Podcasting For The Classroom

This is a partial list of some of my favorite shows. Some series or episodes may not be appropriate for younger students. Please review to find what’s most appropriate for your educational context. This show is “about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.” (Science, art, psychology, culture) This NPR podcast explores ideas and topics related to the psychology of science, art, culture, and politics. Produced by prisoners in San Quentin Prison, this series talks about prison life and the people incarcerated here (mature subject matter) (Cultural literacy, politics, race)

Ideas about innovation and creativity in the workplace from author Todd Henry (Art, design, innovation, marketing, business) Using a travelogue-style, we hear from experts around the world about innovation in education and the workplace. Produced by the author of this book. (Innovation, education) True stories told by National Geographic explorers about their work behind the scenes. (Social studies, science, geography, photography) This podcast explores the intersection of the arts and technology through interviews with professional artists and museums. (art, design, technology, STEAM)

This invaluable text from NPR breaks down every element of journalistic sound reporting, from research and editing, to producing and writing. Based on Jesica Abel’s podcast of the same name, this book has tips for developing audio stories, presented in a graphic novel format. Interviews include Ira Glass of This American Life. A series of free ebooks published by Apple, the Everyone Can Create series covers Music, Photography, Video, and Drawing, as well as a teacher guide.&nbsp;The Music book has a section dedicated to podcasting, and how to create and edit sound in Apple’s free music app, GarageBand.

Everyone Can Create

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // appendix &amp; resources

These are several technical elements to consider as you import, edit and export your audio files.

Audio levels To ensure a good experience for your listeners, adjust the recorded level of each audio track so that they are consistent throughout the episode and series. If multiple tracks are playing at once, make sure the background track (like music or natural sound) is low enough so it doesn’t fight with your main audio track (like voice over or interview) Ducking Music or natural sound might play at full volume, but then need to lower when the voice over or interview begins. A smooth transition for this is called ducking, where the background sound fades down to a lower level.

Fade In A sound track starts playing at zero volume, then slowly ramps up to full level. Fade Out A track is at full volume, then slowly lowers to zero. Audio File Formats When you’ve finished editing, you’ll need to export an audio file to upload for your hosting service. There are many audio formats, including AAC, m4A, AIFF, and mp3. The most common is m4A, but be sure to check with your streaming service (like Apple Podcasts or Spotify) for more details.

Just like an essay or report, you’ll want to organize and whittle down your podcast to the essentials to maximize audience understanding. You want a show that is concise, to the point, and respects the time of your listener. Less is always more, so select only the best content. It’s always great if you leave the audience wanting more.

HOW TO EDIT STORY • Review your planning documents and select content that will stay true to your focus statement. • Choose the best soundbites that fit your topic. Look for colorful, fun, insightful soundbites. • Cut out unessential parts of the interview like pauses or mistakes. • Organize according to the outline you developed in the planning phase. • If needed, go back and revise your voice over to better match and transition into the soundbites you’ve edited.&nbsp;

Although not required for a podcast, a voice over (VO) helps provide context and background for your topic, explain complex terms or concepts, and helps transition between soundbites. Its also a great way for your audience to make a personal connection with the host and podcast. Here are tips for recording your VO: • For best quality, use an external microphone rather than the built in mic on your device. • Record in a quiet space with soft surfaces to minimize echo (use a recording booth if you have one). • Perform with personality, passion, and interest in the topic.

HOW TO MAKE A DIY RECORDING BOOTH While you can spend thousands on a professional recording booth, you can also make your own with cardboard, spray adhesive and some foam.

Hopefully you know who your audience is by now. It could be students in your classroom or staff and students across your campus. But maybe you want to share your podcast with the world. If so, you’ll need to distribute using a podcast player like Apple Podcasts or Spotify, who can disseminate your series to a wide audience. The original audio file you just created isn’t hosted with those services. Instead, these players link to an RSS feed of your file that is hosted on a server elsewhere. This server could be your own computer, but doing it this way is complicated and requires some know-how. Instead, try podcast hosting services like Anchor, Soundcloud, Podbean or Buzzsprout that handle all of the technical issues. Once you’ve uploaded your episodes, descriptions and graphics, these services push out the content automatically to podcast players.

