My idea is to design a podcast for students who are entering George Mason University as a traditional freshman. The learning goals are centered on making students aware of terms, things to expect, registration procedures, and basically easing them into Mason. The podcast will include: general education requirements, what student should do to prepare for college, how they register, and how they can get involved at Mason. It is anticipated that they will listen to the podcast before they come to orientation the summer before they start taking courses at Mason. I did not find any podcast series similar to this series. There were some lecturecasts, but I did not find any podcasts dedicated to incoming freshmen. This series will only be an audio podcast series.
Audience
The audience will mostly consist of incoming freshmen who are interesting in learning about Mason and what things they should be familiar with at Mason. It would be ideal for all first semester freshmen to listen to the podcast. That would be approximately 2500 students. The needs of the podcasts will offer basic information about the university. Many students come into the university unfamiliar with terms, what to register for, where they go for help, and what to expect. This podcast will give them some basics so they don't feel so lost. The podcast would be ideal for students to listen to the summer before they enter the university. That way they already have some idea what to expect and can understand the university lingo.
Students might subscribe because they don't want to be lost when they come to Mason. Parents might also encourage their students to listen to the podcast. They might want to get a jump start into school and what they should be doing to prepare. Others might want to know what courses they will be taking. They may not subscribe because they are not aware of the podcast. Others may think they already know about the podcast contents and don't think they need the info. There are many students who do not listen to podcasts at all.
Content
The podcast episodes will include monologues, interviews with students, orientation leaders, and other special guests. The interviews will include content that would be pertinent to incoming freshmen including advice for students, things they can do to get ready, and what to expect.
Students needs to be familiar with basic terminology of the university, services available to them at the university and things to anticipate as a new freshmen. It can be a scary experience coming to the university. Understanding a few things beforehand would give the students confidence and assurance. The first podcast will include information about common terms used at the university. It will also explain registration procedures to students. The second episode will be an interview of a student with intermittent comments based on the student’s comments. The student will give advice and explain some things she was surprised by when she first starting taking courses at Mason. There are no copyright issues for this podcast. I will use music that is under creative commons.
Format
Episode 1 outline · Music Intro (6 sec alone and 15 seconds total) · Introduction to the series and the host (26 seconds) · University Terms: (Credits, Semester, BA, BS, How many classes to take, Full-time student) (about 2 minutes) · Music interlude between sections (plays for 2 seconds alone and fades out after 3 seconds) · Registration (when they register, how they register, website for more information on registration) (little under 2 minutes) · End of show (reminder of next episode and good luck message) · Music stays with the whole end of show segment and increases in sound after the voice is done. · The stylistic approach is casual and tries to covey a friendly atmosphere. · Discuss your plans for the format you intend to use for each podcast? The format will vary depending on the episode. Sometimes it will be a monologue and other times there will be an interview, and guest speakers. I would cover a wide range of topics for freshmen. · On what schedule will episodes be made available? The episodes will be available once every two weeks. They will range from five minutes to ten minutes. · I plan to use the same music for each episode so that it becomes familiar to the listener. I will welcome them with the title of the show, what will be discussed for that episode, and any guest speakers. · Special arrangements would include getting the guest speakers and using the sound booth.
Episode 2 outline
Music intro (6 sec alone and 15 seconds total)
Introduction to the series and the host (52 seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Welcome to guest and first question and answer (about 30 seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Further explanation of what guest has said (about 32 seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
New Question for guest and response (about 55 seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Further explanation of what guest has said (about forty four seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Guest talks more about surprises (about seventy four seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Further explanation of what guest has said (plays for about 64 seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Wrap-up of what guest talked about (plays for about 35 seconds)
Music interlude between sections (plays for about seven seconds)
Wrap-up and sign-off of the whole episode and what the next episode will cover (about 22 seconds)
Music exit (about ten seconds total)
Evaluate & Refine
For the first episode I thought the sound was very good (in terms of no background noise.) I still think you can hear my saliva a little too well and tried to adjust for that. I also found that when I edited something and added a different section that my voice changed and became louder or softer so it seemed apparent that I had rerecorded the section. I did not like that. I also got louder towards the end. I think I may have moved the microphone. I rerecorded sections many times and it became tedious to rerecord everything so I didn't. I will be interested to see what my classmates say--if they noticed. My peer did notice the difference in the volume and commented on it. It is something I will work on to improve.
