Podcast Basics
Finding and Receiving

By: Eric Curts, North Canton City Schools

So what is a podcast? | Why should you get podcasts? | What software do you need? | How do you find podcasts? | How do you subscribe to a podcast? | How to you play podcasts? | How to delete podcasts | What are some good podcasts?

So what is a podcast?

A podcast is multimedia file (audio, video, or both) that is created in episodes (like a radio broadcast or TV show) on a continuing basis by a person (or persons) and distributed over the Internet in a format that users can subscribe to and receive automatically (through a program like iTunes or Juice). A podcast can cover any subject from education to entertainment to news and more. Once an episode of a podcast has been received the user can listen to it right on their computer, or they can transfer it to a portable media player such as an iPod or any MP3 player. Some podcasts are created professionally by media companies, but the majority are made by amateurs using free or low-cost equipment and software.

Note: Although the name “podcast” is closely related to the Apple iPod, you do not need an Apple computer or an iPod to receive and listen to podcasts. Podcasts can be received on any type of computer (Apple, PC, Linux, etc.) and can be played back in a large variety of methods (on the computer itself or on most any MP3 player).

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Why should you get podcasts?  

There are several benefits to receiving podcasts:

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What software do you need?

To automatically receive podcasts you need a program. There are many programs that can do this for you, such as iTunes and Juice. Below is information on these two particular options:

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How do you find podcasts?

With thousands of podcasts out there it can be difficult to wade through the options and find what you want. The two best ways to locate potential podcasts are (1) use the built-in search features in your podcasting program, and (2) go to podcast directory websites. Both are explained below:

Option #1 – Searching for podcasts with iTunes

There are several ways to locate podcasts with iTunes. In all cases begin by starting up iTunes and clicking on the “iTunes Store” link. This will take you to the iTunes web site where you can begin searching for podcasts.

  1. Featured Podcasts – These are high quality podcasts that are currently being highlighted
    1. In the iTunes Store begin by clicking “Podcasts”
    2. Next click the “Category” you want to explore, such as “Education”
    3. Next click a subcategory if you wish to dig deeper, such as “K-12” or “Educational Technology”
    4. Now you will see a group of podcasts in a section labeled “Featured”
    5. You can scroll through those entries or click the “See All” link to see more
    6. When you find a podcast that looks interesting you can click on its title for more information
       
  2. Top Podcasts – These are the most popular podcasts as determined by recent subscriptions
    1. In the iTunes Store begin by clicking “Podcasts”
    2. Next click the “Category” you want to explore, such as “Education”
    3. Next click a subcategory if you wish to dig deeper, such as “K-12” or “Educational Technology”
    4. Now you will see a group of podcasts in a section labeled “Top Podcasts”
    5. You can scroll through those entries or click the “Top Podcasts” link to see the top 100 in that category
    6. When you find a podcast that looks interesting you can click on its title for more information
       
  3. Power Search – You can also search by typing in a word of interest
    1. Click “Power Search” in the “Quick Links” section
    2. Now click the “Podcasts” link to narrow your search to podcasts
    3. Type a search term in the “Title” box or “Description” box, such as “math” or “history” or “autism” or such. You should do the search once using the “Title” box and a second time using the “Description” box to get the most results.
    4. You can now scroll through the results at the bottom or click the “See All” link to see them in thumbnail view
       
  4. Browse – This feature will show you up to 3,000 podcasts in any category
    1. Click “Browse” in the “Quick Links” section
    2. Now click the “Podcasts” link to choose that category
    3. Next click the “Category” you want to explore, such as “Education”
    4. Next click a subcategory such as “K-12” or “Educational Technology”
    5. You will now get a listing of the podcasts in that directory and can sort them by several options
    6. If you find one you are interested in, click the arrow icon next to its name to get more information
       
  5. “Listeners Also Subscribed To” option – Once you find a podcast you like. iTunes will show you similar podcasts that users have subscribed to
    1. Locate an interesting podcast using any method from above
    2. Click on its title to being up its detailed information
    3. Note the section on the right labeled “Listeners Also Subscribed To”
    4. Here you will find five other podcasts that are related to the first
    5. Click on any title to get information

Option #2 – Searching for podcasts online

Another way to find podcasts is to go to web sites online. There are many sites that list directories of podcasts, often searchable and organized by category. Below are some good examples:

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How do you subscribe to a podcast?

