogarama
News Knowledge Blog Wise News Trove Every Feed Blog SE 
Syndic8 Boing Boing RSS Clipping Fastbuzz Eatonweb
Newsmob 2RSS Feedster Search4RSS Anse
Sourceforge Blog Digger Day Pop Feed-Directory Sarthak Blog
Bloggernity Bloogz Technorati News Is Free Rocket Info
Genecast Easy RSS Postami Topix Headline Spot
Blogdex Feed Directory Pub Sub Blog Tree Findory
Blog Catalog Step Newz WeBlogALot News Goblin News Feeds
Feedplex Popdex  Newzfire Read A Blog Blog Pulse 
Press Radar Rub Hub Feed 24 FeedsForAll  Blog Map 
Weblogs Feed Burner Blo.gs BlogRolling Technorati
NewsGator Pingomatic RSS Network Plazoo Feedzie
Feed Cat Feed Miner Ice Rocket Sphere Moz Dex
Uncle Feed Pluck RSS Locator News Net Plus Focus Look
Blog Bunch Blogtastic Explore Blogs Feed Pub Feeds2Read
RSS Directory House Of Blogs RSS Mad Blog Resource Feed Burner
All Feeds Content Desk Feed See Blog Watch 4GuysFromRolla
Gnoos Octora RSSMicro Feedooyoo Golden Feed
RSS-Feeds-Sub Readafeed Feedage Rorseek RSS Junky
Feed Fury News on Feeds      
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Submitting RSS Feeds, continued

• Using a service
• http//itunes.apple.com/
• http//www.submitrssfeed.com/
• http//www.feedsubmitter.com/
• http//www.dummysoftware.com/rsssubmit.html
• http//allrss.com/rsssubmission.html

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Creating a Transcript

• Be sure to create a transcript of your podcast.
• Having a transcript is important for
  accessibility reasons, but also since some people
  might not have the time to listen to the entire
  podcast, they might prefer to skim through the
  transcript to see what your podcast contains.
• Further, if you add a transcript to your podcast,
  you can make searching through your podcast much
  easier by search engines as well as human beings
  (i.e., at timestamp 3 minutes, 22 seconds the
  speaker begins talking about the influence of
  computers on society).
• While it is time-consuming to do it yourself,
  here are some places you can go to have
  transcripts created for you
• http//castingwords.com/
• http//www.docsoft.com/
• http//www.automaticsync.com/

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Homework / Next Week

• Homework
• Create a transcript for a 1-minute podcast
  similar to what we did in class today. Well
  record it next week!
• Next week
• Establishing a Tripod account
• The Basics of Audacity
• Recording a podcast
• Minor editing using Audacity (major editing will
  occur the following week)