TypeStudio is Now Streamlabs Podcast Editor

TypeStudio was one of my favorite new tools to emerge in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, this morning I learned that it has pivoted and is now focused on podcast editing instead of video editing. Part of that pivot comes with a new name, Streamlabs Podcast Editor (now owned by Logitech). I have yet […]

How to Create a Podcast With Spotify for Podcasters

Even though it was acquired by Spotify a few years ago, Anchor.fm remained it’s own platform until March of this year. Back in March Anchor was renamed Spotify for Podcasters. Spotify for Podcasters makes it incredibly easy to record, edit, and publish a podcast. You can do all of your recording and editing within the […]

Create Your Podcast This Year

If you’ve been thinking about creating a podcast, this is the time to do it. If you’ve been thinking about having your students create podcasts like Tony Vincent’s students did way back before podcasting was trendy, this is the year to do it. Creating a podcast has never been easier. In fact, you can record, […]

How to Create a Podcast on Your Android Phone

The new year is here! If one of your goals for 2023 is to finally start that podcast you’ve been thinking about, Anchor offers an easy to get started. In fact, you can record, edit, and publish an entire podcast on your pone by using Anchor’s free Android app. To get started on creating a […]

This Little Trick Makes Podcast Editing Easier

When editing a video there are visuals that make it relatively easy to know where to cut. The same is not true when editing audio for a podcast unless you use the “clap and pause” trick. That trick, demonstrated in the short video that is embedded below, gives you a clear audible sign of where […]

Why Our Voices Sounds Different to Us Than to Others

One of the questions that I often get asked after giving a keynote is “has anyone told you that you sound like Ray Romano?” I never thought that I did until people started asking me that. A dozen years later I’ve come to accept that I do sound like him. On a similar note, “do […]

Synth is Shutting Down to Focus on Focusable – Other Audio Recording Tools to Try

Synth is a podcasting tool that I’ve used and shared with countless teachers since 2018. Unfortunately, as the title of this post states, the owners of Synth are shutting it down to focus on their new service called Focusable (a cool service that I’ll be writing more about in the next issue of the Practical Ed […]

How to Create and Publish Your First Podcast

If you’re looking for a new classroom project to try in 2022, give podcasting a try. Recording and publishing podcasts is an activity that can be done equally well in in-person, online, and hybrid classrooms. And thanks to tools like Anchor, it is easier than ever to record and publish your first podcast. In this […]

The 2021 Great Thanksgiving Listen

The Great Thanksgiving Listen hosted by StoryCorps is back for the seventh year in a row. This annual event is intended to get people to record audio stories with family and friends. This year there might be a lot more remote recording than in the past, but the goal of the project is still the […]

A Simple Trick to Make Audio Editing Easier

In this week’s Practical Ed Tech Newsletter I featured five podcasting tips for students and teachers. One of those tips was to “clap and pause.” That tip is demonstrated in the short video that is embedded below. Editing an audio recording is much easier if you make a loud clap before a brief pause and […]

Three Good Tools for Recording and Publishing Audio Conversations

This is an excerpt from the latest version of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. You can get your own copy for free when you sign-up for my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. Synth is a free service that was designed for classroom use. It has had some significant updates in 2021. Originally, Synth limited recordings to […]

Synth Relaunches With a Renewed Focus on Asynchronous Audio Conversations

This week Synth released an updated user interface and a renewed focus on helping teachers and students engage in asynchronous audio conversations. In this post I’ll provide an overview of what Synth does, what has been updated in its user interface, what’s still the same, and how Synth can be used by teachers. What is […]

A Template for Getting Permission for Publishing Student Blogs, Podcasts, and Videos

Even though it’s not as trendy as podcasting or vlogging, blogging is still a great way to have students publish their thoughts and findings. Blogs are also still a good tool for students to use to create portfolios of their work that include writing, videos, and podcasts. Before your students, especially those who are under […]

The 2020 Great Thanksgiving Listen

The Great Thanksgiving Listen hosted by StoryCorps is back for the sixth year in a row. This annual event is intended to get people to record audio stories with family and friends. This year there might be a lot more remote recording than in the past, but the goal of the project is still the […]

Three Ways to Convert Video into Audio

Earlier this week I had a colleague ask me how she could extract the audio from a video that she had made. Some video editing tools, including iMovie and WeVideo, have an option to export just the audio from your video projects. But if the video was created by just filming with a smartphone or […]

Anchor Offers a New Way to Remotely Record Podcasts With a Group

Anchor is the service that I have been using since last August to produce my weekly Practical Ed Tech Podcast. I use Anchor because Anchor makes it incredibly easier to record, edit, and publish my podcast to all of the major podcast networks at once. In other words, with just a couple of clicks my […]