Now that you have found a podcast, how do you subscribe to it? There are three common ways, going from easiest to most difficult.

  1. The “Subscribe” button in iTunes – By far the easiest method
    1. Once you find a podcast you like in iTunes, just click the “Subscribe” button
    2. The podcast will automatically be added to your list of subscriptions
    3. iTunes will download the latest esisode
       
  2. The “iTunes” button on a web site
    1. If you come across a web site that offers a podcast, many times they will have an “iTunes” button on the web page
    2. If so, simply click the “iTunes” button
    3. This will launch iTunes and add the podcast to your subscriptions
       
  3. The RSS Feed option – By far the most difficult method. If you come across a web site that offers a podcast, sometimes they will not have the simple “iTunes” button. In these cases you need to locate the RSS feed, which stands for Really Simple Syndication. This is simply a fancy web address that tells your podcast receiving program where to get the episodes. A typical RSS feed for a podcast will look something like:
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmartboardLessonsPodcast
    To get and use the RSS feed, do the following:
    1. On the web site find link or button that says something like “RSS” or “XML” or “Subscribe”
    2. Sometimes you will need to click the link to see the RSS feed address. In that case just highlight and copy the address.
    3. Other times you will just need to right-click on the button itself and choose “Copy Shortcut” to get the RSS feed address.
    4. Once you have the address copied, go to iTunes
    5. Now click “Advanced” in the top menu bar
    6. Next click “Subscribe to Podcast…”
    7. Finally paste the RRS feed address into the box by typing ctrl-v (pressing both the “Ctrl” key and the “V” key on your keyboard at the same time)
    8. Click “OK” to accept the new subscription

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How to you play podcasts?

Now that you have your podcast episodes, how do you listen to them. There are two main options:

  1. Option #1 – Play them on your computer
    1. Simply open iTunes
    2. Click “Podcasts” in the “Library” section
    3. Click the arrow icon next to a podcast to see all its episodes
    4. Click on an episode of interest to select it
    5. Click the play button (big arrow) at the top to play the file
       
  2. Option #2 – Transfer to an MP3 player – The details of this will depend upon the model of your MP3 player. For example, your player may come with its own syncing software. Also, iTunes is able to sync automatically with iPods. However, if you have any other type of MP3 player, you may need to copy the podcast episodes manually as follows:
    1. Open “My Music” and dig down through the subfolders to find your podcasts.
    2. Now open “My Computer” in a new window and locate your MP3 player.
    3. Drag and drop the podcast files from your computer to your player.

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How to delete podcasts

There are several ways to get rid of episodes you have heard, or even unsubscribe to entire podcasts. Below are just a couple of the methods.

  1. To delete a single episode:
    1. Open iTunes and go to the podcasts in your library
    2. Expand one of the podcasts to see all its episodes
    3. Right-click on an episode you wish to delete
    4. Choose “Delete” from the pop-up menu
       
  2. To unsubscribe from a podcast:
    1. Open iTunes and go to the podcasts in your library
    2. Locate the podcast you wish to unsubscribe from
    3. Right-click on that podcast title
    4. Choose “Delete” from the pop-up menu

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What are some good podcasts?

Below are a few examples of podcasts that I personally like. These examples all deal with education and/or technology. Of course there are many more podcasts out there that deal with topics that are more specific, more general, and just plain different than these. All of these examples can be found in iTunes.

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Questions, comments, concerns? Email me at:
ecurts@neo.rr.com or tech@northcanton.sparcc.org
Copyright 2006-2007 - Eric Curts