Sometimes when you have an idea or inspiration, you expect things to move quickly. You think that the ball will get rolling immediately and just take off. However, sometimes, reality sets in and you realize that some ideas take longer to come into fruition.
That’s the case with my podcast project.
Do I have big goals for my project? Yes. Do I need to adjust those goals? Possibly… but right now I am going to come to the conclusion that good things take hard work. I have come to realize that this project will take a lot of effort, planning, and discipline, even if it’s something I am passionate about.
Even though I have a long way to go before I perfect my podcasting skills, connect with more guests, and actually reach an audience, I have had a lot of breakthrough that I can celebrate. I have also learned a lot of important details when it comes to podcasting. So before I get too discouraged about what I haven’t done, let’s take some time to celebrate what I have done.
Small Victories:
When doing my initial podcast research, I took my Google Form survey to Twitter. In the midst of collecting information, I received a tweet from Stephen Hurley, Founder and Chief Catalyst of voicEd Radio.
Through that initial tweet, we were able to connect on Zencastr to talk about some of the work I am doing with my Masters, and more specifically, the podcast project. From there, he asked me to be a part of his podcast, which is coming up soon! I am looking forward to practicing and learning more about the art of podcasting by actually being a guest on one.
Along with making Twitter connections, I have also made another connection with an amazing EdTech educator who is an expert in student blogging. She has agreed to be on an upcoming episode of my podcast! Can you guess who it might be? Stay tuned to find out!
I am amazed at the power of the internet. It has allowed me to make some very important connections with other people who can help me in this podcast journey!
Growth:
I have learned a lot so far in this process. I have picked up a lot of good tips by listening to educational podcasts. The most recent one that I’ve listened to is “Teach Me, Teacher”, which is a podcast for educators. It has been helpful to listen to good quality podcasts and listen to what works in an interview setting. There are some critical take-aways that I want to share with you if you ever want to start a podcast of your own. Here is what you need in your podcast start-up:
- A Purpose
- When you have a specific goal and purpose for your podcast, then you have direction for where you can go. It’s hard to follow along with a podcast that has too wide of a topic or doesn’t have a specific theme.
- Good Quality
- Make sure you have a good quality microphone that you can hook up to your computer. This has helped me in my initial phone calls with my guests and will make it easier for my audience to listen to. It’s also important to have quality content and guests who are knowledgeable about the podcast topic.
- Authenticity
- There is nothing more refreshing than listening to a podcast with people who are willing to share their experience and are truly their authentic selves.
- Engagement
- Every good podcast that I have listened to has an engaging introduction and catchy characteristics. Music, humour, and catch-phrases… every element is important when listening to a podcast!
Goals
Moving forward, I will continue to organize, plan, and prepare for upcoming episodes and interviews. I have a few items on my to-do list that need to get done before I record my first podcast:
- Read: I will continue to read the Saskatchewan’s Digital Citizenship Policy Planning Guide to further my knowledge about online learning and all things Digital Citizenship.
- Listen: I want to find another podcast to add to my listening list so that I can become more familiar with them. In class this week, Nancy Smith suggested listening to “IRL: Online Life is Real Life” because it discusses a lot of themes that are outlined in Ribble’s Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship. I am looking forward to checking it out!
- Connect: I have a few people to connect with this week. I have an interview with Stephen Hurley and I will connect with my first podcast guest. I also want to reach out to another EdTech educator who can be a guest on my podcast.
So my questions for you are…
Do you have any requests or do you know of anyone who could be a guest on my podcast? Are there any podcasts about education or Digital Citizenship that I should be listening to? Can you guess who my next podcast guest is? You can give me some answers by clicking “continue” in the Crowd Signal survey or by answering in the comments below!
Until then, I will try to remember to enjoy the process, celebrate my accomplishments, and stay focused on the future.
-Amanda
edtechendeavours.com 
I really like how you are framing your goals with ‘Read, Listen and Connect’ – I think it will help keep the project focused. I look forward to listening to your first guest appearance and your first episode. So far I am enjoying listening to Manoush Zomorodi’s ‘Note to Self’ – but I’m not very familiar with ed tech podcasts. Maybe a future post could include your recommendations!
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Amanda,
Your post was very refreshing to read! All week I have been thinking (AKA: minor internal freak out), “I HAVE BARELY MADE ANY PROGRESS HERE AND MY TIMELINE IS NOT GOING LIKE I HAD PLANNED IT WOULD. AHHH!” You’re absolutely right. Celebrating what you have accomplished and enjoying the process of doing such an open ended project like this is so important. I love how you have been able to connect with so many professionals through Twitter. Wow! Not only have you been able seek out different individuals for your podcast, but you have also been invited to be a guest on one yourself– talk about a plot twist! I have been told I need to start listening to more podcasts… What are some humorous and engaging education podcasts for someone who is new to listening to them? I look forward to seeing how your project progresses!
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Hey Amanda. Great work. I’ve talked with Stephen a few times … great guy and so passionate about education and podcasting. We are looking into starting a connected ed podcast series in our division (rcsd) and I hope to be a part of that. I was able to do a podcast / vodcast (is that a thing haha) with Mary Beth Hertz. I used zoom and was able to down load the audio only. Loving learning from your journey … let me know if you ever want to do a podcast about podcasting haha .
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