The article lays out the following 10 tips to consider when entering the podcast medium:
1. Plan Accordingly.
2. Original Content.
3. Get to The Point.
4. Do Your Homework.
5. Consistency.
6. Timeless Content.
7. Articulate Words.
8. Optimize Podcasts.
9. Listener Expectations.
10. Archive.

All ten of the items listed are really worth considering when you begin to think about how you are going to produce your podcast. I am going to highlight just a few things that I think are really vital from my point of view:

Planning does actually save you time in the long run if done correctly. Planning how often you are going to produce is one of the more important things to think about. Your listeners are going to want to know when they can expect shows from you if they want to start and follow you. Give thought to how often you can plan and produce a show and let your listeners know your plans so they can plan to tune in again. This will help build listeners quickly.

Plan a format on how you will present your information with the understanding that CONTENT IS KING when it comes to podcasting. Understand that people are really savvy media consumers who have grown up in a “surfing environment”. If there is no interest in the message being presented, do not be offended if they “grab the remote” and surf to new content in search of a message that does. Take the time present things in a concise manner that “gets to the point” as point three states. Listeners are looking for how this information can improve their understanding of the topic.

If you have not produced a media program before, you may want to try storyboards as a way to organize your ideas. The old steps we learned in Language Arts of the writing process will serve you well you can find a more on story boards here:
http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/07/1000000107_f.pdf
http://www.sotherden.com/video101/storyboard.htm

Production quality does matter. Take the time to get a quality microphone and record in a quiet environment.

Podcasting is a very personal communication medium between you and the listener. As you begin your podcast, speak in a personal frame of mind. Speak as if you are speaking to one person and not as if you are presenting to a large group of people in an auditorium.

You can check out the link http://justwantinfo.com/article/10-tips-for-podcasting-success/.html to catch the content from their point of view, it is worth the read.

You can learn more about Zerolandfill at their website or with the link to a podcast I produced to try and share the information with others. The Artist Review Today podcast is no longer in production and I have edited the podcast to focus strictly on Zerolandfill.

Artist Review Today’s Podcast on Zerolandfill.net
ARTShow14Zerolandfillnet

Please pass this information on.

Zerolandfill is a great group that collects materials and prevents it from going directly into land fills. These materials can be of great assistance to teachers, artists, and handmen. There is no cost to collect the materials, you have to come and see what has been collected.

Moe’s Notes is a multimedia note recorder, editor and organizer for creative and/or busy people. You can save audio, an image or video, text, tags, and GPS coordinates in each note. You can edit, sort and search for notes in various ways, then email them or upload them to Facebook.

The Iphone is simply the most compact all in one multi-media communication tool there is on the market at this point. No other device allows you to create media in both an audio and/or visual manner and share it with others as quickly as an Iphone with approporiate applications. What has been lacking is the coordination of that media into a complete package where text, audio and visual could be combined into a complete message for communication and/or note taking. Moe’s Notes answers that need with a simple interface and an astonishing depth of editing power for an app that is .99 cents.

I agree that for busy people, this application can create a tool for notes and reference that is top shelf for the ability to document ideas and then sort and share them with others. I do think that the publisher is missing a large market with tool, mainly because hardware has not been developed for the educational market to allow this tool enterence into the modren classroom.

I have written a series of articles entitled the 21st Cent. Tool Kit and discussed the use of social media and hand held devices in the classroom. (http://markquinn.net/blog5/2009/06/18/considerations-for-developing-the-21st-century-tool-kit-in-the-classroom/) The discussion of the mobile device and it’s growing use in society has to begin to show in the educational classroom.

At the time I wrote that post, I was not aware of anyone using mobiles in the classroom. Recently, I have learned of several schools have begun to experiement with cellphones in the classroom where the students have a present amount of time and texts to allow communication with learning groups and teachers on demand. They also have access to websites that have flash animations that will demonstrate a problem like the one they are dealing with on demand. Early results show that students are improving scores on their standardized tests upwards of 30% in Math.

