PODCASTS ON THE IPAD USING THE GARAGE BAND APP

RATIONALE FOR PODCASTING Podcasting offers another sense modality for students to express themselves and absorb or manipulate information. Creating podcasts is fun and can Increase student motivation. Teachers or students can record audio about homework assignments, classroom assignments, feedback, announcements, etc. thus the classroom is extended and enriched. Many students already have audio players, so it taps into an existing technology.

GETTING STARTED Recording a voice track alone is pretty easy, but a good podcast needs some accompanying music. It doesn’t have to be to fancy, but it’s the first thing your audience will hear so you want to make a good impression! Press + in the top left corner to begin a new song. You can go back later and name your podcast. Select the Smart Drums icon to get started.

SMART DRUMS – DRUM MACHINE I’m going to stick with the Hip Hop Drum Machine, but you can certainly change it to better fit your needs. Smart Drums allows you to simply drag and drop drum sections in to the grid, adjusting for complexity and volume. Move your instruments around until you get the sound you want. Cool, huh?

COMMIT THE BEAT TO THE TRACK Once you have your beat, you want to save it. Hit the record button at the top and the drums will start playing – you’ll record for eight full bars.

TRACK VIEW Once you’ve recorded your beat, let’s move to TRACK VIEW by touching the small graphic just to the left of the stop/rewind, play, and record buttons. You can see the the Smart Drums track is recorded and at the top. Track View allows you to see what you’ve done and how things line up.

APPLE LOOPS Obviously we want to spice things up with a bit more pizazz by adding to the Smart Drums track. Click on the APPLE LOOPS icon on the top right: As you browse, you can change the genre and description, but don’t let those dictate how you search – you don’t want to miss something good! I want to add more drum machine beats to my song, so after listening to a few, I picked one I liked, pressed and dragged to the left, where Garage Band automatically made a new track.

MORE APPLE LOOPS Your song is starting to take shape now, but let’s throw in some guitar music, and maybe even some other rhythm instruments. Remember, you’re going to touch the Apple Loops icon to see and listen to all the different choices. If you put down a track and don’t like it, you can double tap to delete (as well as find the Cut, Copy, Loop, and Split functions). Volume can be adjusted for each track, too. Click on the ? help button at the top, right of your screen, pressing where it says “Swipe to open the track controls”. Swipe to the right and adjust accordingly. Your song is starting to take shape now, but let’s throw in some guitar music, and maybe even some other rhythm instruments. Remember, you’re going to touch the Apple Loops icon to see and listen to all the different choices. If you put down a track and don’t like it, you can double tap to delete (as well as find the Cut, Copy, Loop, and Split functions). Volume can be adjusted for each track, too. Click on the ? help button at the top, right of your screen, pressing where it says “Swipe to open the track controls”. Swipe to the right and adjust accordingly.

LAYING DOWN THE VOICE TRACK Before you begin, make sure ‘Automatic’ is selected on the section length adjustment. This will insure that Garage Band doesn’t cut you off after a few bars. You can set this by touching the + sign just below the ? In the upper right of your screen. To begin recording a voice track, first create a new instrument and choose “Audio Recorder” from the Instruments selection screen. Once you tap the record button, you’ll hear a four-bar intro beat and then your intro music should begin. Make sure to speak directly into the iPad in a clear and calm manner.

AND YOU’RE FINISHED! Once you’ve finished recording your voice, go back to the Track View and listen to how things sound. Remember, you can always delete your voice recording and give it another go! If you’d like to add outro music, you can either compose something new using the same technique as before, or copy/paste the intro music by pressing the graphical representation within each track and selecting “Copy”, then moving to the end of the project and pasting in place. To save, press the My Songs icon in the upper left corner and your podcast will be saved. You’ll be taken back to the main GarageBand screen and there you can rename your project. Press on the title (it may just be called My Song) and you can then properly name your podcast.

PODCASTS IN EDUCATION Podcasting can be used to assist students’ vocabulary, writing, editing, public speaking, and presentation skills. Classroom teachers can create a podcast of daily assignments/lectures and publish it for their students. Students can create and publish content and deliver it to their teachers or to other students. Many educators have found that when students create content for a larger audience (beyond their classroom walls),they have more interest and motivation to work harder to improve the quality of their work.

CLASSROOM POSSIBILITIES A drama teacher has cast members podcast their description of the character and role they play in their upcoming production. A middle school teacher has his students write their own story and then podcast it for elementary students to be able to listen to; they were also given the printed book so they could read along. Students on a field trip to the local zoo research and then describe each of the animals they saw at the zoo through a podcast. A podcast is an excellent tool to use for recording and analyzing students’ verbal skills. Students interview community members and podcast the interviews. These can be archived for future reference. Additionally, a podcast is a great tool for recording interviews of older citizens about city history and historic events. Be creative – podcasts can enrich your classroom in so many different ways. The possibilities are endless! A drama teacher has cast members podcast their description of the character and role they play in their upcoming production. A middle school teacher has his students write their own story and then podcast it for elementary students to be able to listen to; they were also given the printed book so they could read along. Students on a field trip to the local zoo research and then describe each of the animals they saw at the zoo through a podcast. A podcast is an excellent tool to use for recording and analyzing students’ verbal skills. Students interview community members and podcast the interviews. These can be archived for future reference. Additionally, a podcast is a great tool for recording interviews of older citizens about city history and historic events. Be creative – podcasts can enrich your classroom in so many different ways. The possibilities are endless!

PODCASTS USING GARAGE BAND Presented by Katie Taylor Contact me: Ext. 4020