ccPublisher 2.2.1

If you are using Internet Archive to host your media files, then update your version of ccPublisher!

TIGed Offers One-Click Podcast Publishing

TIGed

If you are considering setting up a weblog, or maybe even doing some podcasting with your students, you should strongly consider registering with TIGed. TIGed is currently running a promotion that allows teachers to set up a 12 month TIGed classroom for free. This is a great value! In addition to the other wonderful tools and resources available at TIGed, you get to set up free blogs for your class. You have the option of making blog accounts teacher managed i.e. students are not required to have email accounts in order to edit blogs. This is a very nice feature for those of us who like to set generic passwords for our class, making password management a breeze.

But, the real boon for podcasters is that audio files can be uploaded directly to each blog post i.e. one-click publishing of podcasts. There is currently no limitation on the number of files you can upload! The only limitations are that each file uploaded to a blog post must be mp3 format and must be less than 2MB. A good rule of thumb with mp3 files is that each MB is approximately equivalent to one minute of audio. This is the easiest, free, web-based method of publishing podcasts. If I was just starting out, I would start here. For more information on how to take advantage of this promotional offer (they will be charging a fee for this in the future), contact Luke Walker at luke@takingitglobal.org

Excellent Podcasting Resources

The following websites offer a great deal of depth and breadth with respect to podcasting. Whether you are a beginner, or an experienced podcaster, these sites have plenty to offer.

Apple - iTunes - Podcasts - Tips - a detailed site on using iTunes to listen to, and subscribe to, podcasts.

Podcast on the Cheap - this is the most comprehensive site I've come across. Great links on everything including: compelling examples, interview techniques, microphones, recording, editing, storing, feeding, and more.

PodcastingTricks - tips, suggestions, new product reviews and resources

Audacity Tutorial for Podcasters - "The definitive step-by-step guide on how to podcast". Whether you are a beginner, or an experienced Audacity user, you should check out this site. It's a nice modular approach to learning this powerful program. I am reposting this link, as Colin has already referred to it in one of his previous posts.

TDSB Summer Institute @ Earl Haig C.I.

A QuickTime version of the presentation will be available in the near future. In the mean time, here is a complete list of the links that were used in the presentation. Enjoy!

Podcast Samples
102.1 the edge - CFNY FM
The Swan
Oakridge Podcast

Software
Audacity

Free Audio Loops
The Tapegerm Collective
Squidoo
Freeloops
Flash Kit
Sample Net
Looperman

Publishing a Podcast
Internet Archive
ccPublisher
Blogger

Subscribing to a Podcast
Bloglines

Print Resources
Media Literacy Resource Guide
TDSB Media Studies K-12 - Tel 416-397-2595 E-mail curriculumdocs@tdsb.on.ca
Podcasting Hacks - J. Harrington
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools For Classrooms - Will Richardson

Footnote
This is the third time I've been involved in delivering a presentation on the topic of podcasting, and related technologies, and I'm still getting asked the same question:

How is this any different from uploading any media file to any website (something that many have been doing for many years)?

The most significant difference is the distinction between static and dynamic information.
When you upload a media file to a typical school website, the file can be accessed, but that's where the experience ends. If all you are doing is uploading one media file per school year, then this may be an appropriate method of celebrating student work.
If, on the other hand, you intend to publish many media files throughout the school year, then publishing to a weblog presents unique advantages. The experience doesn't have to end when the file is accessed. Anyone can edit the information associated with the media file to provide constructive feedback, thoughtful reflection, and praise. These Comments provide many opportunities for additional learning that cannot be matched by using traditional methods of publishing to the web.

Please let us know when you've joined the adventure!

TEL Podcasting Conferences via RSS

If you are spending more time feed reading and less time on TEL you should try this.

MailBucket - Turn your email into an RSS feed. I love this free and easy service. Simply forward your email to yourhandle@mailbucket.org and then pick up your feed at http:www.mailbucket.org/yourhandle.xml
Where yourhandle is anything you want it to be. No registration required!

The other great thing about MailBucket for TEL users, is that you can create feeds for conferences. If you are a Controller of a conference you can set up message forwarding. The feed URLs for the two Podcasting conferences on TEL are:

Podcasting Literacy LC.ICT - http://www.mailbucket.org/podcastinglc.xml

Podcasting.ICT - http://www.mailbucket.org/podcasting.xml

Session by M-Audio

A new Garageband-like software program for Windows users.

Blogging, Podcasting and Wikis....in Grade 1!

Here is a truly tech inspiring story of an awesome grade 1 teacher in Moosejaw, Sask. that uses blogging to drive her writing program. As well she has her students using wikis to create collaborative stories. And now she is podcasting as well. You can see a video interview with her here and see her blog here. The first thing I thought was wow..I'd love to have my kid in her class..The second thing I thought was, I'd love to spend a week just hanging out in her class.

On here blog, she has an interesting slideshow powered by bubbleshare about how strong is an egg. Bubbleshare is an online slideshow service that allows you upload pictures as well as recorded voice. It's like doing a video podcast in slideshow format...

The idea of doing all this with Grade 1's is truly awesome.

More Podcasting Links

The following is an excerpt from an email I recently received from Shannon Sinclair.