5 Topics for Student Podcasts

Podcasting can be a great way to get students to record their own thoughts and to record conversations with other people like classmates or community members. Just like a writing assignment it can be hard for students to decide what to podcast about. Here’s a handful of suggestions to get started. Book review. Rather than […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode 36 – Teaching Online and More

This episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast is a bit longer than the usual weekly episodes. The first ten minutes of this episode is spent explaining some strategies and tools for teaching online. I did this in response to all of the emails and Tweets I’ve received in the last week regarding teaching online […]

Classroom Podcasting 101

Podcasting is more popular than ever and growing every day. If you have thought about trying to make a podcast of your own, join me next Tuesday at 7pm ET for a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled Classroom Podcasting 101. Classroom Podcasting 101 will teach you how you can start a podcast in your classroom. The […]

Rubrics for Videos, Podcasts, Blogs, and More

Over the years I’ve referenced the University of Wisconsin Stout’s collection of rubrics for multimedia projects. It has been a few years since I last featured it so I think it’s time to highlight it again. UW Stout’s collection of rubrics is organized by task or project type. There are sections in the collection for […]

How to Upload a Podcast to SoundCloud

Yesterday, I shared an update about NPR’s 2020 Student Podcast Challenge. One of the requirements for participation in that contest is that teachers have to upload students’ podcasts to SoundCloud. Watch the following video if you’re thinking about having your students participate in the contest, but you’re not sure how to go about uploading a […]

A Student Podcast Contest

For the second year in a row NPR is a hosting a podcasting competition for students in fifth through twelfth grade. To enter the challenge students have to create a podcast that is three to twelve minutes long. Unlike last year, this year students can include music in their podcasts. Any music that is included […]

Now You Can Customize Anchor Podcast Pages

Anchor is the service that I am using and have been recommending to anyone who wants to quickly start a podcast. Anchor does all of the work of submitting your podcast’s feed to all of the major podcast distribution networks including Google Play and Apple Podcasts. My simple method of producing a podcast with Anchor […]

My Three Step Method for Producing a Podcast

One of my new projects for this school year is producing The Practical Ed Tech Podcast every week. I’m now up to nineteen published episode (not twenty-one as I thought earlier this week). I’ve had a handful of people ask me about the process and the tools that I’m using to record and publish the […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode #9

On Friday afternoon I recorded the latest episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. In the episode I shared some news about the future of Free Technology for Teachers, gave a shout-out to Dr. Scott McLeod for this thought-provoking blog post about mobile devices in schools, shared a neat tool for distributing and collecting permission […]

International Podcast Day Stickers – How to Make a Podcast

International Podcast Day (I didn’t know that was a thing until today, either) is September 30th. Synth is one of the sponsors of International Podcast Day. Synth is a free service for recording and publishing short podcasts. I’ve been writing and talking about it since its launch last fall because it is so simple for […]

New! The Practical Ed Tech Podcast

Last spring a reader named Tiffany asked me if I would ever consider publishing my Practical Ed Tech Live episodes as podcasts instead of just on my YouTube channel. It was a good idea. Thanks to Tiffany’s suggestion I am now publishing the audio of my Practical Ed Tech live episodes as a podcast. I’m […]

How to Extract Audio from a Video

One of the questions that I answered during today’s Practical Ed Tech Live episode was, “is there a way that I can just take the audio out of the videos to publish it as a podcast?” There are a few ways that you can extract the audio from a video. One of the easier ways […]

How to Clear the Ambient Noise from a Podcast Recording

One of the things that can ruin an otherwise good podcast is an annoying hiss or similar ambient noise in the background. Fortunately, there are ways to remove or replace that noise in post-production. I was recently looking for a way to do this when I came across a video from Make Use Of on […]

Synth Adds Podcast Moderation Features

Synth is an excellent tool for creating short podcasts. In fact, it’s one of my picks for Best of the Web for the 2018-19 school year. But to call Synth a podcasting tool is a bit misleading because it is more than that. On Synth you can create threaded audio conversations in which people reply […]

Resources & Ideas for Classroom Podcasting

The first presentation that I gave today at the 2019 MACUL Conference was all about podcasting. In the presentation I shared some research about the benefits of students producing podcasts. And as you might expect, I shared some tools and strategies for creating podcasts with your students. The slides from my presentation, Community Podcasting, are […]

Now You Can Download Your Synth Podcasts

Synth is a free podcasting tool that I’ve been recommending since its launch last fall. It provides a simple way to create short podcasts that people can reply to with their own audio comments. Think of it kind of like Flipgrid for audio. Yesterday, Synth announced that you and your students can now download your […]

