How+to+create+an+ETRU+podcast

=How to create an ETRU podcast=

It's fairly straightforward to create an EdTechRoundUp podcast. The tricky part, capturing the audio from the FlashMeeting, will already have been done for you. All(!) you need to do is edit, export and create the blog post. iTunes will do the rest! Your first attempt will probably take around 45 mins from start to finish. Once you get used to it, the process will probably take betwen 20 and 30 minutes. :-)

Step 1 - Get the files
The 'raw' MP3 files that you need to create the podcast are held at the [|ETRU Dropbox]. Ask either Tony Sheppard ([|@grumbledook]) and Doug Belshaw ([|@dajbelshaw]) for a login. You'll need to download the relevant MP3:



You'll also need the 'jingles', taken from [|Alice Russell]'s excellent track //What We Want!// and included under Fair Use:

media type="file" key="ETRU_intro.mp3" [|ETRU intro] (to go right at the beginning of the podcast, before summary) media type="file" key="ETRU_after_summary.mp3" [|ETRU middle bit] (to go between summary and meeting audio) media type="file" key="ETRU_outro.mp3" [|ETRU outro] (to go right at the end of the podcast, after the meeting audio)

Step 2 - Import the files into editor
I'll be using GarageBand, which is Mac OSX-only for this demo, but you could just as easily use the free, Open Source and cross-platform [|Audacity] to do the same job.

You'll need to import the four files necessary into your audio editor, leaving a gap after the intro audio to record your summary:



Step 3 - 'Top and tail' the meeting audio
The meeting audio will start before and stop after the interesting bit of the meeting. Just delete the stuff at the beginning before the official start and the stuff at the end where people are just saying goodbye. In GarageBand you just use 'Split' (track) and then Delete. Use your best judgement!



Step 4 - Record your summary
Before recording your summary, you may want to move the other audio files, apart from the intro, way over to the right-hand side. This will give you room to record a short overview of what listeners can expect to find in the podcast.

You can provide a summary even if you didn't attend the FlashMeeting - just look at the agenda on the relevant Meetings page. Here's what I said by way of overview for this demo podcast (actually ETRU Weekly #28):

//Hello, and welcome to EdTechRoundUp Weekly number 28. I'm Doug Belshaw. This week's FlashMeeting was led by myself with a somewhat sparse agenda comprising feedback from TeachMeet Midlands, a brief discussion of the GLOW meet and a progress report on the next EdTechRoundUp Special. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to general discussion about all things edtech...//



Step 5 - Tidy up and export the podcast
Make sure that everything is as it should be with the podcast. Check, for example, that there's no instances of 'dead air'! Once you've done this, it's time to export the podcast. In GarageBand, simply go to //Share -> Send Podcast to iTunes//. I tend to use the following settings as it's a good trade-off between quality and filesize:

//64kbps, joint Stereo, VBR (Highest Quality), optimized for MMX/SSE2, using MP.//

If you're using another audio editor, you can sort all this out in iTunes by right-clicking and selecting //Convert to MP3// after changing your 'import' settings to the above in //Preferences//.



Step 6 - Update the meta tags in iTunes
Once the podcast audio is in iTunes, you need to edit the meta (ID3) tags. This is so the podcast shows up properly in the iTunes Store.

First, add the relevant logo (usually either ETRU Weekly or ETRU Special) by dragging-and-dropping it into the bottom-left of iTunes when the podcast is playing. The logo files can be found on this page of the wiki.

Then, simply right-click on the podcast and update the details to look similar to the following (obviously yours won't be #28...)



Step 7 - Upload the podcast to archive.org
If you're unsure as to where the podcast resides on your hard disk, right-click on the podcast in iTunes and click on the 'summary' tab. You should see something like the following:

(note: I've already renamed the MP3 here to the desired format - i.e. //ETRUweekly28.mp3//)

The podcast MP3 is now ready for [|archive.org]. If you haven't got the ETRU login for this, please ask Doug Belshaw ([|@dajbelshaw]) for it.


 * 1) Once signed-in, click on the 'Upload' button at the top-right corner.
 * 2) Enter a relevant title - e.g. //EdTechRoundUp Weekly 28//
 * 3) Fill in the relevant fields in a similar way to the example below:



Wait for the file to upload... (may take a while!) This is a good time to be writing the blog post (Step 8)

Step 8 - Write the blog post
This is the last step! Creating the blog post on edtechroundup.com is important as it provides the RSS feed for the podcast that ultimately ends up in iTunes. Fortunately, it involves mainly copying-and-pasting and a little bit of description.


 * 1) Login to [|edtechroundup.com] (as [|admin]) - ask Doug Belshaw ([|@dajbelshaw]) or Dai Barnes ([|@daibarnes]) if you haven't got a login.
 * 2) Create a new blog post and then copy-and-paste the previous ETRU podcast blog post into your new blog post. You'll find this easier if you copy-and-paste from and to the HTML editor. :-)
 * 3) Edit the blog post to reflect the podcast you're producing. Here's an example:

(NB: the EdTechRoundUp Diigo account is [|here] and the Meetings page on the ETRU wiki is here)

With any luck, the podcast audio will have finished uploading to archive.org by the time you finish the blog post. You now need to copy the link to where the MP3 file is stored at archive.org:



Go back to your draft EdTechRoundUp blog post and do the following:
 * 1) Scroll down and click on the //Add Media File// button.
 * 2) Paste the link to the MP3 file on archive.org into the //Location// box and fill the other sections similar to the following, making sure you click on both the //Auto Detect// boxes:

Step 9 - Categorize, Tag and Publish the blog post
The last thing you need to do before publishing the blog post is to make sure the //Categories// and //Tags// sections are completed.

Make sure only the //Podcasts// category is ticked in the //Categories// section:



Add keywords to the Tags area. Use at least the following and then any tags specific to the podcast:

//edtech, educational technology, EdTechRoundUp, ETRU, elearning, podcast//




 * Very last thing!**

Press the blue //Publish// button.




 * You're finished - well done!**

//You **could**, of course, publicise your hard work and make people aware that the latest podcast is available via the [|EdTechRoundUp Twitter account]. If you haven't got the login details ask// Doug Belshaw ([|@dajbelshaw]) or Dai Barnes ([|@daibarnes])