I did so many edits!!! I never did say um or have any popping 'p' (at least I don't think so) which made me very happy. However, I would mess up a word or made a sound or just mess up a sentence so I would have to rerecord. I also did not have the whole thing written out so sometimes I would say something incorrectly and would have to start over several times. I was also getting used to GarageBand and found the editing a bit cumbersome. I had to edit sound, ducking, and the music. Then I would reedit a section. I wondered if I had written everything out if it would have gone smoother.
I did an interview for the second episode and intermittently added information to clarify more of what the student said. I put music in between each section. I wonder if it would have been better to just have the interview all together and then clarify what she said at the end. I’m not sure. I felt like the music became tedious, but I wanted something to separate each section and clue in the listener what was happening. I thought the sound was ok when I was listening on a headset, but when I listened to it on speakers I had to keep adjusting the volume. I still need to get a better hold on the microphone and where to position it. I interviewed the student and so that sound was fine, but when I added the extra information the microphone was in a different place.
For the podcast series I thought it was a very good idea to get a student’s perspective. Sonia brought up things I would not have even thought about because it’s been a very long time since my first college course. I think perhaps polling students or doing surveys and getting students feedback might be a good idea. I like the series and am going to propose we do them in our office. I could also have other advisors give advice and be guest speakers. I may have other students join in too. We’ll see how things progress.
Design Self-Evaluation
Overall, for my first experience in creating podcasts I think I did really well. I think the sound was good, the editing was good, and the podcast wasn’t too long or boring. I provided my audience with what they would be getting by listening to the podcast series and made sure the podcasts were in short and to the point.
I think that over time I will become much more proficient at editing the podcasts as well as talking. I also hope with practice I will get better at speaking in the microphone and keeping the tone and volume the same throughout the podcast. This experience has given me a much greater appreciation for all of those who do podcasts. It is not as quick and easy as I expected. I hope to make mine sound just as professional as the ones I enjoy listening to each week.
EDIT 575
June 18, 2009
Podcasting Design Document (Final)
Design Idea
My idea is to design a podcast for students who are entering George Mason University as a traditional freshman. The learning goals are centered on making students aware of terms, things to expect, registration procedures, and basically easing them into Mason. The podcast will include: general education requirements, what student should do to prepare for college, how they register, and how they can get involved at Mason. It is anticipated that they will listen to the podcast before they come to orientation the summer before they start taking courses at Mason. I did not find any podcast series similar to this series. There were some lecturecasts, but I did not find any podcasts dedicated to incoming freshmen. This series will only be an audio podcast series.
Audience
The audience will mostly consist of incoming freshmen who are interesting in learning about Mason and what things they should be familiar with at Mason. It would be ideal for all first semester freshmen to listen to the podcast. That would be approximately 2500 students. The needs of the podcasts will offer basic information about the university. Many students come into the university unfamiliar with terms, what to register for, where they go for help, and what to expect. This podcast will give them some basics so they don't feel so lost. The podcast would be ideal for students to listen to the summer before they enter the university. That way they already have some idea what to expect and can understand the university lingo.
Students might subscribe because they don't want to be lost when they come to Mason. Parents might also encourage their students to listen to the podcast. They might want to get a jump start into school and what they should be doing to prepare. Others might want to know what courses they will be taking. They may not subscribe because they are not aware of the podcast. Others may think they already know about the podcast contents and don't think they need the info. There are many students who do not listen to podcasts at all.
Content
The podcast episodes will include monologues, interviews with students, orientation leaders, and other special guests. The interviews will include content that would be pertinent to incoming freshmen including advice for students, things they can do to get ready, and what to expect.