Three Good Mobile Blogging Activities for Students

One of my favorite uses of iPads, Android tablets, and cell phones is mobile blogging. Blogging apps make it possible for students to record their observations and those of others from almost anywhere. Here are three mobile blogging activities that you might have students try on your next field trip. 1. One-take and or quick-cut […]

Anchor Has Been Acquired by Spotify

Anchor, one of the best new podcast creation tools to emerge in the last few years, has been acquired by Spotify. In an email sent to users and in this blog post Anchor’s founders announced the acquisition. According to Anchor’s announcement the acquisition by Spotify won’t change how you can use Anchor to record, edit, […]

Common Craft Explains Podcasting

The development of easy-to-use podcast production tools like Anchor and Synth have contributed to the proliferation of podcasts in the last few years. The ways that we can find and listen to podcasts has also increased substantially in the last few years. That’s why Common Craft has released a new version of their popular video, […]

New Features Added to Synth – Simple Podcasting for Students

Synth is one of my favorite new ed tech tools of the 2018-19 school year. If you’re familiar with what Synth does, it provides a simple way to create short podcasts that people can reply to with their own audio comments. Think of it kind of like Flipgrid for audio. You can experience a Synth […]

NPR is Hosting a Student Podcast Challenge

Thanks to Ms. Meade on Twitter, last night I learned about NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge. The challenge is open to students in fifth through twelfth grade. To enter the challenge students have to create a podcast that is three to twelve minutes long. Their podcasts can’t include music so it really is a contest about […]

Three Thanksgiving-Themed Activities To Do This Month

Now that it is November it’s time to start sharing some resources and ideas for Thanksgiving-themed lessons (apologies to readers outside of the U.S. who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving when Americans do, if at all). Here are a few activities that you could start now and have your students continue working on throughout the month. 1. […]

Animations, Screencasts, and Podcasts – The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where I’m home for a while after nearly four weeks of speaking at conferences and consulting with schools. When I started my little tour there were leaves on all of the trees in my yard. This morning I woke up to discover that one of those trees is completely bare. In […]

Recap is Shutting Down

Swivl has announced that they are shutting down their Recap service and replacing it with a new podcasting service called Synth. Once a competitor to Flipgrid, Recap just didn’t experience the popularity that Flipgrid does. Recap will be shut down in January of 2019. That gives you about ten weeks to find an alternative. You […]

Synth – Quickly Record Short, Interactive Podcasts

Synth is a new service from Swivl. Synth is a free service that you can use to record short podcast episodes that are up to 256 seconds long. When you record your episode you post it publicly for others to listen to and record spoken responses. In that way it is somewhat like VoiceThread without […]

Add Custom Covers to Podcasts You Make on Anchor

Anchor has become my favorite tool for creating podcasts. In a matter of minutes you can have your first podcast episode recorded, edited, and published (watch this video to see how). You can do that on your laptop, on your phone (Android or iOS), or on your iPad. All summer long Anchor rolled-out new features. […]

Anchor Adds New “Smart” Background Music to Podcasts

Anchor is a podcast recording and publishing tool that I have been writing about all year. I started writing about it because using it is the easiest way to record, edit, and publish podcasts. I’ve continued to write about it because the new features seem to be added every month. This month’s new Anchor feature […]

Anchor Adds New Ways to Craft Podcasts

In the last year Anchor.fm has become my go-to recommendation for easily creating podcasts with students. The web version of Anchor.fm lets you record, edit, and publish podcasts in a matter of minutes. The Anchor mobile apps are even easier to use. This week Anchor added a couple of new features to their free iOS […]

Blue Snowball Microphone – Takes a Lickin’ and Keeps on Tickin’

I have been recommending Blue Snowball microphones for many years. They provide outstanding audio quality for not a lot of money. And they have always proven to be durable for classroom use. Here’s my latest testament to their durability. On Monday morning I got up at 3am for a flight to Missouri. As you might […]

Anchor Now Has an iPad App for Easy Podcast Creation and Publication

Anchor is a free service that makes easy to record, edit, and publish your own podcasts. In fact, you can record and publish your first podcast in less than six minutes. You can use Anchor in your web browser, as an Android app, as an iPhone app, and now as an iPad app. Yesterday, Anchor […]

17 Audacity Tutorials for Beginners

Audacity is a free, open-source program for recording and editing audio. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. For classroom podcasting projects or other classroom audio recording projects, it is hard to beat Audacity. The only trouble is that it can feel a bit overwhelming the first time that you open it up on […]

Podcast Recording and Editing Tips

Podcasting has made a resurgence in recent years. Many teachers are now including podcasting projects in their classrooms. Edublogs recently published a great guide to help you get your classroom podcast started. Editing a podcast before publication can often be the most tedious part of the podcasting process. Dennis Grice has a tip that can […]

