Final Thoughts...

I can’t believe WRIT 2300 is already over…  Creating a podcast episode was quite the experience, but I learned a lot!  Hopefully, my podcast episode will help someone with homophone confusion!

Since a podcast is aural, I had to structure my script in a particular way.  So, when I talked about the differences between the homophone sets, “there/their/they’re” and “to/too/two,” I had to constantly remember to spell out the words to ensure that my listener does not get confused – which was quite tedious.  But other than that, I think my recording process went well.  And, since I had no prior experience with creating a podcast, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with how my podcast turned out!

However, the editing process was not as simple as the recording process.  I had never used Audacity before, so I spent a lot of time practicing and figuring out all the different editing features.  In particular, my recording had static in the background, thus I spent a while trying to figure out how to edit out the static.  After a while, I discovered the “Noise Removal” feature and since I recorded my podcast in chunks, I spent a lot of time trying to ensure that the tone remained the same throughout the whole podcast, after I removed the static.  Hopefully, the tone sounds good – at least, I got rid of the static!

Perhaps, if I had the chance to go back, I would have spent more time focusing on the music I used at the beginning and end of the podcast.  I tried my best to make the music fade in/fade out when I was speaking, but I was having some problems with the “Envelope Tool.”  Therefore, I would have structured the music differently if I had more time.  Other than that, I’m happy with my podcast!

My advice to future students:  Remember that the podcast is a big, term-long project, so try not to fall behind.  If you stay on track with all the due dates throughout the term, then creating a podcast won’t seem as stressful at the end of the term.  Also, practice with the editing features of the recording program ahead of time.  If you know where all the editing features are beforehand, then hopefully your podcast will turn out the way you want it to in the end.  Finally, try to have fun – choose a topic you are passionate about because you will have to be dealing with that topic all term long... 

Good Luck, future podcasters!

- Camellia