2.1. Possible Hardware Options

There are many means of recording audio and video for podcasts, with varying levels of expensive and complexity.

By far the simplest method is to record directly into a computer using it's own internal mic, but the audio quality will not be exceptional and the mic is likely to pick up background noise (from the computer's fan, for example). Using an external microphone produces a cleaner signal.

Regardless of the means by which podcasts are recorded, to publish them it is usually required to transfer the recording from the recording device to a computer with access to the internet. In general, the fewer steps required to generate the final podcast file on a computer, the better.

Other options for recording include:

• An iPod, with Apple's proprietary mic attachment plugged into the top. There are different microphone products with varying performance, some examples can be seen here: http://www.welovemacs.com/ipmire.html
• A portable recorder, such as a Marantz PMD 661 Solid State MP3 Recorder, can be a relatively inexpensive and yet high quality option for audio recording. Many of these portable recorders make use of SD cards and other modern storage cards.
• Expensive external USB (not analogue) microphones (such as a Samson CO1U USB mic) can be plugged directly into a computer and provide very high quality audio recordings. Additional attachments to isolate background noise can increase the quality.
• Digital video cameras can be used for audio and video input for use in podcasts, and these can record onto DV tape (which would then have to be transferred to the computer using a separate piece of hardware) or can be plugged directly into a computer (commonly via FireWire). These usually provide high-quality audio and video recordings.

The Steeple Podcasting Booklet contains more information in its Baseline audio kit section.

2.2. List of Recording Software

Simple and free

• Audacity, free software for recording sound from a mic on a PC or Mac. A tutorial to use Audacity and various podcasting video tutorials are available to view and download. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ (Audacity requires the LAME MP3 Encoder to save the audio files as MP3: http://lame.sourceforge.net/)
• iTunes, used a podcast reader and also for converting audio files into MP3. http://www.apple.com/iTunes/
• Windows Sound Recorder, but the quality will not be exceptional.

Advanced

• ProfCast is an easy to use professional podcasting software tailored specifically for educational needs available for the Mac (PC version in development). http://www.profcast.com/
• ePodcast Producer is expensive professional podcasting software for the PC. http://www.industrialaudiosoftware.com/products/epodcastproducer.html
• Podium is a complete commercial podcasting solution available for Windows that has a robust audio editing toolset. http://www.podiumpodcasting.com/
• Garageband is an advanced audio composition package available for Mac. http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

Information about sound editing is available in the Steeple Podcasting Booklet, sections Introduction to editing and Audacity training.

3.1. OXITEMS RSS System

OXITEMS is an RSS newsfeed system developed here at Oxford by OUCS. It allows users to add and maintain news items (announcements, news, events, podcasts etc.). These feeds can be subscribed to by digital media players allowing the end user to receive news updates, podcasts ect. without the need to visit the originating web site themselves.

The first step the author has to make is to upload the podcast to their web space, e.g. a college server, their users web space or to a course area on the WebLearn VLE. You cannot upload files to OXITEMS as it is not a filestore, nor are other RSS feeds; they merely link a news item in a newsfeed to an assocated file (called a enclosure) and contain textual information about this linked file. Once the location of the podcast is known, follow the instructions below:

Adding your podcast to OXITEMS

1. Go to the OXITEMS web site. Accessing the OXITEMS system requires authentication as a member of Oxford University through WebAuth.

   Figure images/oxitems1.png [Part of the OXITEMS home page]

2. In the side menu find the [Podcasting Newsfeed] section which is under the [Operations for Authors] menu.

   Figure images/oxitems2.png [Podcasting newsfeed section under operations for authors menu]

3. From the [Podcasting Newsfeed] menu, click on [Add a Media Item]
4. You will now see a list of the podcasting feeds that you are eligible to add new items to. If you do not see any lists you need to contact your IT officier to create one for you.

   Figure images/oxitems3.png [List of feeds for which you are authorised]

5. Select the podcast feed you wish to add to and click the Add Item to Selected Newsfeed button.
6. You will now see the Add an Item screen. This is composed of various boxes where you need to add in information about your new podcast. This must include the URL (location on the web) of your podcast file. Complete the form as instructed. Explanations for each box are given along side them. When complete click the Preview the Items With the Above values button.

   Figure images/oxitems4.png [Add podcast information form]

7. You will now see a summary of your entries. If these are all correct, click the Now Add the Above Item to the Newsfeed button. If you need to make any changes to the form entries, click the Make Changes to the Values of the Above Item button instead. You will be returned to the form where you can make edits to your entries.

   Figure images/oxitems6.png [Summary of your entered details]

8. Once you have submitted your item, OXITEMS will show you a new page showing all the items in the feed. Your new item should be at the top of this list. You will also be give the URL of the RSS feed into which you have added your podcast item.

   Figure images/oxitems7.png [Item now added to the feed]

We always recommend the following short training session for anyone involved in podcasting at Oxford: http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TIMV

3.2. Accessing your podcast feed

In order to check whether your podcast feed and files work on the web you need to subscribe to the feed and download the file(s) in question. These instructions relate to using iTunes to check the feed. If you do not have iTunes already, visit http://www.apple.com/itunes/ to download the program. Install this onto your computer. If you do not want to install iTunes onto your system, you can also check the url of the feed using modern web browsers such as Firefox and Opera. For instructions on using Firefox to add a Live Bookmark to the feed see: Subscribing to RSS Feeds. Alternatively there are other digital media players available that you can use instead. See the Links section for a selection of other players.

1. Open iTunes and click on [Advanced] found on the top most menu.

   Figure images/podcast1.png [Advanced button]

2. From the dropdown menu select [Subscribe to podcast] option. A new dialogue box will appear.

   Figure images/podcast2.png [Subscribing to a podcast, type URL here]

3. Enter the address of your podcast feed i.e the URL given to you via OXITEMS. Click on OK
4. iTunes will now access the RSS feed and list any items it finds in the main iTunes podcast screen.

   Figure images/podcast3.png [Podcast shown in iTunes podcast]

5. Each item in the feed can now be downloaded either individually by clicking the Get button by each one, or by clicking on Get All next to the name of the feed itself.
6. Click the Get button next to your new item. iTunes will access and download the file to your machine.
7. Once your file is downloaded, the podcast title will change to black text and the Get button will disappear. You will now be able to play the podcast in iTunes.