Contribute
audio programs - CounselorAudioSource.Net
CounselorAudioSource.Net
encourages audio contributions from professional counselors, counselor
educators and supervisors, beyond our standing group of contributing
editors. If you would like to contribute one of the weekly podcasts
for CounselorAudioSource.Net, please contact the editor, Dr. Marty
Jencius, at 330-672-0699 or email at mjencius@kent.edu before embarking on your work.
In
order to produce a podcast interview you would need the following:
1.
Desktop or laptop computer with available sound card input
2. Two computer microphone headsets. See example here.
3. A “splitter” device
which allows for both microphone feeds to go into one input. Here is a picture of one. The purpose of this ‘splitter’
is actually to help you combine the interview into one input which
will be captured by the software through your microphone record
input. You can generally pick up one of these “splitters”
from most electronic stores or online at shops like Radio Shack, J & R, Titan, or MWave
4. Software to capture your audio
interview. Audacity is used by many podcasters for creating their podcast recordings
and mixing. It is easy to use and best of all it’s free.
You can download the software at this link. Software documentation and tutorials are available also.
Preparing your podcast for CounselorAudioSource.net
If
you are not listed as a regular contributing editor for CounselorAudioSource.Net
you need to contact the CAS editor, Marty Jencius at mjencius@kent.edu or 330-672-0699 to discuss your plans for creating a CounselorAudioSource.Net
podcast. He can help you plan, develop and create your podcast.
Final editorial decision to include your submission as a weekly
CounselorAudioSource.Net podcast rests with the editor. All submissions
an d rights thereof conform to the copyright and distribution granted
to CounselorAudioSource.Net by the Creative
Commons agreement.
Finding
a good topic/subject. What drives good podcasts are good
content. Low production quality can be forgiven by the listener
when you have a compelling topic and a compelling interviewee.
CAS
is attempting to open the conversation at all levels of practitioner,
counselor educator, and supervisor so prominence in the field and
name recognition is not the only element that makes for good narrative
(although it does help with drawing an audience). CAS is interested
in sharing conversations at all levels from the beginning counselor
to the seasoned practitioner, recognizing that there is something
to be learned from a variety of voices. So be creative in thinking
of topics of interest to counselors and also selecting a good interviewee
that is also informed on your topic.
Creating
a list of questions. It is always a good idea to create
a list of questions for yourself and the interviewee before you
initiate the interview. It is also helpful for the interview process
if your subject is able to review the questions and think about
responses prior to you recording the podcast.
Doing
the interview. Even though you have a list of questions,
do not be afraid of straying from the questions or eliminating some
as you record (either because the interviewee has already answered
it OR because the flow of the conversation makes the question less
relevant). Use your skills as a listener and in your head ask additional
questions that a listener might have as they are listening to your
interviewee respond. Currently, CounselorAudioSource.Net is leaving
the podcast length from 20-40 minutes so you have some latitude
in your interview process.
Setting
up your equipment. Getting your computer set up so it will
give you the best recording option is crucial to good production
of a podcast. Become familiar with your audio recording software
and comfortable with it by running a few test runs before you sit
to do the interview. Given the equipment suggested above. You would
need to do the following:
1.
Plug the splitter cable into the microphone input on your computer.
2.
Attach both microphone headsets via the microphone input leads
to splitter cable connectors effectively blending both microphone
inputs into the one microphone input for the computer.
3. Set the computer's sound mixer (program/accessories/entertainment/volume
control) to record through the microphone input by opening the
volume control, selecting "options" then "properties"
and then radio button for "recording". At this point
you should check to make sure that the "microphone"
option is checked and it is best to clear all the other options
in the record field. Once the "microphone" option is
checked, a slider bar will open for the microphone option. (If
there is an "Advanced" option button in the Microphone
slider, open it and select the "1 Mic boost" option.)
Minimize your volume controls once the settings are checked as
suggested.
4. Open your sound recording software (Audacity) and test the software for
recording, saving and output.
5. Have a test run recording to get use to the equipment, software
and interview process.
Creating
your podcast. Audacity or a similar recording program will allow you to store the digital
audio in .wav format and in .mp3 format. CAS would advise that you
store a copy in .wav format (an uncompressed format that could take
considerable file space) and then a copy in .mp3 format. Keep the
.wav file as an editable backup. Send the .mp3 file as an email
attachment to the editor with a text description of the interviewer,
interviewee and topic. Also include a brief credential/job summary
of the interviewer and interviewee.
Post-production to podcast. The
editor will review the submission and pending approval will sandwich
the podcast between a CounselorAudioSource.Net lead track including
the topic, interviewer and interviewee introduction and a post-broadcast
thank-you, contact information and content disclaimer.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
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