Podcasting

__**Podcasting**__

What is a podcast? A podcast is a sound file sent over the internet. You can subscribe to receive these podcasts. Some are free and some are not. You can download these files to listen to them later. They may be listened to on your computer or on a mobile device such as an ipod.

Is a podcast just a sound file? No. A podcast is different from a regular sound file in that you can subscribe to a podcast and get new podcasts automatically. This is done with software called RSS (more about RSS later).

How can I start podcasting? You need a computer, microphone, and a website. Then you will need a program to record your voice. I use a program called Audacity. You can download it for free at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Using this program is easy. There is a red record button on top. Press the record button and start recording. When you are finished recording hit the stop button. Next you will want to export the file as an mp3. To do this you need to download a file called Lame. This is available from the audicity website.
 * __Creating a Podcast__**

RSS RSS is a text file that is linked to your mp3 file. The RSS file describes your podcast. It usually contains a title, link, and description. There are free web sites that offer podcasting capabilities. One such site is [|gcast.com].

The Screaming Eagle Podcast media type="custom" key="23447" This is a sample of a podcast. The Screaming Eagle is a weekly podcast featuring interviews of friends of CMS. It was done using gcast.com. One of the podcasts interviews was done using skype. So it is possible to record skype conversations. Note: this must be done with ther knowledge of everyone involved in the skype conversation.

This is a link to some samples of student work. [|student podcasts] [|]

If you would like to subscribe to someone else's podcast you will need to get a receiver. This is a free program that is easily downloadable. One such site is http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/ (juice). Another option is itunes.
 * __Receiving a Podcast__**


 * __Some Additional Podcast Sites__**

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting Apple iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcasts.html Podcasting Tools http://www.podcasting-tools.com/ Podcasting News http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/What_is_Podcasting.html learninginhand.com Podcasting in Education http://www.learninginhand.com/podcasting/ Podcast.com http://podcast.com/home.php O'Reilly Digital Media http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2005/07/20/WhatIsPodcasting.html Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/podcasting K12 Handhelds http://www.k12handhelds.com/podcasting.php