Podcasts for Business

Overview

This learning experience introduces the leaner to podcasts and the Audacity audio software. By the end of this experience the learner will have the skills and practice to create and edit their own podcast. This learning experience combines Instructor-Led Training, video, software simulation, and activities for group discussion.

Audience: Employees of a business who will record audio to be part of a company podcast similar to StoryCorps from NPR.

Tools Used: Articulate Storyline, GIMP, Google Docs, Vyond

Delivery Method: Instructor-Led, Virtual

Problem and Solution

The first step in creating this project was to ask three questions.

1. What do people need to do?

Create a podcast using Audacity.

2. What activities can help them learn?

Presentation of the software.

Simulation of the software.

3. What do they need to know?

What a podcast is.

Who listens to podcasts and how they can be used for a business.

How to use the software to record, edit, and share their own.

With these questions answered, I was able to start researching and creating an outline.

Gagne's Nine Events

I used Gange's nine events to create and outline for the project.

1. Gain attention: Question, Video

2. Inform of objectives: Learn basics of software.

3. Stimulate Recall: Ask what podcasts they listen to.

4. Present the content: Demonstration

5. Provide learning guidance: Demonstration

6. Practice: Simulation

7. Provide feedback: Discuss and review

8. Assess performance: Discuss and review

9. Enhance retention and transfer: Think-Pair-Share

I used these nine events to divide the outline into four sections: Introduction, Demonstration, Simulation, Closing/Extension

Storyboard

After finishing with Gagne's nine events I knew the activities I wanted to do and created a story board to gather materials. I started with the introduction first. I found resources online with statistics of podcast demographics and found the most relevant to include in the video. When I had them listed I wrote a script.

Video

I used Vyond to create a video to explain the demographics of podcast listeners and to explain how they access them.

Development

Visual Design

Making a podcast is a creative process and I wanted to reflect that in the visual design of the layout for the project. I didn't look far for inspiration. I used my 4-Color Ball Pen. Then I created a slide of elements to reflect note-taking and brainstorming. I included elements that would be reused with triggers that could be copied.

Interactivity

I originally considered recreating Audacity's interface for the demonstration. I thought back to my own experience of training on new software and the question I remember most sounded something like, "could you show where_____ is again?" I decided to create the demonstration using screenshots of Audacity so that I could use circles to draw the eye to the area the trainer was introducing. Doing this also allows the learner's eye to follow the trainer's cursor to the circled area.

Extension

As an experienced instructor myself, I know the feeling of finishing early. I like to include extension materials so that the instructor isn't spending the last slides worried about what to do with the extra time. This project included instructor-led discussion but since it is a creative process I wanted to add a collaborative element. For this reason, I added a Think-Pair-Share activity at the end. Think-Pair-Shares are one of my favorite activities for any age group .

This activity allows learners to:

1. Collaborate on ideas

2. Have time to think before reacting. This works especially well with more introverted learners.

3. Meet peers

Facilitator Guide

I used the completed Storyboard as a template for a facilitator guide. The guide's purpose is to give the facilitator key touch points to address during the training and to help identify the interactions on the screen.

Job Aid

To continue this project I would include a job aid for the learners to reference during the demonstration and the simulation.