Class description

• Students will make:

An original podcast episode of their own creation (fiction or non-fiction), complete with music and artwork. The podcast will be in a form they can post online if they choose to do so.

Finished Podcast example (by Ian): https://moosiverse.com/

• Students will learn:

Foundations for script writing, recording with the right hardware and software, editing, and packaging the final product.

o Week 1 – Introductions & Course goals. Why podcast? What are the three main categories of podcasts? Themes and topic ideas. Foundations in creating your script. After class action item: Draft your podcast script.

o Week 2 – Recording process. Script notes to support successful recording. Using the right hardware and software. Creating consistent recording conditions. After class action item: Record your first draft.

o Week 3 – Editing and post-production. Using Audacity (or other recording software) to edit and tweak your recording. Adding license-free music to create your final audio file. After class action item: Create your final draft.

o Week 4 – Sharing and celebration: participants will share snippets with each other and provide supportive feedback. How to add artwork and options for distributing your final podcast. How to create 60-second video snippets of your podcast for sharing and exposure. After class action item: Add artwork, find the appropriate host for your podcast, build your audience, and celebrate your accomplishments!

https://www.nextgeneducationus.org/teachers

Ian Jackson is an experienced podcaster, writer, and educator. He is the writer and narrator of Tales from the Moosiverse, an ongoing story podcast for kids ages 4-12, launched in 2019.

He earned his M.Ed. in curriculum design from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and worked at Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education for 14 years before launching his own facilitation and consulting company, Building Bridges Leadership. He has been teaching online storytelling and podcasting classes since the beginning of the pandemic to equip students in finding and expressing their unique voice in a supportive community environment.

 

• Creativity: Brainstorming, Writing & Developing unique voice  

• Public Speaking & Audio storytelling skills

• Academic knowledge: genres, research on Social Science or STEM topics 

• Technology Recording, Audio Editing, Music 

• Publishing, Privacy, & Digital Citizenship

• Communication Tone (show not tell) 

• Critical thinking 

• Cultivating empathy & building confidence 

• Collaborations 

4-8 kids (Age 11-17). Small class size, highly interactive and individualized. 

Grades 5-8; Grades 9-11

• Students must have access to a laptop computer (PC or Mac) to work on between sessions. An external microphone is not required, but would provide clearer recording quality (we will talk about this in the class).

• Our teachers will recommend editing software that is free and can be downloaded from the appropriate website, along with license-free music and artwork from their respective websites.

• (Optional) During class, our teachers will send a list of equipment/tools that is appropriate for students who want to embark on podcasting on a longer-term basis in the future.