Soundtrap Spotlight: Student-Made Podcasts

This semester, I introduced podcasting into my classroom, especially student-made podcasts. The project offered my students the opportunity to become responsible content creators while also exploring new ways to share their ideas. In my class, students were given the freedom to research a topic of their choice on which to focus their podcast. The end products included subject-specific content (for example, explaining the history and rules of baseball), how-to audio stories (for example, candle making), and more.

After selecting their topics, students had to learn how to become effective researchers. Students learned to determine the credibility of a website, as well as how to correctly cite sources when speaking and writing. During the research phase, many students even connected with and interviewed experts in the field to help answer questions that came up in their research.

Once students had the information to write their narratives, we dove into script writing. The class studied the different components of a podcast script, including how to make introductions to themselves and their topics, drafting transitions between talking points and interviewees, as well as incorporating different sound elements to amplify their message. The class listened to and studied a few professional podcasts to get inspiration for their own work.

Students used Soundtrap’s online studio to record and edit their scripts, as well as incorporate different sounds and music effects into their podcasts. The final product includes over 20 student-made podcasts, covering a range of topics and ideas.

Listen to three of our student podcasts embedded below and visit our class page to hear all 24 projects!

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