Podcasts give you an excellent opportunity to talk at length about your learning experiences, as well as reflecting on aspects of your learning that might be relevant to future jobs or education. Podcasts are also great for facilitating conversation with other people on how you can apply your skills, or what you might like to do with them in the future.

So, what is a podcast? A podcast is a one off or series of spoken word episodes that focus on one topic or issue. They are just audio and can feature just one or multiple voices. There are 3 types of podcasts: non-fiction (a truthful account of an event or experiences), fiction (a narrative constructed for sharing), hybrid (borrowing from both). Podcasts vary in length, but generally we suggest keeping it between 10 and 20 minutes.

Use this template to plan out your podcast. There are some decisions that need to be made and this worksheet will help you to make them. Before you start to plan your podcast, you need to know a few things. Complete the questions below to help you: 

The workshop I am reflecting on is.....

The skills I am going to cover in my podcast are.....

My audience is.....

We’ve got some decision to make in order to make sure our podcast works for our audience. Try answering the questions below.

The topic of my podcast is....

My podcast will last......

The people included in my podcast are....

The podcast will be one episode or series of podcasts?

We also need to consider how you are going to make your podcast. There are lots of different platforms that can help you. You might want to try some of these before you get started:

• https://riverside.fm  - full instructions on how to use Riverside.fm can be found here: You are able to record up to 2 hours for free and can download your tracks for your own use when ready.
• https://anchor.fm/ by Spotify. Full instructions on how to use Anchor.fm can be found here: There are no limits to the amount you can record but the expectation is that you will upload to Spotify and link from there.
• https://podcastle.ai/   Full instructions on how to use podcastle.ai can be found here: There are no limit on audio recording, but 3 hours limit on videos. You can use their editing suite to create your masterpieces.

We are now ready to start planning our podcast. The joyful thing about podcasts is their format as a conversation, letting ideas take you where they want to go when they pop up. We don’t want to be too structured, but we do want to make sure the podcast is interesting and serves its purpose. So....let’s think of what we want the overall podcast to say.... 

My podcast is all about (try and fit everything into 3 sentences).......

Example: My podcast is about how a clowning workshop makes me the ideal student for a University Drama course. I am going to tell them all about the activities I did and the skills I learnt. I’m then going to finish by telling everyone why that means they should pick me. 

Okay, let’s get making. We need consider how your skills in critical thinking (by reflecting on the positive and negatives and how your learning will assist you in the future), communication (how you worked with others, or created a piece of work to share your knowledge and experience), collaboration (working with others), and creativity (developing something new and presenting it a new format) were challenged or developed in your selected workshop. So, what did you learn about:

Critical thinking:

Communication:

Collaboration:

Creativity:

Let’s structure your podcast...

Before you start...

Do you have music? A jingle?  A co-host? Someone you are chatting with?          If it’s more than just you, then you need to construct questions in the      sections below for you to ask your guest or for them to ask you.

Your welcome....

What do you want to say? Introduce yourself. Tell them what the podcast          is about. Set the tone for the rest of the podcast....

First point.....

Is it best to approach the telling of these skills as fiction or non-fiction?              Should you work exercise by exercise? Or skill by skill? What do you need  them to know?

Second point.....

What comes next? What else do you think it would be helpful to know?

Exercise 2? Skill 2? Or how you might use the skills in the future?

Third point.....

What is left to say? Why does this make you a good fit for them? How will      you continue to develop the skills?

Closing statement...

What do you want your audience to take away? Jingle? Music?

Now that you have your structure, we can start recording your podcast. It is easiest to record directly into the podcast service you’ve chosen. Remember to keep your voice varied in pitch and tone to keep your audience interested and engaged. You could try making jokes, or references to popular culture to help them relate it to their own experiences. You could add lots of descriptions of the exercises, so they really know what you did. You could also add an accompanying image sheet/videos so they can see what you did.

Once recorded, the software will help you to edit and format your podcast. Then download and add to your portfolio – ready for everyone to hear how wonderful you are!

Podcast Instructions

Anchor.fm by Spotify:

1. Once you have downloaded the app and created an account, you will be brought to the ‘Trailers’ page. Here you can record a quick introduction to your podcast. You can come back and record it later. Click the ‘x’ at the top of your screen to go to the ‘Episode Builder’.

