A podcast is a series of audio files on a particular theme, made available for download through subscription. Your students can listen to your podcast episodes in Blackboard but, if they subscribe to your podcast, they can listen on their iPod or other MP3 player, whenever it's convenient for them.

Creating a Podcast

1. From the Course Menu, select the Content Area where you would like to place your podcasts.
   
   
2. Click the Add Interactive Tool button and select Voice Podcaster.
   
   
   
   
3. Type a name and a description for your podcast.
   
   
   
   
4. Select other appropriate settings and options. Note that you can allow students to post their own podcast episodes if you select that option.
   
   
   
   
5. Click Submit.
   
   

Recording a Podcast Episode

1. From the Content Area, click the link to the podcast that you set up.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the New button.
   
   
   
   
3. A "Compose" window will pop up. Title your podcast episode and click the red record button to begin. Note that the maximum recording time is 20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
4. To end the recording, click the square stop button. Click Post to add the episode to your podcasts in Blackboard.
   
   
   
    

Playing an Episode

1. To play an episode you have recorded, access the podcast by clicking the Voice Podcaster link from the Content Area. Select the episode you would like to hear (it will become highlighted in light blue). Each episode will be listed on a separate line, with the name of the person who posted it, its length, and the date it was posted. Click the green play button; you also have pause and stop controls.
   
   

Subscribing to Your Podcast

You and your students can subscribe to the podcast through the Subscribe or the RSS Feed button. This will allow iTunes or your browser to automatically collect any new podcasts that you post to this podcast.  

iTunes Subscription

1. Click the Subscribe button.
   
   
   
   
2. This will launch iTunes. From iTunes you can access the podcasts and upload them to your iPod or MP3 player.

RSS Feed Subscription

1. Click the RSS Feed button.
   
   
   
   
2. This will open a new tab with the RSS feed URL.  We recommend using Firefox for subscribing; you can click the Subscribe Now button to easily subscribe to the podcast via Live Bookmarks.
   
   
   
   
3.  You can also copy and paste the URL into an RSS feed reader.

 

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