Below is a collection of links to help answer any questions you may have:
Podcast creation:www.apple.ca/education/podcasting and www.apple.com/podcasting
Institutions using iPod in Education: www.apple.com/education/profiles
A video about podcast-creation using the iLife suite
Duke University's Digital Initiative www.duke.edu/ddi
Apple podcasting server www.apple.com/education/solutions/podcasting/server.html


iTunes Education Content
Looking for podcasts that are education focused? Check out the Education block on the iTunes podcast page which includes Canadian content from TVO and Carelton University. Other content includes BBC, Harvard, French Podcasts, ESL, and the John Lennon Bus - student videos. Go to www.apple.ca/itunes/ and launch the iTunes music store. Then click on podcasts and look for the Education box for Educational podcasts. See what some educators are doing with podcasting - and they are FREE too!


If you require any additional information or I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Kindest Regards,


Shannon Sinclair

Field Sales Associate
K-12 Central Region
Education Source
Apple Canada
1-800-800-2775
mailto:ssinclair@apple.com

ECOO Podcasting Presentation (click here!)

Room 208 | Willowcast | Potkast | Podfume | Rocketboom | Jon Udell | Adam Curry | Dave Winer | KYOU | MySpace | O’Reilly’s - Jack Harrington | Apple’s Podcast Recipe | iLife’06 - GarageBand | QuickTime Pro | Audacity | Internet Archive | *ccPublisher | Blogger | Google Reader | Bloglines | Blue Audio | MicroMemo | iSquint | David Warlick’s Blogmeister | Will Richardson | Stephen Abram | Evolving Media

Sorry this took so long! Download the presentation and then maximize the QuickTime Player window for best readability. Some supporting info is available below. Enjoy!


Requiring further explanation:

Blogging/ Weblogs: easy to create and edit website that is hosted for free by a weblog provider, analogous to a message board, rich media can be linked to blog posts, new posts are listed in reverse chronological order, readers can edit your blog by leaving a comment i.e. provide feedback like a discussion, readers can subscribe to your blog by adding URL to a feed reader.

Streaming: I made reference to a Jon Udell interview in which he states that streaming has been relegated to live, real-time broadcasts. The point is that lots of content that used to be streamed is now podcast i.e. downloadable / portable. However, there are many content providers doing some interesting things with streaming. Pandora has already been referred to in this blog (currently my favourite website), also Worldbridges is a great source for educational pedagogy with a technology bent.

Loops: Audacity is a free audio editing application for Windows and Mac. Unlike GarageBand, it does not provide audio loops. The following sites provide free loops which can be imported into Audacity or other audio editing applications. Note: There are slight variations in the licensing of these loops from one site to the next, so read the fine print. There are many other free loop sites. If you come across a good one please share!

SampleNet | The Tapegerm Collective | Freeloops | Flash Kit


Outside the frames:

Adobe Audition: This is the closest Windows equivalent to GarageBand (loops included). Inquire about educational pricing!


Other weblog providers:

ePals | Gaggle | iEARN | TIGed | WordPress

The first four are specifically designed for use with classrooms. Even individual student blogs can be moderated by the teachers (safe and secure - similar to Blogmeister).

Word Press has already been referred to in this blog. It’s like Blogger, but there is no mucking around with the code of your template. WordPress is the more user friendly of the two!


Another web based feed reader:

Netvibes: I don’t like the layout. It’s too busy. However, the ability to categorize your subscriptions is a nice feature.



*ccPublisher: It seems I downloaded the beta version of this program (might explain why it doesn't work very consistently). It looks like a new version of the program has just been released. I guess they still haven't solved the bugs in the OSX version because it is currently unavailable. I'll keep you posted!

Podcasting Legal Guide

As you would expect, most of the Podcasting Legal Guide contains lots of legalese, but near the bottom of the page there is some good background information and resources. Well worth a look!

Searching for a particular Podcast

Itunes, of course, is a great starting spot to begin your search for podcasts that interest you. There are other podcast aggregate sites out there to help you in your search. Three great sites include...
Podcast Alley - features a large list of podcasts. Also has top 10 lists to help you find interesting content
Podcast Bunker gives you quality over quantity.
Indie-podder gives a more independent look at podcasting by one of podcasting's pioneer, Adam Curry.

Happy searching!

Need some images for presentations or graphics

If you are looking for royalty free images for presentations, newsletters or to enhance your podcast then check out stock exchange. They have a great collection of photographs on almost every category. I'd highly recommend this site if you're looking for the right image to get your point across.

Podcasting Tutorials

If you are looking for Podcasting tutorials (or other tutorials for that matter) I have a temporary password for Atomic Learning which is good until mid-June. (I'm not sure if any of the older TDSB logins and passwords work anymore).
Login: ecoo06
Password:atomic

Under the curriculum tools tab you'll find a tutorial for podcasting using Garageband in iLife'06.

Regardless of what software you want to use, many of the above lessons will still apply.

Another education Podcast

Another good resource for podcasting.

Audacity

Here is a screencast (screencast,podcast,photocast..what's next) of a short tutorial on using Audacity, the free (did I mention it was free?), multi-platform, audio recoder.
I wonder what software you need to capture your actions on the screen as well as record your voice...If it easy to do, it would be great to do as an instructional tool for both students and teachers.

As well, here is a tutorial from Audacity, themselves.

Finally, here is an excellent tutorial with flash movies on using Audacity to podcast.