Podcasting Bits & Pieces

It's time for some podcasting tidbits.

• Dave Jobbings at the Podcasts for Educators Weblog writes about sustainability of educational podcasts. After looking at 80 podcasts listed in the Podcast Directory for Educators, Schools, and Colleges, Dave has noticed some interesting trends. The most common reason for a podcast no longer updating is that the teacher or staff member responsible for the podcast left the classroom or school for another post. Dave writes, "This would seem to underline the importance of a policy for succession planning. Whatever podcasting expertise there is within a school, some action to share this expertise more widely would seem a sensible option." Dave notes that providing professional development for other teachers and developing expertise in the students are two ways that schools can be ready for succession of podcasting educators. I would like to note that Radio WillowWeb continues to "broadcast" and it's been over a year since I left Willowdale Elementary. The school is dedicated to podcasting and Radio WillowWeb did not depend solely on my expertise.
• I am teaching one-day workshops for the Nebraska Business Development Center in Omaha. Business-types and educators are encouraged to sign-up. Check out the dates, course description, and outline for Podcasting: Communicating Your Message. You can listen to a four-minute audio recording of me talking about podcasting and about the workshop. Also, I wrote "Podcasts Deliver Free Audio & Video: Listen, Learn, and Publish Your Own" that appears on page two of the Nebraska Business Development Center's fall catalog. If you're not in Omaha, remember I make a living delivering workshops. Perhaps we can arrange something for your school district, business, or organization?
• Apple has filed to trademark their popular podcasting symbol, which you can see to the right. The purple figure surrounded by concentric circles is used by many podcasters. Because it's a trademarked image, webmasters who use the graphic may someday receive a cease and desist letter. So far Apple has not indicated that they will ask podcasters to remove images of their symbol.
• There are many options when it comes to publishing a podcast. My preferred way is to use a service like Slapcast or Libsyn. These services host the episode files, create a blog, and maintain the RSS feed. Slapcast gives you three free episodes. Libsyn has no free trial. Both cost $5 per month. An educator at a recent conference clued me in on SolidCasts.com. SolidCasts will host up to 100MB worth of episodes for free. Depending on how long your episodes are and how much compression you use, 100MB is enough for about a dozen audio files. SolidCasts says that the 100MB is free for life. However, if you have more than 100MB, you have to either delete previous episodes or pay at least $12.95 per month for one gigabyte (or more) of storage.
• Another option for podcast-publishing is GoDaddy.com. Plans start at $2.39 a month for 300MB of space. Like Slapcast and LibSyn, GoDaddy hosts the episode files, creates a blog, and maintains the RSS feed.
• Check out the free How to Podcast tutorial. There are videos about using Audacity.

That's your podcasting news for now. Stay tuned for future updates.