The main factor in rolling out this on a larger scale appears to be just money; The cost per handset and the fact that many sources of funding directly prohibit giving the student personal possession of the device at all times. The simple fact is that this ideas is still in early development and as always early adopters pay a cost to play in that area; but Moe’s Notes is an application that should be on a short list of applications to be included when this technology becomes more common.

I personally believe that may come soon than expected. I believe the second generation Ipad will develop a camera and then this will allow the hardware changes to invite this application into the classroom.

Much of the discussion about adoption of technology centers around thinking that is 20th centuary in its focus. Our students have evolved in the 21st centuary and are adopting these tools as a seemless part of their lifestyle. As discussions continue on how to reach our students, perhaps we should consider HOW they prefer to interface, interact and process information and meet them on the field they are already using.

I found a post on the blog Lifehacker this morning that may just be the solution to the situation. http://cutmp3.net/ allows you to quickly upload and mp3 file and trim its starting and ending points and then save it back to your computer with a file name of your choice.

The interface is simple and quick. There are no effects or other “fancy” adjustments, so correction with this tool is not really possible. It may serve as a great tool to allow primary grades to do their own editing and save a teacher some time of doing all the work.

As a side note, if you are not currently following the blog Lifehacker I really encourage you to do so. The blog always posts helpful hints on a wide range of subjects to save time on things.

You can follow this link to read the quick post of Cutmp3 on Lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/5495435/cutmp3net-extracts-audio-from-files-entirely-online

I had a great discussion with teachers who are looking at new ways to interact with their students in the classroom. I wanted to share an additiional link for an example of Web 2.0 technology as it is currently being used on the web:

We spoke about dynamic information being the key to a web 2.0 site. Sprint has put together a great example of a mixture of static and dynamic information on a website where it can be interacted with by the site’s viewers. The site serves as an extenstion of their “Now” marketing campaign and has a mixture of various feeds that create the information.

Monday 6/22/2009 9:00AM-12Noon Pocket-Sized Learning

Monday 6/22/2009 1:00PM-4:00PM Create iPod Videos Using Camtasia

Wednesday 7/8/2009 8:30AM-4:30PM Podcasting Academy

Wednesday 7/15/2009 8:30AM-4:30PM Podcasting Academy

Wednesday 7/29/2009 9:00AM-12Noon Pocket-Sized Learning

Wednesday 7/29/2009 1:00PM-4:00PM Create iPod Videos Using Camtasia

Wednesday 8/19/2009 8:30AM-4:30PM Podcasting Academy

Wednesday 8/12/2009 8:30AM-4:30PM Podcasting Academy

Friday 8/14/2009 9:00AM-12Noon Photoshop Elements

Friday 8/14/2009 1:00PM-4:00PM Zoom with the Zoom H2

Check out the complete list of workshops as well as links to register for them here! I look forward to working with you this summer!

I will be posting dates later this week, but alot of people have been asking for the video for Ipod class and that will be run once in June and at least one other time during the summer.

The Podcasting Academy will run once in July and once in August. If you are looking to really get into the nuts and bolts of podcasting, audio editing, and educational discussions on using this technology in the classroom, then this course is for you. You can even pick up a credit hour for your efforts toward certifications through Ashland Univ.

A new offering will come at the end of the summer. I have starting working with a new tool for podcasting that is really nice to use. The H4n is a handy 4 track recorder that fits in the palm of your hand. I did a quick review of this new tool in the blog soon after I purchased it. I have been working with Eric Siler at WVIZ to create a class that would allow people to gain access to this technology and allow improved recording quality at the touch of a button in the classroom or whereever.

We have choosen to offer a class with the H4n’s little brother, the H2. This unit offers most of the features of the H4n in a more classroom friendly package. The microphones for the unit are encased inside the case and not exposed as the H4n’s are. Check out the vidoe on the link to learn more!

Details and dates to be published later this week. Look forward to seeing you this summer in a workshop.

