Ewan McIntosh (via his social bookmarks) alerted me to the PoducateMe website by Micah Ovadia. The website is touted as offering “practical solutions for podcasting in education.”
If this site is practical, then why is Audacity not included in the list of 22 recommended software options for podcast recording? Certainly that’s an extensive list of commercial products, but if the site really wants to be practical should a FREE, powerful, and cross-platform podcasting solution like Audacity be included on the list of recommended software recording programs?
I think so.
The website’s PoducateMe Guide is 186 pages long, and really does look fantastic. It is free to read online, and DOES include references to Audacity. On page 64 of the guide, the author writes:
Because it is free, multiplatform and easy to use, Audacity is often mentioned as an attractive option for recording and editing sound on both Macs and PCs. However, you will not be able to utilize dynamics processing plug-ins while recording with this software.
Certainly there are many limitations to Audacity, but the fact it is FOSS makes it more relevant and useable by educators around the planet than any other podcasting software alternative I’ve seen.
Thanks to Micah for creating a thorough and fantastic guide for podcasting. I’d recommend, however, including Audacity on the list of recommended software programs for recording. I’d also recommend including Garageband and Adobe Soundbooth.
I’ve added a link to Michah’s list of podcasting sequencer programs to my wiki curriculum, “Digital Music Creation: Engage, Inspire, Have Fun!” I’ll be sharing that again (with the help of my own kids) on August 3rd in Oklahoma City at the A+ School’s annual state conference focused on integrating the arts for learning in K-12 schools.
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