Jeanette has been using Podomatic to make podcasts…

An extremely simple site to use which guides you through a step-by-step process to create your podcast, as well as providing a separate ‘minicast’ option to create smaller pieces.

Here are some possibilities:

• An interesting way to get students to revise – give groups a topic which they must summarise in a podcast intended for an audience new to the subject.

•  Ask students to document the creative process during devised work with photographs, then create a ‘director’s commentary’ podcast where they talk about the images and what decisions were made to create the final piece.

• As a fun end to the year, or to celebrate a successful performance, upload photographs from the year or from dress rehearsals/performances and put them in a minicast with an appropriate soundtrack.

• An excellent resource for voice work and creative writing – ask different groups to record the same scene/poem and listen to the different interpretations, or get groups to write scenes and discuss problems that arise from the nature of a sound-only medium

• Students studying world music could, for a short project, create a minicast of photos from a particular region with a soundtrack of the music of that region. Or for a longer project, could create a documentary podcast about the music of that region which includes the music itself

You will need to set up an account with them. Once this is done your homepage on the site will give you options of podcasts, minicasts, events, Premium and Playlists. Click on New Episode to begin making your podcast and you will be guided through steps. First give your piece a title, then you are given the option to either upload an audio/visual file, or to record directly using a microphone – this is a good option for classroom use, as students can record their material directly onto the site. You can then add photos and tags if you wish, and publish your podcast to the site. If you want to delete any of your published materials, go into your account and choose ‘manage podcasts’ where you can edit, share and delete any files.