Students needs to be familiar with basic terminology of the university, services available to them at the university and things to anticipate as a new freshmen. It can be a scary experience coming to the university. Understanding a few things beforehand would give the students confidence and assurance. The first podcast will include information about common terms used at the university. It will also explain registration procedures to students. The second episode will be an interview of a student with intermittent comments based on the student’s comments. The student will give advice and explain some things she was surprised by when she first starting taking courses at Mason. There are no copyright issues for this podcast. I will use music that is under creative commons.
Format
Episode 1 outline
· Music Intro (6 sec alone and 15 seconds total)
· Introduction to the series and the host (26 seconds)
· University Terms: (Credits, Semester, BA, BS, How many classes to take, Full-time student) (about 2 minutes)
· Music interlude between sections (plays for 2 seconds alone and fades out after 3 seconds)
· Registration (when they register, how they register, website for more information on registration) (little under 2 minutes)
· End of show (reminder of next episode and good luck message)
· Music stays with the whole end of show segment and increases in sound after the voice is done.
· The stylistic approach is casual and tries to covey a friendly atmosphere.
· Discuss your plans for the format you intend to use for each podcast? The format will vary depending on the episode. Sometimes it will be a monologue and other times there will be an interview, and guest speakers. I would cover a wide range of topics for freshmen.
· On what schedule will episodes be made available? The episodes will be available once every two weeks. They will range from five minutes to ten minutes.
· I plan to use the same music for each episode so that it becomes familiar to the listener. I will welcome them with the title of the show, what will be discussed for that episode, and any guest speakers.
· Special arrangements would include getting the guest speakers and using the sound booth.
Episode 2 outline
Evaluate & Refine
For the first episode I thought the sound was very good (in terms of no background noise.) I still think you can hear my saliva a little too well and tried to adjust for that. I also found that when I edited something and added a different section that my voice changed and became louder or softer so it seemed apparent that I had rerecorded the section. I did not like that. I also got louder towards the end. I think I may have moved the microphone. I rerecorded sections many times and it became tedious to rerecord everything so I didn't. I will be interested to see what my classmates say--if they noticed. My peer did notice the difference in the volume and commented on it. It is something I will work on to improve.
I did so many edits!!! I never did say um or have any popping 'p' (at least I don't think so) which made me very happy. However, I would mess up a word or made a sound or just mess up a sentence so I would have to rerecord. I also did not have the whole thing written out so sometimes I would say something incorrectly and would have to start over several times. I was also getting used to GarageBand and found the editing a bit cumbersome. I had to edit sound, ducking, and the music. Then I would reedit a section. I wondered if I had written everything out if it would have gone smoother.
I did an interview for the second episode and intermittently added information to clarify more of what the student said. I put music in between each section. I wonder if it would have been better to just have the interview all together and then clarify what she said at the end. I’m not sure. I felt like the music became tedious, but I wanted something to separate each section and clue in the listener what was happening. I thought the sound was ok when I was listening on a headset, but when I listened to it on speakers I had to keep adjusting the volume. I still need to get a better hold on the microphone and where to position it. I interviewed the student and so that sound was fine, but when I added the extra information the microphone was in a different place.
For the podcast series I thought it was a very good idea to get a student’s perspective. Sonia brought up things I would not have even thought about because it’s been a very long time since my first college course. I think perhaps polling students or doing surveys and getting students feedback might be a good idea. I like the series and am going to propose we do them in our office. I could also have other advisors give advice and be guest speakers. I may have other students join in too. We’ll see how things progress.
Design Self-Evaluation
Overall, for my first experience in creating podcasts I think I did really well. I think the sound was good, the editing was good, and the podcast wasn’t too long or boring. I provided my audience with what they would be getting by listening to the podcast series and made sure the podcasts were in short and to the point.
I think that over time I will become much more proficient at editing the podcasts as well as talking. I also hope with practice I will get better at speaking in the microphone and keeping the tone and volume the same throughout the podcast. This experience has given me a much greater appreciation for all of those who do podcasts. It is not as quick and easy as I expected. I hope to make mine sound just as professional as the ones I enjoy listening to each week.