Brief Description:
Podcasts afford students the opportunity to communicate their ideas and research through a new modality. Writing for the ear may be a new experience and students must think critically about the strengths and limitations of the medium and how to best communicate their ideas to their audience. Creating a podcast is not as simple as using parts of one’s research paper, and this activity helps students think through some questions they must consider when working with audio. The accompanying worksheet asks students to think through the purpose, audience, structure and tone of their podcast and outline the structure and content. The worksheet works well in the initial planning phase of the project and it can help students clarify their ideas and save time during script writing, recording and editing.
Primary Learning Outcome:
- Evaluate how the tone, medium, and intended audience of a source impact the delivery of a message, particularly when creating one’s own multimedia project. (4.3)
Additional Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a plan for creating and sharing a multimedia project and describe the rationale behind those choices in terms of the project’s medium and audience. (4.4)
- Monitor gathered sources and envision what additional information and perspectives are needed. (2.4)
Time Needed:
30-45 minutes
Materials:
Instructor’s Notes:
While some structure is provided for the outline, encourage your students to rename, move, skip or add segments to fit their plan. Consider making this an in-class activity or homework; it can be used as a check-in point to ensure students are engaging with the planning phase of the project.
This activity could be adapted to have students analyze the purpose, audience, structure and tone of other podcasts to help them identify what they can do for their own.
More Information:
This worksheet was developed using podcast worksheets from the University of North Carolina’s University Libraries’ Media Resources Center and University of Michigan Libraries’ Shapiro Design Lab. Podcast Planning Worksheet by the UNC Libraries’ Media Resource Center is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 4.0 International License. U-M Shapiro Design Lab Podcast Brainstorming Worksheet by Nicco Pandolfi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Visit the Multimedia Literacy: Audio guide for more information on planning, recording and editing podcasts.
Questions about this activity? Contact Amanda McCollom.
Podcast Planning by Amanda McCollom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.