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // publishing

EQUIPMENT LIST Audio recorder. Use an iPhone, iPad, Zoom portable recorder, or record directly into your editing app. External microphone. Internal mics on iPad or desktop computers have poor quality. If you can use an external microphone, connect it to your recording device for better sound. For voiceover, you might use a Blue Snowball, or even the earbuds for your phone, which have a mic. Headphones. Use these to monitor sound as you record and edit to check for quality. Audio booth (optional). Minimize echo for a high quality voice over.

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // recording

Focus Statement &amp; Interview Questions

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // focus statement &amp; interview questions

Focus statements help your episode stay precise, and are phrased as driving questions that you will try to answer. Topic: Climate Change FOCUS STATEMENT 1: How does our diet affect carbon emissions? FOCUS STATEMENT 2: Why don’t Americans ride bikes more often? Topic: Women Role Models FOCUS STATEMENT 1: What are some obstacles women face that men don’t? FOCUS STATEMENT 2: Portrait of a female CEO: How did you get where you are today?

• Make sure you know what you’re looking for with your question—be concise and specific. • Ask open-ended questions that can’t be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ • Ask one question at a time&nbsp;(don't combine questions). • Ask ‘why,’ and be sure you understand the answer. • Write questions in a conversational style, as if you were speaking with your friend. • The first question should be: "say your name and spell it." Sample interview questions that elicit good soundbites: “Tell me a time when...” “What makes you say that?” “What was your best/worst experience?” “Why should someone....?”

Learn alongside your students: Have them teach each other, and you!

LOGISTICS • Make time for practice. Let students experiment, learn how to use equipment, and share best practices with each other. • Have a workshop to develop interview questions, where students can give feedback on each others work. • Allow time to revise. Just like drafts of an essay, you’ll want to allow students a chance to improve their work. This includes the scripts, interview questions, audio recordings, the edited episodes, and other elements like graphics. EVALUATION Grading an interdisciplinary project like a podcast is an inexact science. Begin with rubrics for technical elements, and others for content and storytelling. Have a class listening session and encourage feedback from other students. Since this project is meant to be heard by others, consider getting audience feedback, and metrics such as the number of plays your episode receives.

how to evaluate project-based learning assignments.

Tagline: A one or two sentence description of your podcast series. It should describe what the show is about, and also be catchy enough to attract an audience to listen. This is what appears when you load the show in a podcast player. Trailer: A stand alone mini-episode that explains what your series is about and entices us to listen. It might include colorful soundbites from interviews in a later episode, or intriguing natural sound, and a host or narrator that gives the audience a sense of what the series is about. Publish this before other episodes of your series. Show notes: An extension of your audio story, show notes are usually a post on your podcast website that includes information, resources or other media related to ideas mentioned in an episode. This might include links, lists of facts, photos or video, contact info, etc. This helps your audience understand the topic better and allows them to interact with people or organizations mentioned in your episode, or empowers them to take action on the topic.

Every podcast series needs to include these elements to be published on podcast hosting platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts. They also help you market your series and help the audience understand your story. Title: The name should be catchy and unique, and also hint at the theme of the show. Keep it short! Series: Similar to TV shows, a podcast series is a string of smaller stories that revolve around a theme, topic, or story, and usually have consistent hosts. They can consist of stand-alone episodes, or follow a longer story over the course of one season (like Serial or S-Town). A series might be divided into seasons, or just be an ongoing production. Episode: Episodes are stand-alone units of your series that the audience can download and listen to. They might relate to other episodes through a shared theme (like episodes of 99 Percent Invisible), or be more like chapters of a book that break down a long story into more digestible chunks.

