Recording lectures as podcasts: An introduction

Oct. 1, 2020

Duane Woods

Jason Toal

In this session:

Participants will

  • Be introduced to podcasting projects
  • Discover SFU audio resources and community
  • Be able to set up for audio recording
  • Demo the basics of editing audio
  • Share audio content on a variety of platforms.

Theory & Practice:

Why Podcasting?

  • Students can listen to anywhere and anytime
  • Frees up time in the classroom (Flipping)
  • Adds a new form of learning
  • High bandwidth not required to listen
  • Sparks the imagination
  • Great way to share conversations

Theory & Practice:

Best uses

  • Shorter lectures
  • Interviews or a conversations with an expert or guest
  • Sparks imagination and voice rather than visuals
  • Record an environment where you want to concentrate on its auditory nature (ie. park, farm, factory)
  • Share music or other sounds

Theory & Practice:

Remember DO...

  • Plan

  • Get a quality recording

  • Speak clearly

  • Use other sounds

  • Keep it interesting

  • Length can vary

     

     

     

 

"I want my professors to know that it is very hard to keep me motivated to listen to the lectures that they post on [Blackboard LMS], which are like more than one hour of podcast. I find it so difficult to just sit there and listen to a person talk and take notes. If I was in class, I would see the professor with movements (showing things with examples), but now I can just see them saying without seeing the example."

 - Norman Eng, WHAT FRUSTRATES STUDENTS MOST ABOUT ONLINE CLASSES (COVID-19 EDITION)

 

 

 

Theory & Practice:

Remember...

  • Don't record a 2-3 hour lecture in one file

  • Don't read notes/text verbatim

  • Don't speak in a flat, monotone voice

     

Podcast examples

SFU podcasts

  • Research in Focus - https://www.sfu.ca/education-research-hub/research-in-focus/research-in-focus-podcast.html
  • Below the Radar - https://www.sfu.ca/sfuwoodwards/community-engagement/Below-the-Radar.html

Educational podcasts

  • You Got This - https://yougotthis.trubox.ca/
  • Gettin’ Air - https://learningnuggets.ca/category/gettin-air/
  • Teaching in Higher Ed - https://teachinginhighered.com/episodes/
  • The EdSurge Podcast - https://www.edsurge.com/research/guides/the-edsurge-on-air-podcast
  • SFU Media Lab (under production) - https://medialab.opened.ca/

 

POdcast Production:

Recording gear

  • External Microphone (eg. Yeti) or Headset Mic

  • Headphones

  • Quiet Space

POdcast Production:

Other Recording Methods

  • Smartphone

  • Zoom

  • Skype

  • MDR/Mosaic and MyMediasite 

POdcast Production:

Recording Software

  • Audacity (Open Source)

  • Audition (Adobe, SFU-supported)

  • Zoom/ Skype

  • MDR/MyMediasite

Editing Software

  • Audacity (Open Source)

  • Audition (Adobe, SFU-supported)

Audacity

  • Learn the interface & tools:
  • Record your voice
  • Import other WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A files

MICROPHONE SET UP

Audacity

audacity prefs

meters and sound levels

Tools

Tools

selection tool

Tools

time shift tool (move)

Tools

envelope tool

Let's record and edit!

Recording Lectures as Podcasts

By CEE: Learning and Teaching Technology division

Recording Lectures as Podcasts

This is a beginner-level training session on the basics of audio production and podcasting. The workshop will cover the fundamentals in Audacity about creating your own podcasts and we will listen to parts of successful examples of podcasts in education and examine what makes them work. It will give an overview of the theory and practice of using audio in classes and go over some alternative or additional means of recording sound, including Audition, Zoom and through smartphones. For Audacity, there will be practical instruction and demonstration of microphone setup, touring the the interface, performing a basic recording, importing files, making simple edits and fades, exporting a file, and sharing it.

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