Podcast guide

Giving and receiving feedback is a valuable way to practice listening and speaking critically in order to nurture a community of growth.  Below are a few tips for going into a feedback session.

Giving feedback

• Be curious. Learn why a decision was made.
• Make sure you are clear on the intentions of the maker.  It's not helpful to simply give feedback that is only about the decisions you would have made.  If you aren't sure what the makers intentions are, ask!
• Be specific! When giving feedback, back up your comments with examples from the work.  

Receiving feedback:

• Know what you like about your piece ahead of time
• Don't preface your work with too much unnecessary context.  
• Articulate what you already know isn't working for you so folks don't spend time critiquing things you already know
• Be open to new perspectives and if you aren't clear on why a specific suggestion has been made, don't hesitate to ask!

It is also recommended that you share your edit with any guests you interviewed or included in your podcast to make sure they feel comfortable with your edit.

Exporting is a process that allows you to output a self-contained audio file to share with others.  Every platform will have a different way to share or export your audio project.  If given the option, make sure your export settings match your timeline/project settings.  Always export your file as a wav.   Mp3 will compress your audio and potentially add unwanted artifacts.

Once you have exported your podcast, you may need to upload your file to the Canvas course site.  Below are two guides for uploading the file first to your individual media gallery and then sharing that uploaded video with the course. 

• How upload your file to the Media Gallery on canvas.
• How to share your file in your Media Gallery with your course.

Pieces of your podcast

Before publishing it's important to know about the pieces that comprise a podcast episode.  Some of those elements include:

• Title
• Description 
• Cover art
• Audio file
• Episode transcript
• Sources/Citations (great example from This Podcast will kill you)
• An RSS feed if you wish to publish on platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcast

RSS Feeds

An RSS feed is file that allows access to updates to websites in a standardized fashion.  In order to generate an RSS feed you need find a place to host your podcast that can generate this feed.  Hosting is when a physical server is maintained by a company or organization that then provides access to those files on a web browser.  There are a variety of platforms available that can host your podcast with a paid subscription including SimpleCast, OmnyStudio, LibSyn, and Spotify for Podcasters.  Be mindful to read the terms and conditions for your subscription to ensure you understand how your data is being managed before subscribing.

Through Tufts, you can create a free WordPress site using Sites@Tufts.  Once setup you'll need to request and then install a plugin called Seriously Simple Podcasting.  This may require you to connect with Educational Technology.  You can then add episodes of a podcast as you would add posts on a blog​.  This will then provide you with an RSS feed that you can share with streaming apps. 

Transcriptions

There are two free options offered through Tufts and available in the DDS.  Either option will likely require you to review and edit the transcription.

Option 1 – Adobe Premiere Pro

You can import your audio files into Premiere Pro and create a transcript that is time stamped in the application.  Once you made edits you can then export to a text file.  Here is a step by step guide.  All DDS Studio computers have access to Adobe Premiere Pro.

Option 2 – Microsoft Word 360

The university does give students access to Microsoft 360 which has a transcription tool embedded in Microsoft Word.  This should guide you through the process of using that tool.

The Tufts Digital Library (TDL) is a place to explore Tufts' research, teaching, and unique collections online. It is an open library with most collections available to the world.

The TDL offers convenient and stable long-term storage and increased access and visibility for scholarship. Benefits to Tufts faculty, students, staff, and researchers include:

• Increased scholarly impact due to work being more widely available to all readers, regardless of their access to subscription resources
• The ability to deposit a wide range of material that would not otherwise be formally published or available, such as conference papers, posters, working papers, and teaching materials
• Inclusion in Google & Google Scholar search results
• A permanent URL to cite your work, avoiding broken links
• The convenience of not having to host & maintain content on your personal site or your department’s site

To see if your project is a good fit for the TDL, visit the Tufts Digital Library webpage.

Podcasts created by Tuft's students, faculty and staff. Have a podcast you want to share? Reach out to us at TischDDS@tufts.edu and we'll be happy to add it here!