session4

=Podcast Publishing=

Finished podcasts need to be stored on a server. If you want public access to these podcasts, make sure this server is able to be accessed publicly.

**District Hosted Server**
The best place to store podcasts is on a web server within the distict that can be accessed inside or outside the firewall.

Free - No RSS Feed
Audio can be uploaded free to [|Internet Archive]. However, the ability to upload and access this service is not always reliable.

Free - Built-in RSS Feed creator
A free podcasting service is at [|Podcast People]. There are other free alternatives, including [|Podomatic] and [|Gcast].

Especially for LAUSD ITAF's and Coaches
[|California Streaming] - You can store your podcasts at California Streaming for free using your account. This service includes a built in RSS generator. [|District 6's Podcast Server] This is an XServe set up at District 6 especially to host district, teacher, and classroom podcasts.

For more information on storing and publishing podcasts, listen to Bob Sprankle's Bit by Bit podcast episode, [|Bit by Bit 29 - Server Talk].

Not Free
[|Libsyn] offers an easy to use service to upload podcasts. The cost begins at $5.00 per month. This includes a built-in RSS aggregator that easily allows submission to Apple's iTunes podcast directory.

RSS Feeds
If you are hosting your media on a server that does not have a built-in RSS feed generator, and if you want to add more content, such as links and commentary, here is an easy way to do that. Steps to create an rss feed that can be subscribed to:
 * 1) Upload to the server. Discover and note the URL for this audio file.
 * 2) Create a blog. A free blog service is [|Edublogs].
 * 3) In each post, link to your media file stored on a server. Only one media file should be linked to each post.
 * 4) Create a [|Feedburner] account. (Make sure to indicate that your feed is a podcast feed.) A Feedburner account creates all the necessary files for a podcast feed. Copy the url of your blog into your feedburner account. Feedburner has a [|how-to page on the process].
 * 5) The feed generated from your Feedburner account is a link that can be subscribed to. The advantage of using the Feedburner service is that it provides statistics on your podcast downloads.

Publicizing Your Podcast
If you want others to discover your podcast, you need to publish it to a podcatching service. By far, the most popular is the iTunes Podcast directory. If your burn your podcast through Feedburner, all the necessary tags and enclosures are included through their Smartcast service. Directions for entering your podcast into the iTunes podcast directory can be found on [|Apple's Podcast site].