Edublogs Publishes an Extensive Guide to Classroom Podcasting

Podcasting has had a resurgence over the last couple of years. Part of that resurgence is due to the increase in easy-to-use tools for creating podcasts as well as an increase in platforms through which you can listen to podcasts. Anchor.fm is one of those easy-to-use podcast creation tools. I featured it in a video […]

How to Find Free Music for Classroom Projects

Dig CC Mixter is a good place to find music for use in classroom projects like videos and podcasts. The music that you will find on Dig CC Mixter is Creative Commons licensed. And, as I demonstrate in the following video, Dig CC Mixter makes it very easy to give proper attribution to the artists […]

The Microphones I Use for Video and Audio Recordings

After my recent posts about creating classroom podcasts I’ve answer a bunch of emails and Tweets from readers who were looking for suggestions on microphones to use. There are two microphones that I have used for years and continue to recommend. I use a Snowball iCE microphone and an Insignia omnidirectional lapel microphone (disclosure: affiliate links). […]

5 Audio Recording & Editing Tools – Feature Comparison Chart

A few years ago I put together a series of charts that provided quick overviews of the features of popular ed tech tools. Since then some favorite tools have changed features, changed business models, or went out of business. So I’ve decided to update all of those charts. Here’s my updated comparison chart of the […]

Ten Ideas for Classroom Podcasts

On Sunday I published a video that shows how quickly and easily you can create a podcast on Anchor.fm. If you watched the video and you’re ready to get started, your next step is probably to generate ideas for your classroom podcast. Here are ten ideas that I brainstormed to help you and your students […]

How to Create a Podcast

Last week Anchor.fm launched a new and improved site that makes it easy for anyone to create and publish a podcast. I liked the redesigned site so much that I featured it as my tip of the week in the Practical Ed Tech newsletter. If you’re not subscribed to that newsletter or you are and […]

Anchor 3.0 Provides an Easy Way to Create Podcasts

Anchor is a free service for creating podcasts on your phone or on your laptop. When the service started it was just a simple app that let you record short (two minutes or less) episodes to publish on the Anchor network. Over the last couple of years the service has steadily added more features leading […]

Anchor – A Good Alternative to AudioBoom

Anchor.fm is a free podcasting service that I started using about ten months ago. It has steadily added features throughout the year. If you find yourself looking for a replacement for AudioBoom which this week announced the removal of all free accounts, Anchor.fm is a service that you should try. Here are some highlights of […]

AudioBoom is Eliminating Free Plans – Try These Alternatives

AudioBoom sent an email to their users this morning to inform them that the free AudioBoom plan is being eliminated. Moving forward the cheapest plan will cost users $10 per month. If this news leaves you looking for an alternative to AudioBoom, try one of the following options. Through TwistedWave you can create and edit spoken audio […]

Anchor Offers the Easiest Way to Publish Podcasts

Anchor is a free audio publishing service that I started using last winter. I was drawn to Anchor by its ease of use. Recording on Anchor is simple of matter of just holding down the record button on your phone then releasing it when you’re done talking. When I started using Anchor it only let […]

This Online Audio Editor Is Beautiful

Beautiful Audio Editor is a free audio editor that you can use in the Chrome and Firefox web browsers. Beautiful Audio Editor lets you record spoken audio directly and or import audio that you have previously recorded in MP3 and WAV formats. You can edit and blend multiple tracks in the Beautiful Audio Editor. When […]

Anchor Adds New Features for Simple Podcasting

Anchor is a simple and free platform for creating short podcasts. I started using it in December to publish occasional podcasts. A couple of things initially drew me to Anchor. First, recording is simple of matter of just holding down the record button on your phone then releasing it when you’re done talking. Second, when […]

Anchor – Simple Podcasting

Earlier today I Tweeted a link to my first Anchor.fm recording. Anchor provides a simple way to create and publish short podcasts. In fact, you can’t record for more than two minutes at a time on the Anchor apps. I like that you cannot record for more than two minutes at a time. The time […]

Four Tools for Making Audio Recordings on Chromebooks

A couple of weeks ago I was mentioned in a Tweet from someone who was looking for suggestions for tools that his students could use to create audio recordings on their Chromebooks. The following are my suggestions based on my preferences. 1. Vocaroo – this is the simplest of all of the recording tools. To […]

Six Audio Recording Tools That Work In Your Web Browser

As I have mentioned over the last couple of days, last week someone rightly pointed out to me that the Practical Ed Tech Tips playlist on my YouTube channel was getting a bit too long (it has more than 200 videos in it). To rectify that problem I’ve created some smaller playlists consisting of videos that I’ve published on […]

Tag: podcasting