Wednesday

Thing #21: Podcasts and Videocasts

A podcast is a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. A podcast is a specific type of webcast which, like 'radio', can mean either the content itself or the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting (Wikipedia)

Podcast vs. Vidcast - Video podcast (sometimes shortened to vidcast or vodcast) is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures. The term is an evolution specialized for video, coming from the generally audio-based podcast and referring to the distribution of video where the RSS feed is used as a non-linear TV channel to which consumers can subscribe using a PC, TV, set-top box, media center or mobile multimedia device. (Wikipedia)

Here is a short video from the CommonCraft guys that will explain podcasts "in Plain English" Trouble with embeded copy --- here is direct link



The possibilites for using Podcasts or Vidcasts are endless! Some examples are; book reviews posted on line for sharing with other students, book reviews done by a librarian or teacher for "virtual" or "digital" booktalks, sharing a voice performance with others, sharing a presentation at a conference or other such gathering so that those unable to attend can hear the speaker, just to name a few!


Two great tools for getting started with Podcasts and Vidcasts are Audacity, which is a simple free program to use to record vocal presentations, and Photostory, which allows you to combine vocal recordings with pictures and create a great "movie" type presentation easily. There are many other tools like Garage Band and others that can be used to create Podcasts and Vidcasts, so feel free to explore the options out there. We would recommend that if you do record using your computer that you invest in headphones with a microphone to use for recording, they will block out some of the background noise and create a better voice recording.
Note** SBISD employees already have both Photostory and Audacity loaded on their teacher laptops!

Below is an example of a Podcast using Audacity and a Vidcast using Photostory:





Book Review Podcast

Discovery: Use Photostory to create a Videocast and post it in your blog along with your thoughts about using this kind of technology. Just a note, when you save your Photostory you need to save it both as a .wmv file (or "for playback on your computer" and as a .wp3 file which is saving it as a "project"). Have fun!

Note: Photostory uploads directly to Blogger. MUST be saved as .wmv (not just wp3, the default.) A little more help. Click images for larger version.

13 comments:

βG∞D said...

Looks like we have to upload videos now instead of embedding them in the html editing pane. Do you know if this is true of all videos, or just those we embedded the "old fashioned" way?

Mimi said...

Does it take a REALLY long time for the file to upload. I've been waiting almost 30 minutes and it still says uploading. I'm assuming I uploaded the correct version of the photoStory.

MHS Broadcasting said...

It took my second video almost 2 hours, I finally had to leave and come back. The first and third weren't as bad, but it was timely. VWB said there must be a lot of traffic.
I also could not load a .wav file, blogger.com gave me errors.

VWB said...

when uploading Photo Story BE SURE you are loading the wmv version. That is the "finished" product, not the copy that is editable (wp3).

Audio only files are not supported by the blog...i.e. they can not be uploaded...they must be hosted on an offsite location and linked to the blog.

A work aorund for the blog...if you create an Audacity file (audio-only) download it to your blog, create a PhotosTory with ONE picture and upload your audio file to that and then upload the one-Picture Photostory to your blog!

Mimi said...

Great idea about using 1 pic so you can add the audio file.

gooder said...

I do not have photo story or audicity on my district lap top and my computer stops with an error message before I can finish downlaoding.

Kathy said...

What happened to the Common Craft guys. I always like their explanations of things, but this video is blank, and I can't get their site to open. Bummer!

Susie said...

I really love the PLAIN ENGLISH video's - they are so helpful!

Anonymous said...

I finished the program out. Would you please check it for me so I can graduate

Sarah said...

I am using a mac so can't use PhotoStory. I made a video on my camera and am using a different application. I hope that's all right.

Wanda said...

I loaded a 3 min. video in about 14 mins. with no problems.

Rachel said...

Yup, my five minute video has been uploading for over ten minutes and based on these comments I expect it to take longer. Oh patience, patience....

Miss S said...

Does the kind of connection you have matter? My guess is a wireless or weak connection could be why some videos take longer to upload than others.