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Reflective writing and blogs: Podcasting

This guide will show you how to write a blog for university assessments.

What is podcasting?

A podcast is a simple multimedia file that allows others to view or listen to the content via a phone, tablet or computer. 

You can produce a podcast with the use of a smartphone and a computer.

You can record your podcast on your phone. If you have an iphone, you can  make use of the voice memo app in the ultilies folder.

Ensure you have enough storage on your phone to do this. You can also email the recording to yourself to uploading your recording. 

   

 

How to create a podcast

Before recording your podcast, it is important to think about the structure, so before you press record consider the following tips:

  • Planning: make sure you understand the task and have read all the course information relating to this. Why are you being asked to produce a podcast?.  What is the topic and subject you are making the podcast about?.
  • Prepare questions: if you have been asked to interview another person it's a good idea to prepare a set of questions. This will help you to stay on track and can help you formulate follow up questions to ask.
  • Find a quiet space: Find a quiet space to record your podcast, a quiet room with a door is a good idea. If you need to record your podcast in an outdoor area try to avoid areas that are windy as this can affect the sound quality of your recording.
  • Feeling nervous: Recording your own voice (and or) interviewing another person is daunting for most people. The more prepared you are on your topic and the more familiar you are with your equipment, the less nervous you will feel.
  • Edit your recording: Plan enough time to replay your recording (even though it can feel daunting to listen back to your own voice). Pay attention to your voice speed, tone and pitch. Do you have a clearly spoken voice?  Is the volume appropriate?  Don't forget to check carefully that you fulfilled the requirements for the assessment task.  Try not to panic if you have to re-record your podcast, use your notes and take your time. You might like to ask another person to listen to your podcast and ask them for honest feedback.

Technical aspects of podcasting

Make sure you test out your equipment before you begin recording your podcast.

Listen back over the recording as soon as possible. The material is fresh in your mind and easier to judge objectively.

Save the recording to your computer file, device or one drive. Make sure you label your recording to make it easier to find.

If you would like to use specific podcasting apps, why not try one of these:

Anchor: This app helps to break down podcasting into easy segments.

https://anchor.fm/

Audacity: Free software used to record and edit podcasts.

https://www.audacityteam.org/