Module 4

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Module 4: Evaluate and Refine

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 Learning Outcomes

After completing this module, you should be able to:
  • apply an advanced podcast editing technique to your second episode.
  • increase the kind of metadata added to podcasts.
  • hand code an RSS feed for your podcasts and publish it to a server.
  • evaluate your work and your peers and make refinements to your second episode.
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Introduction
In this module, you will learn about advanced podcast recording and editing techniques to enhance your second episode. You will also learn about ID3 tags and how they work and why important and useful types of information you can add to them. Finally, you will learn about RSS so that you can complete exercise 3.

Advanced Recording and Editing Techniques

I struggled to decide where to put this section on recording. I could have gone in the previous module, but many of the following tips are more sophisticated and better understood once you have had a chance to record one on your own.

Metadata or ID3 tags

You should understand what metadata is for podcasts, how to to add information about your podcasts to your podcast files, and how this information will be displayed in iTunes to users.
  • First, read this Apple Guide to Creating Content -- see section on What is Metadata (pp. 5-7).
  • You can add copyright information to the copyright field of your RSS feed (see next section) but there is no special way to embed a CC license in your podcast file except to use a verification link or pointer back to a webpage where the information is located. Review the following procedure for adding a CC license to your podcasts: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Embedded_Metadata
  • Be sure to add series and episode titles to your podcasts per the course requirements. The Quamut How to Guide shows you a screen shot of how it is done on a Mac. You are prompted to complete the ID3 tags the first time you save a file.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

To get started, if you don't know what RSS is, watch this short 3 minute movie: Video: RSS in Plain English by Lee Lefever. iTunes is an RSS feed aggregator, remember? Podcasts are enclosures or attachements to the RSS feed.


  • Read Farkas, Chapter 5: pp.225-237 about RSS and creating a basic RSS feed.
    Remember: when you get to GMU's Safari Books Online type Podcasts into search field and limit search to Book Titles Only.
  • To publish a proper feed to iTunes requires some additional tags. Note the differences in red font at this resource How to put together an RSS file Here is a simpler version of the RSS or XML file formatted for use in iTunes -- How to format an RSS feed for use in iTunes.
  • For more detail on the tags that make up the Channel element of the XML file, consult this resource (not in "Plain English"):http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html#whatIsRss
  • In Exercise 3, you will create a RSS feed from a template.

If you have any questions about these topics, I encourage you to post them to Bb's Discussions.

Assignments

  1. Exercise 3: RSS (link to the instructions on the Assignments page).
  2. Episode 1 Peer Reviews due 6/10 (instructions on the Assignments page).
  3. Design Document: Evaluate and Refine
  4. Start planning and developing Episode 2

You're done with this module if you:
  1. Evaluated the recording quality of your first podcast episode.
  2. Conducted a peer and self-evaluation of episode 1.
  3. Completed Week 4 reading activities and wrote-up Design Document 4 (DD4) in the course wiki.

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 Module 1
 Module 2
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 Module 4