Audio Podcasting for Beginners

Heard about podcasting and wondering what it is all about? Wondering if you should include it in your course website? Well, search no further! If you are using NDSU Blackboard for your face-to-face or online course, this tutorial will cover all of the basics that you need to know, A - Z, soup to nuts, start to finish, to successfully include podcasting in your course.

Background Knowledge

What is podcasting?
In non-technical terms, podcasting is the "broadcasting" of an audio or video file (like an "episode" of sound or a movie clip) via the Internet.
Why would I want to use it for my class?
Imagine if you could deliver mini-lectures to your class, through your Blackboard course website AND also include a feature that automatically notified your students every time a new lecture was available. Podcasting makes that possible.
Aren't podcasts just for people who own iPods?
No. While the word podcasting first became popularized by users of iPods, in truth, anyone can listen to a podcast as long as they have software or a device (a computer or MP3 player) that can play an MP3 audio file. This file type is recognized by many computer software products (freely available for use) including Windows Media Player, iTunes, and Real Player.
What else should I know?
This is a link to a webpage published by ITS titled "Tips for Education Podcasts" that provides additional useful information.

The Basic Steps

There are four basic steps for creating and including a podcast in your course. Select a step to learn more: