Podcasting for Business

Posted on 29/04/2012 by parkers

Many people ask ‘Why should my business create a podcast?’ – the answer is simple – it’s FREE advertising!  But there are other reasons too.

Your potential customers don’t always have time to read and if you are sending newsletters out via email, they may not always receive them due to spam filters.  Also, listening to a podcast is like listening to a radio station – they listen to them while they do other things.

Also, your podcasts are your communications tool.  It cheaper than mass-mailings!

How would I go about creating a podcast?

Worst case scenario it will cost around £100 (around $162) for a microphone and small mixer – you probably already have at least one office computer which you can use and you can use free software like Audacity to record and edit your creation.

All you need to do now is to set aside a little bit of time each week to plan, record and upload your podcast on a weekly basis.  You don’t have to think that each podcast needs to be long – a GOOD podcast of 5 minutes is much better than a ‘not so good’ one of 30 minutes.  It’s ‘quality’ not ‘quantity’ – erm – I’m sure we have all heard that saying before!  But make sure that you are consistent – keep each podcast roughly the same length and have a new podcast available the same time each week.

You can make you podcasts available on your own website (you do have one don’t you? Click here if you don’t) and via other outlets – iTunes is one of the most popular at the moment.

Now that you are creating your own podcasts you need to make sure that the people you want to know about it are able find it.  You could place a link on your letter head, your business cards and of course, on your website.  Whenever you talk to your customers, make sure that they are aware of your podcast.

Have you created a podcast for your company?  Was it successful?  Why not reply to this blog posting to advertise your own podcast – the more listeners the better!

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Should we create a web site ‘by hand’ or go ‘the easy way?’

Posted on 11/12/2011 by parkers

Creating a website which you can be proud of can take months of planning, writing code, clearing the bugs and finally uploading it for the world to see.  This can be expensive (in time as well as money) but is well worth the effort you put in.

If you don’t have the knowledge to create one by yourself then paying someone else to create the site for you is a good option; however this can be just as expensive!

But what about these pre-written scripts which provide you with a web site ‘out of the box’?  All you do is upload it to your server and customise it.  Some of the most popular free ones are WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and Moodle.  Why reinvent the wheel?  These scripts are well supported, are free and are easy to customise.  There are plenty of books on how to use these scripts and if you have the time to learn how to use them, they can produce some great sites.

Another way is to use ‘web based’ templates.  With these, you subscribe to a service and you choose a template you like.  You then start adding the content, graphics, navigation etc …  These are great as you get an almost instant web site – however – if you want to move to a different company to host your web site – you are in most cases – stuck.  Also, if you stop paying the subscription you will lose your entire web site.

There are many different ways of creating a web site, with different packages and costs associated with each of them.  It’s confusing – especially for the newcomer.  Research is the key.  There are plenty of resources out on the Internet to help you find what you are looking for.  Give yourself at least a week or two of solid research into what is available, take a look at forums about each of the sections mentioned above, have a look at pricing structures, ‘get out clauses’ and the like.

My suggestion?  Go for the package which gives you as much control as you are comfortable with and where they offer you the ability to upgrade when you want to take more control.  Also, a good selling point is when they don’t make it difficult for you to move to another supplier if/when you decide to move on.

What are your opinions/experiences with ‘web creation’?  Do you have any recommendations for how to get started in this minefield of the Internet and Web Sites?

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Setting up a Virtual Learning Environment

Posted on 11/12/2011 by parkers

Setting up a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), from the perspective of the creator of a secondary school VLE.

On researching the Internet, I decided on one of the popular open source VLEs called Moodle (found at moodle.org).  It’s free of charge to download and support is via forums on their site.

If you don’t understand the concept of web design or web page relationship to online databases, Moodle can be a little tricky to install.  However, full instructions are given, both for techie and non-techie people, and you can join in numerous online forums which are there to guide you through the process of installation.

From a personal experience, I have not managed to successfully install Moodle from scratch, so I normally use an Internet Service Provider (known as an ISP) which has Fantastico available.  Fantastico will automatically install Moodle for me and will help with any upgrades as they become available.

Cheating?

I don’t think so – if there is anything which can save me time and effort – I am all for it!  And the Moodle I get from Fantastico is exactly the same as if I had installed it myself.

So what does Moodle need in order to operate?

