Overview
The lesson plan structure below follows a four-session instructional arc throughout the workshop. Each session includes a general welcome and introduction, demonstrations and in-session activities. Jump to a session by clicking one of the links below.
- Session 1 themes include community building, pre-production planning, and recording strategies.
- Session 2 themes include active listening, planning for accessibility, and improving your audio editing skills.
- Session 3 themes include active listening and peer feedback.
- Session 4 themes include evaluation and celebration (for completing a podcast in four weeks).
Session 1
Welcome to the podcasting workshop! We will begin by providing some background information about this workshop and the Coaching Team. As a group, we will all introduce ourselves by providing:
- Your name
- Your department
- Pronouns, if desired
You will learn about the workshop learning environment including tools and platforms such as Zoom, Discord, Google folders and the podcasting website.
As a group, we will all do a quick icebreaker in our Discord server. Go to the Discord server and go to the “icebreakers” channel. In the channel, respond to the icebreaker. Once you’ve done that, respond to at least one other person’s response.
The group will also create a community agreement. You will have 10 minutes to write and “+1” in a Google doc. The group will review what’s written together.
You will embark on an activity focused on recording. We encourage you to refer to the Recording & Editing Tips in the website. Your task is to record things in your working space. Take your phone, laptop or microphones and try to record your voice or ambient sound (“ambi”) in different areas of your home. Try to say the same script each time so you have a direct comparison of how different areas of your house sound. Yes, it may seem strange to talk to yourself, or the recorder, over and over again. That, or record cool sounds, like the refrigerator hum, a gurgling drain, the blender running at full speed.
You may need to leave this Zoom meeting to record so feel free to rejoin us in a few minutes. Coaches will still be in the room so don’t hesitate to come back and ask us questions before time is up.
Record at your work desk, the bathroom, the backyard, the hallway. Try to get some bird sounds, cat sounds, dog sounds, bearded dragon sounds. Ever wondered how the acoustics in your kitchen? Now is the perfect time to find out.
Then, try recording in these spaces:
- Record in a closet and speak facing your clothes.
- Grab a blanket, brave the heat for 20 seconds, and record under your blanket.
- Go to a corner and record in the corner.
- Try to record in as many places as you can.
Consider reading aloud these transcripts as a way to consistently record the same script in different environments.
While you’re recording, play your audio back and listen to it. Note how the audio quality sounds different in certain areas.
If we have time, we will check in about our “World’s Fastest Podcast” challenge and brainstorm some ideas for podcasts. Download a copy of the Production folder for the workshop activity document called The 5-Step Podcast Plan. Complete this project plan before Session 2. When you’re done, feel free to share your plan in Discord (or don’t – it’s up to you!).
This assignment will ask:
- What is your Big Idea?
- Who is your audience?
- What general takeaways do you want the audience to have?
- Write your aspirational podcast review.
- What do you think you’re making?
At the end of each session, we will quickly summarize what we did today, give a reminder for upcoming sessions and deliverables, and answer any lingering questions you may have.
Session 2
Welcome back to the workshop! As a group, we will begin the session by revisiting the community agreement.
From here, we will conduct a group listening activity. Let’s actively listen together.
Consider the prompts below and feel free to respond to them in the “favorite podcasts” channel of our Discord server
- What files might the podcaster have used to develop the segment?
- How does the recording sound?
- How are the sound levels?
- How are the voice performances?
Examples
- Suspect | Ep. 1: The Halloween Party 0-4:05
- Nancy | Queer Money Matters | Babies and Bills
- Octavia’s Parables | Parable of the Sower: Trailer
- Home Cooking | Bean There Done that 0-3:07
- Rabbit Hole: 0-2:40
You will learn about the list of final deliverables for this workshop. We have identified these deliverables as vital to developing a minimum viable product by the end of the workshop:
- A podcast or podcast segment.
- A metadata spreadsheet (based on Dublin Core).
- A complete transcript.
We will follow up by working with metadata. What is metadata and how is it used in podcasting? In this activity, we will try to add at least one item to the metadata spreadsheet example in your Workshop activities folder.
- Use what you already recorded – either for your podcast or the podcast introduction assignment – or use one of the examples from the listening activity.
- Using the data fields, input your metadata entries.
A coaching team member will then demonstrate how to become a four-track superstar in Audacity. By using just four pieces of audio, you will see how an entire production can come together. Materials included in this exercise are available in your Production folder.
Using the work files in the Production folder or by finding materials in the Creative Commons resources, create an Audacity project that includes four tracks.
- One for your voice.
- One for someone else’s voices.
- One for a sound effect.
- One for a piece of music.
When you’re done, export your file as an mp3 file and add metadata. Upload your audio file to Discord.If we have time, and volunteers, let’s listen to a couple of four-track projects. Share a link to your audio file and talk about the experience.
At the end of each session, we will quickly summarize what we did today, give a reminder for upcoming sessions and deliverables, and answer any lingering questions you may have.
Additional resources:
Music
Sound effects
Session 3
Welcome back to Session #3! To begin, we will revisit and review the community agreement as the framework for the discussion. The agreement is especially important as we share our drafts today. The draft workshop is an opportunity to share your work and receive feedback on your podcast and deliverables. Be mindful of the community agreement while also acknowledging:
- Drafts are in various stages of development.
- Not everyone likes hearing their voice. That’s OK.
- We accept that individuals may prefer feedback in different ways.
- We aspire to remain critical yet cordial.
How this work will:
- 1-2 minutes – Introduce your piece and give us context for the segment. Identify how you want to receive feedback. You can tell us things you’d like us to focus on as well as if you want constructive critique or not. Instead of critique, you could ask for more descriptive, reflective feedback.
- 2-3 minutes – Play your chosen 2-3 minute segment.
- 4-5 minutes – listeners will provide feedback given your criteria. Feedback can be delivered vocally or in the chat window.
- We plan to include a 10-minute break halfway through.
If we finish share-outs early, we will open the lobby for questions and comments.
Session 4
For the last session, we want to take this opportunity to complete the Storytelling Fellows Workshop Evaluation. This will be an opportunity to reflect on your experience in this program.
For the remainder of our workshop, we will listen to podcast segments in celebration of the fantastic work you have all completed. In preparation:
- Select a segment of your podcast – up to 3-minutes – to share with the group.
- Take 30-60 seconds to share any takeaways from the production experience.