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // anatomy of a podcast

This non-profit organization is famous for the segments aired on NPR. It has a website and free mobile app designed to help you record interviews that can also be archived at the Library of Congress. A organization dedicated to audio storytelling, this is a great website to find resources for storytelling, technical expertise and training events on their website. ROYALTY FREE MUSIC To avoid copyright violations and prevent your podcast from being pulled down, use music that give you the right to use. Try these sources for some of the best options.

NPR Student Podcast Challenge

New York Times Student Podcast Contest

This contest is open to students of all ages. Check out past winners to get a sense of what others have produced. The education desk of the NYT sponsors this contest every year. Listen to past winners for inspiration. This PBS affiliate in San Francisco has a tremendous amount of training, certifications and resources for educators, including media literacy and audio and video production courses and lessons. TUTORIAL: TUTORIAL:

There are a variety of editing apps to choose from, depending on your budget and what device you are using to edit. FREE Apple’s free music and audio editing app also allows you to create your own music, and has built in loops, sound effects and other features. Use iCloud and you can sync your work to all of your devices. Mac and iOS. This podcast hosting service also allows you to record and edit right in the app. iOS, Android, web app. Open-source software available for Mac and PC.

PAID / LICENSE This web-based, subscription software is like the online version of Apple’s Garageband, but makes for a great alternative if you’re using Chromebooks or PCs. Its collaboration feature allows team members on different devices or locations to work on a single project. Other great features include a transcription generator that will edit your audio as you edit the text. Web-app. Used by professional radio producers and podcasters, this licensed app is best for secondary or higher ed contexts. Mac or PC. Apple’s professional-level app allows for high-powered, precise editing and mixing. Best for secondary or higher ed contexts. One-time license fee. Mac only. Part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite, this advanced editing tool is similar to Apple’s Logic. Best for secondary or higher ed contexts. Subscription. Mac or PC.

Click an earbud to hear details about each step of the production process.

Teachers and students from all grade levels are using podcasts to tell stories, ask important questions, reflect on their learning, and listen to the perspectives of others. These are some examples of outstanding podcasts created by students and educators around the world. Click on the earbud icon to listen to these educators' experiences using podcasts and how it helps their students. You can see some of our favorite professional podcasts in the appendix.

The Chat With Mrs. Burns's Third Grade

STUDENT PODCASTS Karrin Burns Former 3rd grade teacher Oak Park, IL Erika Moser Elementary Music and Tech teacher Philadelphia, PA EXTRA-CURRICULAR STUDENT CLUBS Sam Kary Middle School Humanities teacher San Francisco, CA Denise Tejada Training Manager, Producer/Editor Oakland, CA EDUCATOR PODCASTS Mary Kemper, Director of K-12 mathematics Coppell ISD, Coppell, TX

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // sample podcasts

How to Integrate Podcasts Into Your Curriculum

Use your curriculum as inspiration: What do you wonder about? Who is affected by this in our community?

Start small. Have students become familiar with the equipment and process by recording short, one-minute monologues, like reflecting on another assignment they’ve recently completed. Then move to more interactive projects, like interviewing a classmate or family member.&nbsp; Choosing topics. It’s best if students can decide to produce a story about a topic they care about. Try creating umbrella themes for your show (or the class) that allow flexibility in choosing episode topics, such as “Ways To Fight Climate Change,” or “The Physics of Sports.” You can approach podcast producing as if each episode were like a jigsaw puzzle. You need a clear picture of what it will look like in the end, and then you can go about creating all of the pieces to assemble later in editing.&nbsp; Tips to help your students become producers: • Listen to a few example podcasts with your students, analyzing them to see how they work.&nbsp; • Have students share a favorite episode and what they liked best about the show. • As you teach your curriculum ask students what they wonder about, and how these concepts apply in their communities. These ideas could turn into episode topics or interview questions later.

Michael Hernandez is an award-winning educator, author, speaker, and consultant in Los Angeles. For over two decades, he has taught digital storytelling, journalism, film production and photography. Michael leads students and educators on digital storytelling trips abroad, and speaks at conferences like SXSW EDU and ISTE. He is a Book Creator Ambassador, Apple Distinguished Educator, PBS Lead Digital Innovator, and a member of the National Geographic Teacher Advisory Council. You can hear Michael’s own podcast, Change the Narrative, wherever you find podcasts.