First of all, it needs a server.  Moodle can run from a server ‘on site’ or ‘off site’.

‘On Site’ means from a server at your school or workplace.  ‘Off site’ means a server located somewhere else – this could be an ISP or your local council or company headquarters.  A server is a computer which runs services like Moodle and allows users to connect to it and use its facilities.

You will need to anticipate how many ‘users’ will be using Moodle at the same time.  If you are using Moodle in a school, then this will be relatively easy to calculate.  If you are going to be using Moodle as a commercial venture, this may be harder to work out.  When considering your hardware – whether on or off site, the more users you will have the more RAM and hard disk space you will need.  Likewise, you will need as much bandwidth as you can afford.

The testing procedure.

To test our new installation, I added our year 7 and year 8 students (aged between 11 and 13).  325 students in total.  Each had their own username and password.

I created an introductory course, with an online forum, chat area, glossary and 4 simple assignments.

The first 3 assignments asked them to create a forum message and respond to at least 2, participate in the chat area for 5 minutes and add 2 words to the glossary.  In the last assignment they were asked to write a short paragraph in a word processor on the dangers of using chat rooms and to upload their work for marking.

I was anticipating loads of ‘Please Sir, how do I do this?’  I got not of that!  All the students where engrossed in what they were doing, they found their way around the system really easy and contributed to the forum and chat areas with ease.

There have been some small hurdles to overcome.  Mainly getting some of the non-teckie members of staff involved.  Moodle is a different way of learning and some members of staff who are not interested in IT are not getting fully behind the concepts of a VLE system, plus, the time it takes to complete the initial work can be a challange.  However, once the initial work has been completed, keeping it updated does not take any time at all.

I believe we need to change the way we deliver education – we are teaching the young people of today ‘the old way’ – we need to keep pace of the changing world and update our teaching methods.  Moodle (and other VLEs) are a great tool for allowing education to move forward.

Take a look at a great video on YouTube – it’s called ‘No Future Left Behind’

Are you considering using a VLE?  If you are already using one, what are your experiences of using them?  I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Want to work for yourself? Why not work virtually?

Posted on 22/11/2011 by parkers

The Internet has enabled the masses to work for themselves.

This is a bold statement yet is so true!  If you have a computer, an Internet connection and a hobby or something which you are good at, then you could work for yourself (without quitting your day job) and make some money online.

It’s not as hard as you may think.  Surly there is a short steep learning curve but you could learn the basics over a two or three week period and be counting the money rolling in within a couple of months of starting.

Below are a selection of the types of businesses you could start for yourself online (you could start more than one so long as you can provide the quality of service expected);

  • Write a ‘how to’ ebook
  • Write a paper version of the above and publish via ‘published-media dot com’
  • Create an electronic version of the above using ‘free’ software and publish either online or via our own Virtual Learning Environment (VLE for short) and / or CD-DVD
  • Provide a service such as a secretarial service which is done completely online – this is known as a ‘virtual assistant’ or ‘virtual secretary’
  • Provide web hosting services
  • Buy from ‘drop shippers’ and sell using auction sites like ebay
  • Become a ‘reseller’

And the list goes on!

Have you had your fingers burnt while working for yourself?  Please share your experiences.

Stephen Parker

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What is a virus anyway?

Posted on 30/06/2011 by parkers

A virus is a computer program which was written with the intention of spreading itself to other computers.  When on these computers, the program often causes an annoyance (displays messages on your monitor) or causes problems by deleting files, sending erroneous emails which cause you embarrassment to the most damaging – destroying your hard disk and all the data on it.

There are current concerns about a virus called ‘Stuxnet’ which tries to steal data on an infected computer in a power station, or potentially take over parts of the power station’s systems.  This sort of infection is very rare.

A virus is not to be confused with a Trojan horse which is a program that appears to be safe but hides malicious code, a Worm which moves from one computer to another through security vulnerabilities, Spyware which collects little bits of information without your knowledge and malware which is designed to access your computer without your consent.

Have you been infected?  How has your own virus protection software handled with your virus problems?  I would love to hear from you with your stories?

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Virus Protection

Posted on 30/06/2011 by parkers

To pay or not to pay?

Two things a PC needs – a firewall and virus protection.  The firewall normally comes with the router which connects your computer to the Internet, but what about virus protection?

