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.

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

http://www.audiofootnote.com/

I think podcasting still is an avenue for education that has yet to be fully tapped in its power of communication. I follow 50 or 60 podcasts on a regular basis on a wide range of subjects; TED Talks, Pandora Musicology Shows, Tips from the Top Floor, Cleveland City Club are among my favs.

The amount of information one has access to through the web is really amazing. Often you may find the need to take notes on things as you hear them for future reference and that is great if you have pencil and paper handy. I choose to listen to podcasts often while I am waiting in line, riding in a car, or walking. What to do?

Footnote for Iphone and Touch has answered the need. This application allows you to record an audio note and interface it with the podcast with a time date stamp without leaving the player of the podcast.

I think that many different types of students may find this useful if your teacher or professor uses podcasting as part of your classwork. I have really found it to be a useful addition to my apps on the phone and have not regretted the $5.00 price I paid for the app.

You can download the app in the App Store and also learn more about it here: http://www.audiofootnote.com/

To post your podcast in the I-Tunes network, you must do the following:
1. Download and create an account with I-Tunes
2. Create your podcast and place it into a hosting server, ie. Podbean or Switchpod so that you will have your feed information created.
3. Follow the following steps:
Submitting Your Podcast to the iTunes Store.
If you can successfully subscribe to your feed using the Advanced menu in iTunes, you’re ready to submit your feed:

If you desire additional information, consider reading the following link for very detailed coverage.

Please follow the link posted below and it will play in Windows Media Player. As always, please contact me if you have any problems and I will help you where I can.

http://www.photosbyq.com/wvizpodcastworkshop/Encoderinstall/

The site I am offering for exploration is called www.switchpod.com. www.switchpod.com

The sight offers some rather nice features like an embedable flash player that you can paste into any website to allow streams for your podcast. The site writes the html codes for you. All you need to do is paste it into your post here on the blog or in any post that reads html, such as myspace, etc. As an example, I offer a test case from my preperations for the Patrick Henry Podcasting Network. I have taught my students to use Audacity over the last quarter and I am going to present several of them with the chance to begin to podcast for the school.

I created an account on www.switchpod and quickly recorded a test message in Audacity. The account creation and and uploading were a snap. The site creates a homepage for the podcast and allows streaming from that page . It also gives you the code to post a flash player for your podcast in any place you would like to post one. All you have to do is highlight and copy the embeded section and past into your post and you could launch a podcast right from our blog if you wanted to. (see first comment for an example as the flash player plays each time this main page is loaded)

It also give a very simple single button approach to subscribe to your podcast through a wide range of formats, including I-Tunes. I think this feature is much better than what podbean’s approach.

Switchpod Interface example