Planning for a Podcast

Planning for a podcast involves creating audio and/or video materials, and this involves some planning and preparation! Please contact Lisa Schwartz, ToL Learning Materials Editor, at with questions, or to contribute materials if using our contributor system is a problem. Thanks!

1. Choose a topic
2. Choose a format
3. Think about time and file size
4. Write a script / Create an Outline and Storyboard
5. Capture media / Find media
6. *Security / Privacy Issues
7. Contributing / Publishing Podcasts: You need to get us your media ...

1. Choose a topic
• Right now we have three podcast series you can contribute to (See http://podcasts.tolweb.org) :
  • Exploring Arizona Life Science Research and Biodiversity
  • Bugs of the Month!
  • Arizona Citizens, Teachers and Learners Studying and Supporting Biodiversity
  • Flora and Fauna of the Sonoran Desert
  • Biologist Interviews
• You can choose a "one time" topic, like documenting a special field trip or organism event. Or you may want to document a long-term project (e.g. a long term observation of an animal). You can also plan to produce multiple audio and/or video files for your own series. For example, you could plan for a monthly contribution to Bugs of the Month, or create your own ongoing theme, such as "plants of the month" to contribute to Arizona Citizens, Teachers and Learners Studying and Supporting Biodiversity. Please be creative! We also welcome podcasts that feature songs, poems, role playing and more!
• We encourage you to choose topics that you can gain first hand experience of, and not just research in books or the internet (though that is an important part too!).
2. Choose a format
   • Think about whether this topic would work better as audio and video.
   • Consider your equipment (See the Multimedia Reference for assitance). Even if you do not have a camcorder, you can take or draw still images and use iMovie or another video editing program to create a video file. And your camera may have a video function. If you only have access to recording audio, you can also create a treehouse page associated with the audio file, and in that page put images that go with your information.
   • Audio: There are many different types of audio recordings you can do. You can do a song, a story, a rap, an interview, a poem, a report, a discussion about a certain aspect of the living thing you are studying (for example) A very simple example would be to pretend that you are going to study a particular caterpillar. Here are some ideas for what you can record:
     • A song about the caterpillar’s life. Do some research so you have some facts about the caterpillar, and you can use your own personal experience.
     • A story about the caterpillar’s life. Do some research so you have some facts about the caterpillar. It’s also a good idea to use your own personal experience.
   • Video: There are many different types of video recording you can do. You can videotape an organism's behavior, people at work studying biodiversity, create a narrated slide show, have an illustrated interview and more. A simple example would be to pretend that you are going to study a particular caterpillar. Here are some ideas for what you can record:
     • Video of the caterpillars behavior, combined with some still images of the caterpillar. You can point out particular features and functions of the caterpillars body parts (morphology), life cycle and habitat. You could narrate the caterpillar's life with pictures.
     • Go out in the field and show a "how to" find and observe this particular caterpillar, with examples of observations and the type of information discussed above.
3. Think about time and file size
   • The maximum amount of time for your production should probably by 5 minutes, though we will probably have podcasts that are up to 20 minutes long. With length, file size becomes an issue. File size affects download time, and also people simply need more time to watch what you have created. While most of us have 5 minutes, and the materials won't take very long to download at the length, we may not have 20 minutes to watch and 10 minutes to download a movie. See the Multimedia Reference for more information on file size and file types.
4. Write a script / Create an Outline and Storyboard
   • With audio and video, more time means greater file size, and keeping file size down is important. People don't want to wait 30 minutes to have your podcast episode download. Also, the more focused your capture of your audio/video the less editing (what is called post-production) you will have to do. So, it is important to have a script, and/or an outline/storyboard of what you plan on recording.
   • Writing a script: It's a good idea to do this as a group project. As a group you can talk about what you want to say. Then each person can choose a couple of sentences to share in the recording. You can write your script just like you would write a play, with the name of the person and then the sentence that they will speak. Try and make it so everything you need to say is on one page, so that you don't hear pages turning, or pauses while you find your lines!
   • Creating and outline/storyboard: Sometimes you can't plan completely in advance what you will record. For example if you are going to visit a national park, you may not know exactly what you will find. However, you can outline what you would like to record. You can also create what is called a storyboard, which are sequential drawings of the scenes of what you pan to videotape. This can be a very helpful way to envision each step that you want to record.
5. Capture media / Find media
   • See the Multimedia Reference for answers to questions such as: What equipment should I use? What software do I need? What file types do I need to create and how big can they be?
   • You can also use media that is on the Tree of Life or available elsewhere that is in the public domain or that is under certain types of Creative Commons Licenses. Briefly, what this means is that you can search the ToL and use images and other media that are not set to restricted use, that you can go to databases such as US Fish and Wildlife and obtain public domain images and that you can use, and you can find other media by using Flickr's Creative Commons page. If you find an image or other media file that has a Creative Commons licence and you want to add it to the ToL image library you need to do two things:
     1. Indicate which creative commons license the media file is licensed under in the acknowledgements section (soon we will automate this). Note that if it is under a no-derivative license you can't use it in a video.
     2. Provide a link to the page you found the image.
     Creative Commons licence. The important thing is to have permission to use the media files you find in derivative works (e.g. your own work!). If you don't create it yourself by drawing, taking a photo, etc. you can't use a file unless you have permission in writing! Please see Get/Create Media and Copyright Rules for assistance.
6. Security / Privacy Issues: Remember, in almost all cases you can't show images of children (under 18) in video. However, you may be able to get permission from your school and families, and if you do, you will need to show the ToL that you have that permission. Children's full names should also not be used in audio, and in fact it's best not to have names of students at all (or use pseudonyms/fake names). You can however, use the name of your school and teacher.
7. Contributing / Publishing podcasts: You need to get us your media .....
   • Tell us about your media / record or upload media through the blog or call in line: 520-626-3903.
   • Become a ToL Contributor: In order to contribute a media file for consideration in a ToL podcast you must become a ToL contributor. Those over 18 can become media contributors. Those who would like to also contribute ToL learning materials should become Treehouse Builders. Teachers and parents who are registered treehouse builders can register learners who are under 18 by creating classroom projects. See Start Class Treehouse Building Projects for information on how to sign up kids who are under 18.
   • Use the Contributor System: Once you have become a ToL Contributor you can login and choose the Media Manager to upload media files. See Get/Create Media for assistance.
   • ***Important: While we developing our system for contributing media for our podcast series please contact Lisa Schwartz, ToL Learning Materials Editor, at and let her know that you have contributed a media file for consideration in the podcast series (please include the name and ID# of the file)***.
   • Check out our blogs where you can leave written comments about podcasts
   • Coming soon: A system to easily submit a media file as a candidate for a podcast! A call-in line to use for asking questions or leaving messages with information that you would like us to use in a podcast. and accompanying learning materials.
   • Note that we reserve the right to use part of your media file for a podcast. It might simply make more sense to combine people's contributions.
8. Please contact Lisa Schwartz, ToL Learning Materials Editor, at with questions, or to contribute materials if using our contributor system is a problem. Thanks!