Enhancing Audio Podcasts
for Online and Mobile Learning
Joe Fahs
Elmira College
SUNY Conference on Instructional Technologies
May 2009

Supporting Documents
 Go to http://mpondu.blogspot.com
 Chapter (Enhanced) podcast of this presentation!
iTunes for Windows or Mac is required
 QuickTime movie of this presentation
 Play the Chapter podcast or QuickTime movie on
iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod with Video, or iPod Classic.
 Slideshare presentation with presenter notes
 Link to related web sites:
http://delicious.com/sunycit09/enhancingau

Audio podcasts
 Audio content on the web that you subscribe
to, which is delivered to your computer.
 Example: American Heart Association

Audiobooks and Chapter Podcasts
 Audiobooks: with or
without full-text
 Chapter Podcasts:
images timed with
audio, chapter markers,
and built-in links to web
sites

Audiobook Basics
 Collection of spoken-text files
 Human recordable or computer synthesized
 Format is usually MP3
 Artwork for a unique audiobook cover

Reading and Listening Enrichment
 Organize chapters or
lectures for easy
retrieval
 Playback position
can be remembered for
each chapter
 Control playback
speed on iPods and
iPhones
 Add full text for
multimodal learning.

Delivering Audiobooks to Students
Resources Delivery
 Loudlit.org  Download from ANGEL
 Librivox.org or a web site as a Zip
 Spokenword.org archive.
 Gutenberg.org  Unzip, and add to
 Audio CD’s
iTunes
 Subscribe as podcasts
 Recorded
but …
lectures

Voice Import Settings
 Choose Preferences >
General > Import
Settings.
 Choose MP3 Encoder,
Stereo Bit Rate = 96 kbps,
Sample Rate = 44.100
kHz, and Channels =
mono.
 20 MB per hour of voice
recording
 Possible to reduce even
more

Importing Audio Files – iTunes 8
 Convert into MP3 format (mono, low
bandwidth)
 Add metadata (e.g. Name, artist, track, …)

Converting to Audiobooks - iTunes 8
 Select all related
audio files.
 Choose File > Get
Info and click Yes to
edit all at once.
 Click the Options
tab.
 Choose Audiobook,
Remember
position, and Skip
when shuffling.
DEMO

Text to Speech Software
 Macintosh
iSpeak It – http://zapptek.com
 Windows: FlameReader
http://www.flamereader.com
 Online
 http://spokentext.net/
 http://vozme.com

Adding Text to Podcasts
 Comments limited to 256 characters
 Lyrics tab – use for adding full text to your
audiobook chapters (lectures, etc.)
DEMO

How It Works – iPhone/iPod Touch
Index
1
5
2
Chapter
3
6
4
DEMO

What Are Chapter Podcasts?
 Images displayed in time with audio AND
 Chapter markers like a DVD movie
 Slides can contain links to external web sites
 Playable on iPod Touch and iPhone

Format and Playback
• AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format
• m4a extension
• Playback on iTunes Windows or Mac
• Playback on newer iPods and iPhones

Chapter Podcast Examples
 CBC Radio: http://tinyurl.com/bd9d9t
 Beethoven’s Greatest Hits:
http://tinyurl.com/dy4jvp
DEMO
 Weekend America:
http://tinyurl.com/27w7la
 Vu d’ici: http://tinyurl.com/cvq7e3
 History of Photography:
http://photohistory.jeffcurto.com/

Creating Chapter Podcasts
 Use Profcast: http://profcast.com for
Macintosh to record lectures using
PowerPoint or Keynote. Windows version in
beta.

Garageband
 Edit lectures and add links (URL’s) with
Garageband for Macintosh.
 Send to iTunes

Publishing Chapter Podcasts
Create an ANGEL course podcast
Publish to a hosted web site
Add to iTunesU

ANGEL Course Podcast
Add Content
Course
Syndication
Title and
Subtitle
 Upload media files
 Last added = most recent podcast episode

Subscribe to iTunes
DEMO
 Start iTunes
 Click Add to iTunes.
5. Clicks Launch
Application
6. Podcast is
published to
student iTunes
Library

Discussion Session
 Multimodal Learning
 Learning foreign languages
 Learning English as a Second Language
 Lectures (classroom, presentations,
conferences)
 Resources for at risk students
 Photography slide shows
 Audiograms

Windows Video Podcasts
 Podcast your PowerPoint slides with
Snapkast for Windows.
 Creates video podcasts
 Does not create Chapter podcasts
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Abstract
SUNY CIT 2009: Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online &Mobile Learning
Where: SUNY Oswego
When: Thursday, May 21 4:45 - 5:15 pm Lanigan 103
 Course management tools such as ANGEL's Course Syndication or Blackboard's Manage
Podcast allow instructors to deliver audio-formatted course materials to their students.
Although creating, optimizing, and tagging these audio recordings require planning and
preparation, the actual process of creating a course podcast requires just a few basic
steps. Students subscribe to the podcasts, typically with iTunes, and organize them in
their personal music library for listening on their PC or Mac. Subsequently uploaded
episodes (recordings) are automatically delivered to iTunes, even if students are not
logged into your course.
 Audio podcasts are familiar to most everyone; however, enhancing podcasts with timed
images, chapter markers, web site links, and text over audio is less well known. Yet these
enhanced podcasts offer promising online, assisted, and mobile learning alternatives
that traditional audio podcasts do not easily provide. When formatted for mobile
learning on devices such as iPods and iPhones, enhanced podcasts and audiobooks
engage students in new, unique, and exciting ways.
 Join me in this session as we look at and listen to enhanced podcasts and custom
audiobooks, including text-to-speech for assisted learning. Software solutions that create
these special materials will be demonstrated including converting PowerPoint
presentations into audio-enhanced lectures.

End of Presentation
Appendix slides follow

Converting Podcasts to Audiobooks
 Podcasts can not be converted to
Audiobooks using iTunes Media Kind
option.

Converting Podcasts to Audiobooks
 Select all podcast
episodes (chapters,
lectures) and
choose Create MP3
version.
Select the converted files– now located in the Music
Library –apply recommended settings (e.g. Media
Kind = Audiobooks).

AAC Spoken Podcast Settings