Activity 1 : Podcasting

• Analysing and processing information
• Planning and organising
• Creativity & Innovation
• Acting according to values
• Acting independently and showing initiative
• Conveying and exchanging information and ideas

Recording and editing device per participant -- Phone or laptop & headphones

• Recorder [Android] /Voice Memos [iPhone]
• Audacity[Windows] / Garage Band [Mac]

Internet access or hotspot

Laptop/Projector or TV with speaker capability to show YouTube videos and podcasts

Printed sheets of paper with the following words:

• Technology
• Arts & Entertainment
• School & Career
• Identity & Family
• Social Life & Leisure Time
• Science & Health
• Civics and History

Learners will produce one 1-2 minutes podcast where they present a topic of their choice

Introductions & Warm Up ( 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the group)

Host asks participants to stand in a circle with participants facing outward. Participants go in a circle and say their name, other participants repeat the name, their favourite time of year and why. After all participants go around the circle, they turn inward to see each other and sit down. 

Podcasting 101 (13-15 minutes)

Hosts plays the following video for participants: Podcasts 101: What’s a podcast, where to find them, & how to start listening today - YouTube

Please note to access this video with subtitles switch on the cc at the bottom right of the screen and then go to settings > subtitles > auto-translate and select your language of choice.

Discussion Questions:

Host asks participants to sit in a circle and asks how many learners are familiar with podcasts to gauge knowledge in the group. The host then asks the following question to participants (host asks participant A to answer; participant A then asks participant B to answer and so on and so forth):

Option A: If most learners are familiar with podcasts:

What is your favourite podcast(s)? What do you enjoy about those podcasts? What elements of those podcasts make up the reasons you love it?

Option B: If most learners are not familiar with podcasts:

When was a time you heard a really good story that had you hooked, and you paid full attention? Follow up: What about that story made it so good? What were the elements that made it engaging?

Both options: How can stories we hear, but can’t see be as powerful or even more powerful than visual storytelling( e.g., movies, TV) ( NYT, 2021) Reference the warm up activity: How did it feel to listen to someone and not be able to see them? Did you better remember some introductions rather than others and why?

Example of a 1-minute podcast: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/artsandsciences/podcast/audio/Calhoun_Zombies_Mixdown_1.mp3

>Please note to access this video with subtitles switch on the cc at the bottom right of the screen and then go to settings > subtitles > auto-translate and select your language of choice.

Prompts & Research and Writing (45 minutes)

Inform participants of the 7 different prompt categories that you will place around the room and ask them to choose a topic they are most drawn to and would like to create a 1-2 minutes podcast on. After participants choose the category share the following link either in print form or link form and ask them to select their favourite prompts. Participants do not have to use the prompts; they are a guide. If participants want to choose their own prompt, let them know to write it in question form. (15 minutes to look into different prompts and choose their favourite. Participants may do online research on a few prompts before the choose one)

Note: Let participants know that the targeted audience are the rest of the participants and that the main objectives are to (a) talk about the prompt, (b) engage the audience in any way they like.

Participants can incorporate more than one artistic discipline in their podcast for example, they can write a poem, they can write and perform a short song, they can add music in the background, they can record themselves with different voices etc. There are no rules; only to engage the audience. Participants can download free music at Free Music Archive

Participants will spend 35-40 minutes researching and preparing their script, choose music if applicable, write an outline of their 1–2-minute podcast.

Recording (15-20 minutes)

• Participants will spend 15-20 minutes recording their podcast either on their phone or directly on their laptop. They may record themselves multiple times and choose their favourite take.
• Editing (40-60 minutes)
• Host should share the appropriate tutorials to participants based on what software they will be using. Windows users note that Audacity is free but requires a download. Host should travel around to all participants assisting as needed and prepare in advanced in knowing how to use both Audacity and Garageband for basic editing purposes so they can assist participants.

• Audacity ® | Free, open source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. (audacityteam.org)
• Audacity Editing for Beginners: 16 Tips in 9 Minutes - YouTube
• Garageband Tutorial FOR BEGINNERS Editing Basics + Hidden Features - YouTube
• How to Edit & Export a Podcast in GarageBand 2021 (Easy Workflow) - YouTube
• Free Music Archive

Presentations (10-15 minutes)

Participants share their 1-2 minutes podcast with the group. Host directs participants to snap their fingers at the end of each podcast. Host also asks for one or two positive feedback responses to the ways the podcast engaged them.

• How did it feel writing and preparing your podcast?
• How many times did you try to edit your work to get a better result? How did it feel to have to change direction?
• How would you rate the difficulty of this project and why?
• In the future, do you think you will be more or less thoughtful about the way you tell a story? Why?

It would be good to do this exercise with mixed aged groups and analyse their choice of topics. Is there any difference in the way they chose their topics of discussion?