Audacity should be at the top of any list of resources about recording voices and sounds. Audacity is a free, open-source, program that can be used on Mac, Windows, and Linux systems. Audacity gives you the ability to mix tracks, splice tracks, adjust the volume of tracks, create fades, and filter out background noise.
Drop.io offers a number of free services useful for educators. (Read my previous thoughts about Drop.io in education here or here). Drop.io offers a free voice recording service that you can use to create a podcast. With every "drop" you establish on Drop.io you are supplied with a unique phone number. Simply dial that number and begin recording at the beep. Your voice recording is then hosted and can be played back at your unique Drop.io url. While you cannot edit the recording or add any kind of music, it is a very simple way to record your voice. You can download the recording to use in another editing service.
MyPodcast.com is the podcast service that the guys at Wicked Decent Learning used to use to share their awesome podcast with the world. MyPodcast.com provides free podcast hosting as well as free podcast recording software. (The software is available for PC only). I tested out the software in August and found it to be more than adequate for creating vocal podcasts. For schools that do not use Apple computers (Garage Band is standard on Mac) MyPodcast.com is a very good, free podcasting tool.
Pod Bean is the free podcast hosting service that I used to host all of my Free Technology For Teachers podcasts (I haven't made any since last fall). Pod Bean is a hosting service, not a recording service so you will have to use a recording program and then upload to PodBean to share your episodes. What I like about Pod Bean is the speed of uploading and the ease of integration with blogging platforms.
Blubrry, like Pod Bean, is a podcast hosting service. To record your podcast you will have to record it using Audacity, Garage Band, or another recording tool. Blubrry has a very detailed guide for first-time podcasters. They also offer Blubrry University which is a forum for finding help with glitches and problems you may run into.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
5 Resources for Creating and Hosting Podcasts
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9 comments:
Hi, there! We're a new follower, here at Maupin House (http://blogspot.maupinhouse.com). Your blog is great -- thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the goings on of technology in the teaching world :)
-Maupin House Publishing
Whoops, that was http://maupinhouse.blogspot.com.
:)
Richard,
another really good option for super easy hosting of podcasting is Posterous - www.posterous.com. It's a blogging engine that allows you to email multimedia content to your site and it does an amazing job of posting your stuff beautifully. This includes MP3 files. Just attach the mp3 to an email and fire it away to your Posterous account. It will post it as an embeddable MP3 AND it will automatically set it up to be a subscribable podcast. Check out one our teachers did:
http://klavery.posterous.com
or
http://weatherbugs.posterous.com
Thanks for great post. I am a big fan of this blog.
I think educators need to rethink the idea of podcasts. Videocasts are the way to go. You do not need to actually record the video. You can always throw in a few rotating images in Windows MovieMaker or iMovie.
The site that actually lets you download video and audio as well is Blip.tv.
Pro version lets you sync with iTunes as well.
I have been experimenting with it (http://learningtoday.blip.tv/) and think it is better than other podcast services and better than YouTube.
This was a very helpful post. I noticed that Podbean's free plan offers 100 MB of storage. Does this mean that once my students have published podcasts totaling 100 MB that Podbean can no longer host their work? If so, which plan might you go with?
Thanks!
Eric,
My understanding is that once 100mb has been reached, you have to start paying for additional hosting. 100mb should be enough space for most student podcasts. If not, I'd consider having each student create their own account rather than putting everything into one account that you're managing.
Richard
This is a great blog!! I'm looking into posting video podcasts of my lectures so that students can view them for review purposes. What would you suggest is the best service?
Jon B,
If you have a Mac, the easiest way to do video podcasts is in iMovie or GarageBand.
Thanks. I have figured out how to record them the problem is finding an affordable way to host them. I teach at a community college so I will have to shoulder the cost so I'm looking for a free or low cost solution that has enough storage and bandwidth.
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