There are so many around – some are free and some are paid for.  But what is the difference?

In my personal opinion – there is absolutely no difference between the free and paid for versions.  In most cases, they use the same virus database – so why pay for something which is offered for free?

The ‘paid for’ versions do offer additional services – such as a firewall – but if your router already has a firewall why pay for a service you already have?  Most of the other services provided by ‘paid for’ versions are not needed for the average PC user.   I have used free and paid for versions of virus programs over the years and have found that the ones you pay for provide more aggravation than their free counterparts.

All I want is firewall protection (provided for free from my router) and virus protection.

I have 2 Windows 7 machines running a popular free virus checker – and it provides real-time virus checking, is backed by one of the largest companies who deal with IT software and has stopped 3 virus’s in the past month which other ‘paid for’ products did not catch!

What are your experiences of virus software?  I welcome your comments and views.

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Podcasting for Schools – Creating a School Radio.

Posted on 30/06/2011 by parkers

Creating a podcast, sometimes referred to as a radio station, can be a great addition to your school intranet or web site.  In my experience, students love taking part in either the technical side or being in front of the microphone.

There is one thing you need to consider when deciding on creating a podcast, and that it has to be a regular podcast.  You cannot just make 2 or 3 audio recordings and place them onto the Internet and call it your podcast!  It has to be a regular thing – once a day/week/fortnight or month – so long as it’s a regular occurrence.

And of course, they can be from a 5 minute podcast to 2 hours long.  However, keep the timings consistent.  Don’t have one podcast 4 minutes long, the next one 1 hour long, the next one 32 minutes long – you get my drift?  Your listeners need to know roughly how long your podcasts are going to be, and roughly when each one is going to be made available.

What can you podcast about?

Any subject in a school could produce a podcast.  English could pull together and create a 5 minute play each day – they may be good enough to take over the Archers on the BBC!  In History lessons, students’ could interview people who have taken part in WW2.  Language lessons could read newspaper headlines in French, German or Spanish.  The Music department could perform their latest composition.

The list is as long as your imagination.  For inexpensive equipment, have a look at my previous blog posting in this category – ‘Podcasting Equipment’.

Have you had any experience in creating a podcast for their school or college? Why not share your experience in this?  What have you found good about doing this as a project?  What are the pitfalls?

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Podcasting Equipment

Posted on 30/06/2011 by parkers

One of the first questions people come up with when I talk about creating a regular podcast is ‘What equipment do I need?’  and ‘How much does it cost?’

If you have a computer which has been purchased within the last 5 years or a laptop within the last 3 or 4 years then you are probably on the way to creating your first podcast without much additional equipment and cost.

All you need is a computer (a PC or Mac) with a ‘mic’ jack, a pair of headphones, a microphone, basic audio recording software (you could use the free software which comes with your PC or Mac), an internet connection and 2 places to store your recordings.

The software which comes with your operating system will do, however, you will be more productive with free software applications like audacity.  This sort of software is designed to make your life easier.  There are of course paid for software, which will provide more functionality.

I use a Behringer X502 Mixer with their microphone and headphones, MAGIX audio cleaning lab 16 deluxe and a PC running Windows 7.  The Behringer X502 is very easy to set up, the connections to the PC are straight forward and MAGIX audio cleaning lab 16 deluxe is very intuitive to use

You will need to store your podcasts in 2 places.  One will be on your computer and the other on the Internet so other people have access to the file.  MP3 is the standard format to use for audio podcasting.  If you want your podcasts to appear in places like iTunes, you will need to follow the instructions on their website.

When deciding on which ISP to use to store your podcasts, you will need to think about how much storage space you are going to need and how much bandwidth you will require.  If you are going to be creating loads of podcasts you will need plenty of web space to store your audio files, and if you are going to be having a lot of listeners then you will need plenty of bandwidth – after all – you don’t want listeners getting the message that your ‘bandwidth has been exceeded’ and then not being able to access your show!

There are plenty of web hosting companies who are willing to host your podcast files for you at a reasonable price.  Go to your favourite search engine and search for ‘podcast hosting’ – you will find a plethora of hosting companies offering their services.

The next thing you need is to plan your podcast show, record it, upload it and tell the world about it!

I will be showing you how to do all this in an upcoming video podcast shortly – keep tuned!

