Podcasts

 

The Gray Lady allegedly haunts the Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana.

Please click on the photo above or follow this link, https://najatfgonzalez15.podbean.com/e/haunted-libraries/ to listen to a fun haunted library podcast by Najat, Ashleigh, and myself.

(For fun, you can watch the ghost-cam set up by the Willard Library here.)

Making a podcast was a really fun experiment that I would definitely try again. In the spirit of October, we decided to make our podcast about haunted libraries. It was fun to investigate and research, and I really enjoyed our podcast conversation.

We evaluated three platforms for podcasting: Podbean, Buzzsprout and Anchor. All three seemed simple to use and very similar. We ended up choosing Podbean because the free version was user friendly and easy to navigate. I like that there is a mobile version in addition to the web-based app. We recorded our podcast on Zoom and uploaded the audio to Podbean in a couple of easy steps. It would be fun to enhance the recording with editing and sound effects.

Anchor( now Spotify for Podcasts)
	Pro	Con
Storage	Can upload files up to 250 MB in size.	Use only mp3, m4a, wav and mpg. Wav file longer than 15 minutes may be difficult to work with.
Bandwidth	Unlimited bandwidth limits.
Usability	Top choice for new podcasters. Easy to use ads and listeners to monetize. You can add songs from Spotify. Easy to distribute to most platforms.	Depending on browser being used for solo recordings Chrome has 30 minute limit, Safari has 5 minute limit and mobile app recordings are 2 hours. they require you to manually enable RSS and submit your feed to each directory Subpar recording tools. Only one podcast per account and no tiered access.
Analytics	Can find information on the overview of the podcast (audience size, plays per episode, etc.), audience (geographic location, apps/devices, gender and age), and episode rankings.
Word processing integration	Able to transcribe	Recording has to be less than 1 minute long to transcribe.  Must be on app, not on a web browser, is my understanding
Price	100% free but subscribers can donate $.99, $.4.99 or $9.99.	While it is free for users, Spotify still uses ads to monetize from each podcast.

Buzzsprout
	Pro	Con
Storage	Free plan allows 2 hours of audio storage per month that will be hosted for 90 days.	To keep episodes on the platform for more than 90 days, you have to subscribe.
Bandwidth
Usability	Easiest to use, according to the provided article. Audio is easily uploaded.  Your episodes can be listed in an extensive Podcast directory:	Podcasts cannot be imported until you are on a paid subscription.
Analytics	Easy to understand stats. Graphs are straight forward with simple options for viewing.
Word processing integration	Cohost AI Get episode titles, show notes, chapter markers, full transcript, social posts, and a blog post every time you upload an episode.
Price	Tiered pricing adds features like added storage, subscriber capabilities for monetization, increased tools, and cohost AI. Cost ranged from the free version to $24/month.

Podbean
	Pro	Con
Storage	Podbean’s basic plan is the default free one you get once you sign up for a Podbean account. This plan provides you with the following: Five hours of total storage space Unlimited Audio For the Unlimited Audio Plan, you are required to pay US$9 per month. You get to have the following features: Unlimited storage Unlimited Plus You can also opt for the Unlimited Plus, which costs US$29 each month. It offers you the following capabilities: Unlimited storage Business You can subscribe to a Business Plan, as well, which costs US$99 per month. You get to have the following benefits: Unlimited storage	Basic-promotion of your podcasts won’t be part of this plan Unlimited Audio- You will pay a small fee but you will also get these added features: Podbean mobile app Embeddable players Podcast site RSS feed & iTunes support Ad marketplace Premium sales Unlimited Plus- The fee for this tier is more expensive. This tier does include more features: All features from unlimited audio plus Patron program PodAds dynamic ad insertion Business The most expensive plan. This tier includes every feature from Unlimited Plus and also: Multiple admins Live chat support
Bandwidth	Podbean’s basic plan is the default free one you get once you sign up for a Podbean account. This plan provides you with the following: 100 GB bandwidth per month Unlimited Audio For the Unlimited Audio Plan, you are required to pay US$9 per month. You get to have the following features: Unlimited bandwidth Unlimited Plus You can also opt for the Unlimited Plus, which costs US$29 each month. It offers you the following capabilities: Unlimited bandwidth Business You can subscribe to a Business Plan, as well, which costs US$99 per month. You get to have the following benefits: Unlimited bandwidth	Basic-promotion of your podcasts won’t be part of this plan
Usability	Great for beginners and seasoned podcasters. Was able to create an account easily with a gmail address.
Analytics	Data on downloads, listener demographics, and geographic locations are all analytics tools that this platform offers.
Word processing integration
Price	Free for basic

I thought Podbean was a great platform for our purposes, but the upgraded plans are pretty expensive. Anchor is a great basic option, and is free. As a paid subscriber, Buzzsprout would be a good platform. Their AI cohost feature looks like it would be helpful if I was a frequent podcaster.

There are so many great educational podcasts that could be used in the classroom. A couple of places to look would be:50 Educational Podcasts You Should Check Out, and Elementary Podcasts. 

Making a simple podcast was fun, and I would definitely do it again. My teacher mind is buzzing with ideas of how to incorporate podcasts and the making of podcasts into my classroom.