Create A Podcast

PROJECT:

Create A Podcast

What Is A Podcast? A podcast is like a radio show, but it is not usually recorded live. Podcasts are recorded, then put up online so that listeners can listen to them at a time of their own choosing. They are usually based on a topic, theme or story and contain a variety of the following features and characteristics: a host (or hosts) interviews with experts, special guests, celebrities, commentators, sports people, etc. advertisements conversations between host and guest or a panel of guests or between hosts discussion of details of investigations or sports events music snippets, intro music and exit music audience questions (if live podcast ) vox pops – snippets of interviews from people stopped on the street to give an opinion. COMMUNICATING Choose one of the following three podcasts to listen to: 1 Who Would Win? A podcast that debates who would win in a fight between a host of characters from comics, films and books. Episodes feature discussions such as who would win in Batman vs. Yoda, Mad Max vs. Rick Grimes and Captain America vs. Darth Vader. Each week there is a different set of combatants and a new guest judge. edco.ie/kefm 2 Stuff You Should Know. A podcast that discusses events or people you should know in an entertaining fashion. Topics range from Rosa Parks and ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ to true crime. edco.ie/h4kn 3 Radiolab. A podcast that investigates the most unusual and jaw-dropping stories from all around the world. Topics range from mysterious meat allergies to a ceremony to launch a new cryptocurrency. edco.ie/x7b2 Choose one episode that appeals to you and listen for a minimum of ten minutes. Then answer the questions below. 1 List the features of a podcast that appear in the podcast. 2 What is entertaining about the podcast? 3 What is appealing about the podcast? 4 Would you be interested in listening to more of that podcast.©The Educational Company of Ireland Why? Why not?

PROJECT BRIEF

Create an entertaining podcast for a teenage audience about a text you have studied in English class. To be successful in your project, your podcast should: be informative, educational and entertaining, and appeal to your teenage audience explore interesting and relevant details about your chosen text experiment imaginatively with the features and characteristics of a podcast.

Plan It

Your podcast script should be three to four minutes long in total and its purpose is to explore the text you are studying. 1 First you need to decide on the host of your show. Will you have one or two hosts? Who will your host be? Could it be someone from the text? Could it be someone related to the text in some way? 2 Below is a list of possible ideas for your podcast that you may like to include. an advertisement from intro music to start a sponsor that relates your podcast and exit to one of the themes or music to end your symbols from the text podcast that is linked to the text a song snippet that is thematically relevant to the text an interview with a character about a specific event in the text an interview with a character about another character in the text an interview with the text’s author about a central theme from the text, or their inspiration for the text, or their reasons for their choice a a news story related real about world a poem or rap of narrative perspective/ narrative voice historical event about a central relevant to the text theme or major or an event from the event in the text a vox pop from the world world of the text of the text after a particular event in the text or about an issue in the text

an interview with a character about a central theme from the text a catchy and memorable name for your podcast, linked to your text a conversation between two characters in the text ©The Educational Company of Ireland

3 Think about how you are going to structure your podcast. Your podcast should have an introduction at the beginning and a sign off at the end. You should try to include at least three segments from the suggested list of ideas on page 43. You should link one segment to another, possibly through music or an advertisement.

Intro

Segment 1 Segment 2Link Link End Segment 3 Redraft It Look back at the success criteria in the project brief box on page 43. Is there anything you have left out? Is there anything you need to work on some more? Look through your script and check if there are any opportunities to show off your knowledge of the text. Could you use some of the place names from the text? Could you advertise any of the businesses in the text? Remember the purpose of the podcast is to inform teenagers about the text in an entertaining way. Intro music Host: In today’s podcast, we will get to the bottom of the mystery that we have been obsessing about. Host 2: Yes, today is an episode you won’t want to miss… Script It Using your planning to guide you, get your ideas down on paper. Remember to structure the podcast into sections and that the script should be laid out as in the example below, with the speaker identified on the left and what they are going to say on the right. Any music or sound effects should be written in italics or a different pen colour. ©The Educational Company of Ireland

Record It

Have your script in front of you before you start. You can choose to try to record the script in one sitting or record it section by section, then edit it with an editing app afterwards. Depending on your devices, explore some of the free software for recording and editing podcasts: Audacity, GarageBand, Soundtrap and Zoom. You could record your podcast using your smartphone, or you might prefer to set up a microphone, which is sometimes easier if you are conducting an interview. Find a quiet place, ideally a small room for the best sound quality. Don’t worry if you mess it up; just delete the recording and start again. REFLECTION 1 What did you like about the podcast? 2 What about the podcast appealed to a teenage audience? 3 What do you think people learned about your text from listening to your podcast? 4 How would you improve this podcast if you were to start from the beginning again? ©The Educational Company of Ireland