2. To get started click the purple ‘+’ at the bottom of the screen to view the podcasting tools.

3. To start recording, press the red ‘Record’ button. You can record for a maximum of 60 minutes, but you can record multiple segments and add them in your episode builder. To stop recording press the red ‘X’ button. 

4. Edit your podcast by clicking the ‘Trim’ button. Move the sliders to where you would like your recording to start and end. 

5. To add music to your podcast, tap ‘Add Background Music’. You can choose from a menu of tracks with different moods and themes.

6. When you are happy with your recording click the purple ‘✔’ button to save your recording. All recordings are saved to the ‘Episode Builder’.

7. In the ‘Episode Builder’ you can tap and drag segments to rearrange them. You can also add audio from your ‘Library’ by clicking the purple ‘+’ button and selecting the ‘Library’ option. Make sure to hit ‘Save’ in the top right corner. 

8. To upload audio to your ‘Library’ from your phone, click the purple folder icon on the task bar at the bottom of the screen and tap the ‘Import’ button on the top right corner of the screen. 

9. There are tabs for ‘Sounds’, ‘Voice Messages’, and ‘Interludes’ you can incorporate into your podcast. 

10. When you are finished creating your podcast, hit ‘Publish Now’. You will be prompted to write a title and description for your podcast. Press the white ‘Publish Now’ button to post your episode now.

Podcastle.ai:

1. To record your podcast:

● Click the red ‘+Create’ button and select ‘New Project’ from the drop-down menu. 

● Select ‘Record Audio’ from the pop-up menu.

● To start recording press the red button on the task bar at the bottom of the screen and click ‘Start Recording’.

● To stop recording hit the big red ‘Stop’ button.

2. Alternatively:

● Click the red ‘+Create’ button and select ‘New Recording’ from the drop-down menu. 

● The pop-up menu will prompt you to enter a title and choose whether to record audio only or audio and video. 

● Then click the black ‘Enter Studio’ button. 

● Hit the ‘Record’ button.

3. Whichever option you choose you can now edit your podcast. 

4. To split a clip, press the drop-down menu on the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Select the ‘Split’ option and drag the dotted line to where you want to split the clip and click the scissors icon.

5. To upload files from your computer, click the ‘My Files’ tab on the task bar on the left side of the screen and click the ‘Upload Audio’ button to import files.

6. To edit the audio, press the magic wand icon on the audio track. Here you can adjust the volume, pan, and amplifier. To add an effect, press the white ‘Add Effect’ button and choose ‘Compressor’ or ‘Equaliser’.

7. To add music, click the ‘Music’ tab on the left side of the screen. Choose a song from the selection and click ‘Add to Track’.

8. To add sound effects, click the ‘SPX’ tab on the left side of the screen. Choose a sound effect from the selection and click ‘Add to Track’.

9. When you are happy with your podcast, click the black ‘Export’ button in the top right of the screen. Choose a format and quality. Click the ‘Transcript Option’ to convert your audio to text. Click the black ‘Export File’ button.

Riverside.fm:

1. With Riverside.fm you can record your podcast remotely with guests. To set up a session, click ‘Go To Studio’ on the dashboard.

2. Here you need to select your camera, microphone, and audio output settings. 

3. Once you have set up your session, you can send an invite link to your guests. Hosts can send out links ahead of time. The studio link is always the same.

4. Once your guests have clicked the link, they will have to choose their camera, microphone, and audio output settings. They will then be brought to a green room to wait to be let into the session. 

5. Hosts can adjust every participant's sound levels, mute everyone, and private message each guest. 

6. Click the ‘Record’ button to start recording.

7. You can add sound effects live while recording your podcast. Click the ‘Media’ tab and select any of the twelve stock sounds. You can also upload sounds to use.

8. Once you have finished recording, all audio and video files will be saved to the host’s dashboard. Each participant’s audio/video saves separately.

9. ‘Magic Editor’ makes editing very simple. The AI technology automatically switches whoever is talking to full screen. 

10. ‘Magic Editor’ allows you to choose the dimensions of your video to suit all social media platforms; 9:16, 1:1, 16:9.

11. Once you are happy with your podcast, click the ‘Export’ button. 

12. The ‘Clips’ feature allows you to convert long-form content into small clips. Pick a background colour, arrange the layout of the speaker, and choose the size and dimensions. Export your clip the same way as your long-form podcast.