Home / AudioVideo / PodcastExercise

PodcastExercise

Podcast Exercise

In this exercise, you will find podcasts and subscribe to them using your Google Reader or Bloglines account. If you are willing and able to download separate software, you can also try this exercise using iTunes or Juice (There is an attachment below of a handout with screenshots for using Juice.)

Exercise:

  1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed below and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library-related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
  2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Google Reader or Bloglines account. How to do it for Google Reader:
    • Click on the link for the podcast to which you want to subscribe. If you get to a user-friendly RSS page, you may be able to select Google Reader or Bloglines from a drop down menu to subscribe. If not, you will need to highlight the URL and hit CTRL-C on your keyboard (Windows) to copy it.
    • Go to Google Reader and log in.
    • Click the "Add Subcription" link in the left column.
    • Hit CTRL-V on your keyboard (Windows) to paste the URL.
    • Click the Add button.
    • When you click on the title for one of the podcast episodes, a small media player will appear where you can stream the music. You can play the audio file from here or you can click on "Original audio source" to download it. If your browser automatically streams this file and does not download it, you may need to right click on the link and select "Save Link As" (Firefox) or "Save Target As" (IE) to download the file.
Optional Extra Credit Exercise - Create Your Own Podcast:

(Note: The intent of this exercise is to show you an easy way to create a podcast. However, PodOmatic does display ads on podcast pages and may not be the best choice for a library podcast. If you want to move forward with creating a podcast for your library, I am available for one-on-one consultation to find the best solution for you. There are many available options that are free, but I didn't want to squeeze too many steps into this exercise.
  1. Go to PodOmatic and create an account. During the account creation process, you will be given the opportunity to create a unique address for your podcast.
  2. You can upload an image that is connected with your podcast, or you can click "skip for now."
  3. PodOmatic will automatically bring you to your "community" page. Click on the "My Podcast" tab and then click on "Settings."
  4. To change the title for your podcast show (not the individual episode), click "Edit" in the first box in the upper left corner. Click "Save" once you have adjusted the podcast settings.
  5. Click "Post New Episode" (upper left, just below the "Home" tab) to record your first podcast episode.
  6. Connect a microphone to your computer. Click "Record with your webcam or microphone".
  7. Click the "record" button to record a sample audio file.
  8. Speak into your microphone and then click "Stop Rec" button when you are done.
  9. You can click the "Preview" button to listen to your record and press "Re-record" if you want to start over.
  10. Click the "Use Recording" button when you are satisfied with the recording.
  11. Click "Next Step." You may need to wait a few minutes before the next screen appears.
  12. Enter a title and description for this particular episode of the podcast. Click "Next Step."
  13. You can select an image to go with this episode or just click "Next Step" if you don't have an image.
  14. Add tags (including semls20) for this episode.
  15. After reviewing your episode information, click "Post Episode" to publish your podcast to the Web.
  16. Click on "My Podcast Page" to view the page for your PodOmatic podcast. Post a comment to this page with the URL for your PodOmatic podcast page.



    		 RSS of this page