Design Project Guidelines
Students will write a working document that structures the design process of their podcast. Students should not attempt to write the full document at the start. The course is designed to scaffold the process of writing this document. Students will submit progressive drafts of this document and receive feedback from the instructor. Use the Discussions tab above your design doc page in the course wiki to ask questions about each section when prompts are unclear. I will also use Discussions to leave feedback on your sections each week.
For most sections, a paragraph or two is sufficient. Please try to format the information for each section so that it is easily scanned.
Design Idea
The project I am considering for my podcast is an overview of organic vegetables and meats that can be found at local farmers markets. The podcast will consider the pros and cons to buying foods from farmers markets as opposed to the grocery store or convenience store. As "green" technology has taken off lately, the word "organic" gets thrown around a lot. It will be my goal to educate listeners on what the word "organic" really means and why its so significant (completely objective).
Using a podcast as a platform for learning this material will be the best approach because I want this instruction to be designed for those that are on the go and don't have time to take a class - people who are curious about the topic. I also have an idea about interviewing farmers at my own local market so that the people who visit can bring an mp3 player and walk through the market while listening to the podcast. Included with the podcast, I'm considering attaching a map that points out where the interviews happened and maybe where the farmers are located. Each interview will have information on how the farmers grow their produce and what that means for the consumer.
It is my intention to have an enhanced podcast that contains maps and other relevant information to the podcast which will be available as mp3 (for the podcast) and pdf for the maps.
Audience
Describe the target learner population.
This podcast is designed to peak the interest of health-conscious individuals who would like to learn high level information on organic foods. The content will be broad which will be helpful for individuals who cook and would like to know more about cooking with organic foods. This podcast is not intended for advanced cooks with a high level of knowledge on organic foods.
The podcast will remain short in length to allow users to listen to it when they have a few minutes to spare; before cooking a dinner, going to the grocery store or even the farmers market.
Users will subscribe to the podcast because they will want to know how to stay healthy, fit and maybe learn a few things. To prevent listeners from unsubscribing, a few teasers for following episodes will be made to encourage listeners to listen more often.
Content
In episode 1 of the Organic Foods podcast, it is my plan to give a very high level overview of what the term "Organic" really means. Episode 1 will give an outline about the differences between organicly grown food and conventionally grown food including some statistics and information provided by the USDA and other resources.
In episode 2 of the Organic Foods podcast, the podcast will analyze how organic food is made and distributed.
When necessary or not implicitly stated in the podcast, all research and information can be acquired from a resource library that may be contained within my new media prescense (blog/wiki). Most information will be provided from the USDA which the blog/wiki will have a direct link to.
Episode one will strictly be audio but will contain one interview out in the field. The interview will be conducted with an individual who is at a grocery store comparing prices between organic and conventionally grown produce. Episode two will also contain more interviews from multiple sources that are TBD.
All music/sound effects used in the podcast will be royalty free.
Format
The Organic Food podcast will have a radio-show-like format that will include interviews interspersed with additional information and resources. The podcasts will contain a brief introduction presenting an overall theme followed by some general definitions of organic food. Interviews with consumers, shoppers, farmers and grocers will be mixed in to provide multiple perspectives for the podcast. No special effects will be used however music will be mixed in with the podcast to provide natural breaks and segways to new topics. There will be no script for the podcast (if required, I can transcribe the podcasts).
The style for this podcast is modeled after two influential podcasts that I listen to - NPR's "This American Life" (which I discussed in a previous assignment) and How Stuff Work's "Stuff you should Know" Podcast. These two podcasts were influential factors in the production of my own podcast because I feel that they provide that extra level of production value that really sets them apart from the rest of the podcasts available.
Although I could go on for hours on Organic food (it turns out there is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge out there for this information), each podcast will run between 6-12 minutes long. Short enough to allow casual listeners to peak their interest but long enough to get enough information out without speaking too quickly.
The only special arrangements that will have to be made for each podcast is setting up interview times with people. The interviews will be very casual and brief so as not to take too much time from their day.
Audio was recorded in .aiff but converted down to .mp3 to meet the specification requirements for iTunes.
Evaluate & Refine
All sound recordings were used from the vast audio library of Apple Soundtrack pro so I knew the audio I was using was professional level quality.
I used a lot of editing to break up the segments of the podcast. Music was intertwined throughout the whole thing to set tone and segway to new topics.
I'd like to make much longer podcasts (maybe around 30 minutes) that really got into how people felt about organic food and what their thought process would be at the grocery store.
Matthew Whatley's Design Project
Design Project GuidelinesStudents will write a working document that structures the design process of their podcast. Students should not attempt to write the full document at the start. The course is designed to scaffold the process of writing this document. Students will submit progressive drafts of this document and receive feedback from the instructor. Use the Discussions tab above your design doc page in the course wiki to ask questions about each section when prompts are unclear. I will also use Discussions to leave feedback on your sections each week.
For most sections, a paragraph or two is sufficient. Please try to format the information for each section so that it is easily scanned.
Design Idea
The project I am considering for my podcast is an overview of organic vegetables and meats that can be found at local farmers markets. The podcast will consider the pros and cons to buying foods from farmers markets as opposed to the grocery store or convenience store. As "green" technology has taken off lately, the word "organic" gets thrown around a lot. It will be my goal to educate listeners on what the word "organic" really means and why its so significant (completely objective).Using a podcast as a platform for learning this material will be the best approach because I want this instruction to be designed for those that are on the go and don't have time to take a class - people who are curious about the topic. I also have an idea about interviewing farmers at my own local market so that the people who visit can bring an mp3 player and walk through the market while listening to the podcast. Included with the podcast, I'm considering attaching a map that points out where the interviews happened and maybe where the farmers are located. Each interview will have information on how the farmers grow their produce and what that means for the consumer.
The podcast will follow the structure of the free popular podcast "Stuff you Should Know" from howstuffworks.com. More specifically, this podcast will be tailored similarly like the episode titled "Super Stuffed Guide to the Economy" (this one is $3.99, and worth every penny).
It is my intention to have an enhanced podcast that contains maps and other relevant information to the podcast which will be available as mp3 (for the podcast) and pdf for the maps.
Audience
Describe the target learner population.Content
Format
The Organic Food podcast will have a radio-show-like format that will include interviews interspersed with additional information and resources. The podcasts will contain a brief introduction presenting an overall theme followed by some general definitions of organic food. Interviews with consumers, shoppers, farmers and grocers will be mixed in to provide multiple perspectives for the podcast. No special effects will be used however music will be mixed in with the podcast to provide natural breaks and segways to new topics. There will be no script for the podcast (if required, I can transcribe the podcasts).The style for this podcast is modeled after two influential podcasts that I listen to - NPR's "This American Life" (which I discussed in a previous assignment) and How Stuff Work's "Stuff you should Know" Podcast. These two podcasts were influential factors in the production of my own podcast because I feel that they provide that extra level of production value that really sets them apart from the rest of the podcasts available.
Although I could go on for hours on Organic food (it turns out there is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge out there for this information), each podcast will run between 6-12 minutes long. Short enough to allow casual listeners to peak their interest but long enough to get enough information out without speaking too quickly.
The only special arrangements that will have to be made for each podcast is setting up interview times with people. The interviews will be very casual and brief so as not to take too much time from their day.
Audio was recorded in .aiff but converted down to .mp3 to meet the specification requirements for iTunes.
Evaluate & Refine