Podcasts

Podcasts


Podcasts are another way to convey information and tell stories.  Instead of reading the information you can listen to the information.  This provides a different experience using audible senses rather than visual ones.  

School librarians can use podcasts to convey information to their colleagues or their students.  They can use them to create book reviews, communicate information about events and changes in the library schedule.  Podcasts can also be used to discuss library issues and communicate helpful information to fellow librarians.

I took a look at four different applications:  Audioboom, SoundCloud, Cleanfeed, and Podbean.



Audioboom is an application that can be downloaded onto a mobile device.  It allows ten minutes of recording a podcast, and the ability to find and subscribe to other podcasts.  Your recorded podcast link can be downloaded as a QR code.  I watched a YouTube tutorial that said there was a free version but I was unable to locate that on the website.  When I set up my account, it would not let me advance until I chose a subscription and paid for it, so I deleted my account.  The subscription starts at $9.99.  From what I saw it looks like a good application that I could use, but I am not going to pay for something I can get for free somewhere else.

Soundcloud is an application that is for music.  It is a music streaming service, mostly includes indie music.  Users of this service upload their own music to share it with other users.  There is a free thirty day trial available so I opened up an account.  The free trial has limitations that include lower quality audio which was not a problem for me.  The sound quality was fine in my opinion.  There are ads that you cannot skip.  You can not listen to music offline and you cannot access the full catalog of songs.  

I was unable to figure out how to record a podcast using this application but I was able to upload the podcast that my group and I put together.  We created an mp3 file using Cleanfeed which I discuss later in this blog post.  Here is the link:  https://soundcloud.com/lois-white-695232695/process-of-weeding-podcast




Podbean is an application that allows you to use your mobile device to create podcasts.  You can also subscribe and listen to other podcasts using this application.  There is a free version. I have created quite a few podcasts using this app, but I was doing it alone.  I uploaded the podcast that my group and I created here.  We were unable to create the podcast in Podbean because the three of us are in three different locations and so we had to use an app called Cleanfeed to accomplish recording the podcast.
Here is the link to the podcast in this app:  https://loiswhite.podbean.com/mf/play/62q2yf/Process_of_Weeding_Podcast_6dcns.mp3




Cleanfeed is the application we used so that we could create our podcast as a group with each member being in a different location.  We used the free version of the app.  One group member invited the other group members to joint the podcast.  An email was sent with the link.  There are three of us in the group.  For some reason my microphone was not working as well as my group members.  When you listen to the podcast you can hear the difference.  I do not think this had anything to do with the app, I think it was my laptop.  Once the recording was complete, the group member who initiated the podcast downloaded the file as an MP3 and emailed us a copy.  I downloaded the file to Podbean and to SoundCloud.  I will definitely use Cleanfeed again.  It was very easy to use and it allows for virtual conversations.  This will be helpful in the current state of virtual learning.

My favorite app is Podbean.  It is very user friendly.  The only drawback is that you must be in the same room to record together.  Cleanfeed allows you to record in separate locations and the recording can be downloaded.  The combination of both applications work well.  

Sources


Audioboom. (n.d.). Retrieved July 18, 2020, from https://audioboom.com/
Cleanfeed. (n.d.). Cleanfeed. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from https://cleanfeed.net/
Discover on SoundCloud. (n.d.). SoundCloud. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from https://soundcloud.com/discover
Start Your Own Podcast Now. It is Free | Podbean. (n.d.). Retrieved July 18, 2020, from https://www.podbean.com/start-unlimited-podcast

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