This action represents a serious shift in policy funding for what has become the major funding for educational change in education dealing with technology. EETT funding has impacted the largest shift in teacher professional development in technology I have seen in my 18 years of education. This blog and the courses that it supports are a direct results of the impact that funding funding has provided. I am not compensated for this blog and run it at my own expense. I feel the topics and communication among teachers is vital to continue professional development and use in the classroom after the course or workshop.

The podcasting courses and workshops have trained over 350 teachers in the last two years on how to use Web 2.0 technology like podcasting and video casting in the classroom. Teachers have learned both where to find materials as well as to create their own customized materials for thier classrooms, in addition to recieving the equipment to use the training in the classroom. At least two school districts I have worked with in the last year have created curriculum for students and have enrolled students into production classes for this new technology.

A recent post on this blog discussed the reasons to give children a voice and ownership of their creative abilities and allow the to withstand the social critique of their productions. (http://tinyurl.com/pcv55z) Social Media tools like podcasting and video casting allow this very action to take place in a package that students are eager and excited to learn about. It is only natural that children will want to create in the media that surrounds them and the production costs associated with podcasting and video casting make it possible to do on a school districts limited budget and allows students to continue to use the technology after their introduction at school because it is affordable.

The introduction of the products like the Iphone are going to ensure that personal communication at the handset level is going to be a regular part of our student’s lives. Surveys are showing that mobile video and audio are increasing slowly but are going to become accepted ways of communication rather than the viral novilty it currently holds. (http://tinyurl.com/c86pyz) Continued cutting of technology funding that exposes our children to the tools of communication that are redefining our world are both short sided and dangerous to our advancement as a nation.

Taxpayers in the United States are paying taxes on every form of media consumption to support network access within our schools (http://tinyurl.com/oma35w). It seems a poor policy choice to provide the funding for the tools to allow access; and then cut the funding to train the very participants you wish to use those tools. Professional development for teachers has always the weakest link in educational policy because it is an easy target to cut when choices become challenging; while at the same time, demanding that new and innovative technology ideas are infused into our classrooms at every chance.

I urge President Obama’s Administration to reconsider this course of action and invite you to share your point of view in the comments as well as calling your elected officals to voice your concerns as you see them.

Read more from the article at:
– http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/oct/07/elearning.students

That is all great when you can control your enviornment and where you are recording, but some of the most interesting things to record and do shows about happen away from the studio. You can buy a portable digital recorder, but the small condenser mics give a “tin can” sound to your production. What is a podcaster to do?

Enter the Handy Recorders by Zoom. These portable recording devices offer better than CD recording quality in a hand held unit that can go anywhere. The microphones are already on the unit, and they can record their data to a SD memory card. They run on AA batteries and can go for an extended period, five or six hours, of time before they need to be changed. The unit has a stamina mode that can increase that time to 11 hours!

I purchased the H4n, http://samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1994&ref=hivelogic and have found the more I use it, the more I find places to use it. The line has several models at different price points to fit all budgets.

I have started to use it for podcasting programs where I need to travel to someone rather than recording in my studio. The unit is simple to operate, and does not get in the way of what I am trying to accomplish with deep complicated menus or small displays.

I have also used it as a secondary sound source for video productions. A recent production required the camera to be over 20 feet from the subject of the shot. The subject needed to move and I did not want to use a wireless microphone. The H4n was put on a mic stand at the foot of the performance area and recorded the entire program, with auto levels control, it recorded everything correctly. It was a snap to load the audio into a video editor and sync it with the video.

One of the coolest features of the H4n is that it will serve as an audio interface with your computer. When connected with a USB cable it can do the job of a card reader or allow you to use the microphones on the device as a sound source for your computer. The unit has two XLR microphone jacks at the bottom to allow you to connect your own microphones if you wish and you can assign the on board microphones and the XLR inputs to their own individual tracks and do four track recording. The unit can even provide phantom power to the microphones!

I have been using it in the classroom with students with good results. I have been teaching students to play recorders and it has allowed me to be able to quickly record students playing a selection and then play it back to them on a boom box speaker system for them to evaluate the performance before our next attempt. It has allowed me to teach listening during performance in a whole different way.

Go check one out for your programs and see if can add a new deminsion to your programs.