Creating podcast assignments can be an alternative way for students to gain skills in writing, communication, collaboration, and creativity. The podcasting format allows students to gain effective communication skills while exploring the additional use of technology. Podcasts are often stand-alone projects or paired with other assignments such as essays, research papers, and short stories. If you’re thinking about creating a podcasting assignment for your course below are some quick tips for your students.
Start With an Outline
Similar to the fundamentals of a paper, a podcast should have an introduction, body, and conclusion. For every subject, students should think about mapping out an outline that includes the following:
- Introduction of themselves and the topic
- Points they want to discuss about the topic
- Main takeaways or conclusion
Recording Equipment
Your students may need various recording equipment that may or may not include:
- Microphones
- Recording device
- Computer
- Headphones
- Adapters
Luckily, our Media Services department has a vast array of recording equipment to checkout for short-term loan. If you’re not sure what type of equipment you or your students may need we’ll be happy to help choose what is best for you.
Editing Software
There are several free audio editing software programs available to students. Some of which are also available on Beardsley Media Center computers. Two very popular editors are listed below.
We are happy to provide help on how to use these programs. In addition, online tutorials on how to use these programs can be found by going to Swarthmore’s LinkedIn Learning portal.
Music and Sound Effects
Adding music and sound effects can highlight a student’s creativity. It can help with setting the mood or tone for their podcast as well. YouTube has a royalty-free music and sound effects library available for content creators. Take a look at the link below to learn more and browse their catalog.
Hosting
There’s no need to pay for hosting services when it comes to a classroom assignment. There are a few free options available.
One option is to have students upload their podcasts to a specific Google Drive Folder you’ve created as a dropbox of sorts. You could then post the link to the Google Drive folder into your Moodle page using the URL resource so that students could find it easily.
SoundCloud is another option. It is a free audio hosting service very similar to YouTube but strictly for audio. It allows you to set different preferences such as whether you want your audio to be private or public or only shared with specific people.
A third option is actually within Moodle through the Campus Pack Podcasting activity. The Campus Pack Podcast activity allows you to create a series of audio or video files that are linked directly to your course. To learn more about how to use the Podcast activity in Moodle take a look at the link below.
Learn More
If you want to learn more about podcasts please feel free to reach out to the Academic Technology Team at acadtech@swarthmore.edu. We’d be happy to discuss more!