Depending on the style of your podcast, you may have more or less writing to do. Writing can include interview questions, introductions to the episode, and voice over scripts for transitions and background information.

EPISODE STORY STRUCTURE Intro: The beginning of your show. It should have a colorful anecdote, an intriguing soundbite (audio quote) from later in the episode, a catchy introduction from the narrator or host, or raise a question that will be answered later in the episode.&nbsp;Like an intro paragraph in an essay, this gives us a sense of the content and tone of the rest of the episode, and whet the appetite of the audience so that they keep listening. Body: The heart of your episode, it might be an interview that is mostly unedited, or it might be carefully structured with multiple interviews, transitions, music, and natural sound. Conclusion: This section should wrap up the thoughts of this episode by asking new questions, or having some kind of a call to action. It should also give info about where to find show notes, and tease the next episode in the series.

This is a step-by-step guide to using podcast projects in classrooms of all levels. The emphasis is on workflow, and the basics you’ll need to be a producer. Technical guides related to microphones and specific editing software are not included here, but look for resources in the Appendix. Click on the earbud icon throughout the book to hear more detailed audio stories and explanation.

What’s a podcast? Podcasts are audio stories made for on-demand consumption at any time on any device. The best ones are filled with ideas, information and personality. These stories can incorporate interviews, and are easily distributed to a global audience.

Once your podcast is available on podcast players, you need to let others know where to find it. Here are some ideas to market your show and increase your audience. • Share the link to your series or individual episodes in email newsletters and your website. • Post flyers at your school and in the community with a QR code with a link to your series. • Make social media posts with graphics and photos related to your topic. Use common hashtags to get the attention of others who don’t know about your show. • Invite guests to your show who have a large following, and ask them to share the episode with their audience. • Ask your audience about their interests and questions you might answer on future episodes.

WRITING FOR BROADCAST Style: Podcasts are meant to be intimate stories, where the host speaks directly to the listener. Because of that, your language and style should be informal, like you're having a conversation with a friend. Use contractions, layman's terms, and avoid flowery language. Pacing: Conversational language often means short sentences. Sometimes a paragraph is just a sentence long and sometimes a sentence is just a word or phrase--like in real conversations. Simplify and Paraphrase: Because the listener can't go back to read names, numbers or other complex facts, it's important to round off complex numbers and use common language to describe concepts.

SAMPLE SCRIPT This sample shows how conversational style is used to set the tone and to create anticipation in the audience for what's to come in the interview portion of the episode.

Sample Podcast Script.pdf

RECORDING TIPS Since audio is the most important element of your podcast, you’ll want to pay close attention to the type of microphone, recorder and place where you record to ensure the best sound. Once a track is recorded, there’s not much you can do to fix technical problems like background noise, wind noise, or echo from a room with hard surfaces (like a gymnasium or cafeteria). Free and low cost options are great alternatives to expensive professional gear. Try these free apps:

RECORDING CHECKLIST • Test and make sure your equipment is working ahead of time. • Record in a quiet place, preferably with lots of soft surfaces like carpet and upholstered furniture, to minimize echo. • Don’t interrupt the interviewee. Let them finish their thoughts, and don’t be afraid of silence. • Finish the interview by asking if you’ve missed anything, or if they have anything else to add.

REMOTE RECORDING When can’t interview someone face to face, you’ll need to record remotely. Try these apps to record interviews:

Why Use Podcasts In The Classroom?

Podcasts are great in educational settings because they allow students to: • Develop an inquiry-based mindset. • Explore topics they’re passionate about. • Find engaging ways to share what they know. • Develop personal voice. • Practice writing and story structure skills. • Hone research skills. • Develop interpersonal skills through interviews and collaborative projects. • Provide opportunities for authentic learning. • Develop marketing and design skills.

How are podcasts different from traditional assignments?

PODCASTING FOR THE CLASSROOM // introduction

Name

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