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Why Podcast?

Posted on 30/06/2011 by parkers

There are benefits of Podcasting as an entertainment and educational tool.

So what is the purpose of Podcasting?  And most importantly, what is a Podcast?

Firstly let’s have a brief explanation of what a Podcast is.

A Podcast is simply an audio recording of someone (or more than one person) talking.  It may include someone singing, jingles and/or music.  The topics for a Podcast can be anything – literally anything.

The format of a Podcast is generally just one person talking, or a group of people talking in ‘an interview’ type of setting or, in some cases, like a radio show where 2 people may be presenting the show– with email/telephone call-ins.

The topics of conversation needs to be in line with the ‘target audience’.  For a business with a large number of employees, a Podcast can be used to explain new products or how to use new features on the software the company uses.  Companies could also create regular Podcasts which could be publicized on iTunes for promotional purposes.  For a school or college Podcasts could be targeted to students (coursework explanations, audio of lessons/lectures etc …) and parents/carers (information on parents evenings, open days, letters going home, etc …).

Why Podcast?

It’s a medium which is growing in popularity.  Podcasts can be listened to anywhere – on an MP3 player, via iTunes, on a CD, on a PC or Mac, and can travel around with anyone anywhere.  You will reach more people with a Podcast than through other media, including the written word.

But why Podcast?  Why not just write something down for people to read?

How many times have you read something in a newspaper and not really understood what was written?  You may have read the article many times but not really understood what the reporter was trying to say.  Imagine if you could hear what he (or she) was saying instead of reading it – you may suddenly understand the article because you ‘heard’ it ‘straight from the author’s mouth’.  The written word has its place, but verbal communication brings those words to life, allowing the author to emphasize areas of script and, in so doing, ensure his message is clear.

There is also another issue; some people prefer to read, others to listen, and it’s here that a Podcast scores as a medium to satisfy readers and listeners alike.

What are your experiences of Podcasting?  Listening or Creating?  I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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Do books have a future?

Posted on 17/06/2011 by parkers

So much for ‘the computer saving paper’ and ‘the paperless office’!

Do you remember those sayings when computers were starting to fill offices around the country?  I know I have heard it many times.  From my experience, computers have created even more paper.  My workplace is bombarded with electronic reports which, for some reason have to be printed off in 3 or 4 different ways, just to prove the reports generated by the computer are actually being used.

Why on earth cant’ we just create an ‘electronic log’ to prove that we are looking at the data?

So that’s my moan for the admin side of paper, but what about the general reading experience?

For short pieces of text I do prefer the screen.  However, for longer pieces I tend to print them off to read straight away or at a later date.  Most of the time it’s so I can read them away from the computer – I then put what I have just read into the recycling bin!  WHAT A WASTE!

Being an IT person, I probably should posses a Kindle, but I don’t.  Why?  Because I think they’re far too expensive and, once purchased, I’d have to spend even more money downloading books to read on it!

I think products like ‘Kindle’ would be an important addition to school equipment, each student having one to use throughout the day; it could hold all of their text books.  The Kindle could then be used at home as a reference tool, although they would use their own home computer for homework in order to upload homework to teachers for marking/assessment.  Imagine the benefits the Kindle could bring to a school, and savings to be made by not having to continually replace damaged or lost books.

Yes, this is possible, but I foresee two barriers;

The First barrier is cost as this would undoubtedly be an expensive exercise, albeit one which would not have to be repeated for many years.

Secondly, persuading teachers to participate regularly ‘on-line’ in the transfer of coursework to VLE would be a demanding task, and one which, unfortunately, may prove unsuccessful.

I do have books in my home office – mainly computer reference books or autobiographies – I have 2 large shelves full of them.  A passion of mine at the moment is audio books – I subscribe to a service where I get one free audio book a month – I pay the normal price if I want more.  This works great for me when travelling to and from work and when I am doing something else which does not require too much thinking.  I have about 30 books in total at the moment – about 120 hours of listening – 7.7GB and growing!

Do I see the demise of the traditional book?  No, not for a long time yet.  However, the young people of today are making their way into the electronic version without any problems or worries about tradition.

What are your experiences of books and other online texts?  I would love to hear from you with your thoughts and experience – especially with reading devices like the Kindle.

Thank you for reading.

Steve Parker

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