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This page is associated with another one at this site: Casting about on the Web 2.0

Tackling the Webcast Academy

Tutorials | Checklists | Assignments | Worldbridges

In which Vance attempts to pose as co-moderator to the EVO rendition of the Webcast Academy Class of 2.1 http://webcastacademy.net/EVO2007 . The EVO sessions run January 15 to February 25, 2007: http://evo07sessions.pbwiki.com/. The Webcast Academy syllabus and other information are here: http://evo07sessions.pbwiki.com/webcast-academy

Tutorials - Navigate to other topics on this page

Checklists - Navigate to other topics on this page

To webcast successfully, it helps to make a checklist. Yours might be different, but here is mine (on a Panasonic Toughbook PC laptop running Windows XP).

Here are the programs you need to configure:
Control Panel | Sound Icon in Task Bar | Audacity | Audio Repeater | SimpleCast | and GO

In order to capture sound from the audio card source (Skype) and your own voice (mic) you will need a USB mic. Logitec makes a good desktop model with a big button for switching it on and off (very handy when needing to mute). More recommendations are here: http://www.creativetechs.com/iq/what_is_a_good_microphone_for_podcasting_1.html

Control Panel

Sounds and Audio Devices Properties

Audio tab

Sound playback:set to your Sound Card

Sound recording: set to Virtual Cable 1 in

Voice tab (set same as playback)

Windows task bar

Right click speaker icon and Open Volume Control

Options / Properties

Playback = Sound card

Recording = Sound card

select stereo mix

Click OK

Audacity
Launch audacity before launching Audio Repeater and SimpleCast

Right of sliders, set to Stereo Mix

Edit / Preferences / Audo I/O Set playback and recording to sound card

Quality Tab: Default Sample Rate 44100 and Format: 32-bit float

Formats tab: export format is Wav (ms 16 bit pcm), bit rate 128

Adjust mic and speaker sliders to balance

Audio Repeater

Set these items

  • Wave in: AK5370
  • Wave out: sound card
  • Sample rate: 44100
  • Total buffer (ms): 100 **
  • Bits per sample: 22
  • Buffers: 16
  • 2 channels
  • High priority

Click start

SimpleCast

Config button

General Options: Capture sound from USB mic

Encoders

Right click and select Config

Converter tab:

Choose format: MPEG Layer-3 and 64 kBit/s (if available) or 56 / 24,00 Hz Stereo 6 kb/sec

Server details available at http://www.webcastacademy.net/info

Station details put in a name

Under Stream Archive

Save stream to file and enter a filename

Start streaming

  1. Right click the desired Encoder and start it
  2. In Simplecast, click start

Path where files are stored is found under Encoders (right click) Config / Stream Archive tab
On my computer this is: Program Files / Spacial audio / Simplecast

Useful web pages:

http://www.webcastacademy.net/info and log in for server settings

http://www.webcastacademy.net/Screencasts(with a capital Screencasts)

Especially - Basic Streaming with Simplecast and USB mic which is http://www.webcastacademy.net/screencasts/simplestreaming1/index.html

Assignments - Navigate to other topics on this page

1. Post a recording at the Webcastacademy site

2. Then, record two sides of a conversation in Skype

3. And finally, stream ...

Worldbridges: webcasters AND podcasters - Navigate to other topics on this page

On May 12, 2005 Worldbridges at http://www.worldbridges.net started webcasting live to an audience of, well, zero to start out with. Their first listener was a guy named Conrad, and a month later they encountered Webheads http://webheads.info, and their audience has been assured ever since. Not that Webheads deserve any credit for that; Webcaster Jeff Lebow and his blog-partner Dave Cormier (with Doug Symington and others) have been energetic in finding interesting people to pull into the Webcast mix with regular programs such as http://www.livewire.com and http://www.edtechtalk.com. In a field where others are content to podcast pre-recorded programs, Jeff and Dave have chosen to record on the fly by going live through Skype and other telephony links with spontaneous call-in conversation partners who have included Stephen Downes, Will Richardson, George Siemmens, and many other ESL, ed tech, and Web 2.0 luminaries. This approach has been somewhat unique, resulting in numerous informative conversations which are put into the RSS feed-stream and made available for pod-catching. Unfortunately, Jeff's site was hacked in early 2006 along with several other servers containing Tibet-related content (from Jeff's earlier ventures) and much of the early material has been, if not lost, at least off the air for a long time, though most has been recovered and is rapidly being augmented with more current work.

Worldbridges featured in this On the Internet article here: Worldbridges: The Potential of Live, Interactive Webcasting. TESL-EJ, Volume 10, Number 1: http://www.tesl-ej.org/ej37/int.html

Webcasting Academy - Navigate to other topics on this page

In around April 2006 Jeff started a Webcast Academy project http://webcastacademy.net/ which attempts to train others (for free) how to Webcast (presumably also for free) in order to create a larger base of people who, as Dave puts it, will make mistakes that Jeff and Dave can learn from instead of the other way around.

Skypecasting - Navigate to other topics on this page

Skypecasting operates similarly to a webcast and used to be much easier to manage, though through the summer of 2007 it had ceased working effectively and wasn't being used by Worldbridges.

All you needed to be able to do is record a skype call (info on that at http://www.newmediaguides.com/index.php/Recording_Telephony_Calls ). Then just go to http://skypecasts.skype.com/ and you can have up to 100 people pariticipating and as the moderator, you have the ability to mute or even eject participants in the Skypecast.

Graham Stanley has started a program of regular Skypecasting for non-native speakers of English on the Worldbridges network: Called EFLBridges, the program started with an Elgg: http://www.eflbridges.com and more recently uses the Drupal site at http://www.eflbridges.net. The program broadcasts weekly. Visit the Drupal portal or see my Online-Events page for more information.

Another option for Skypecasting, allowing up to 500 participants (the mind boggles) is Vapps: http://www.highspeedconferencing.com/index.htm. Venny and I tested it in late 2006. With this one, someone sets up the room and gets a +9900 number, and participants can Skype In using the dial feature. It's a free Skype call.


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contact Vance Stevens, page webmaster.

Updated: August 23, 2007

Copyright 2007 by Vance Stevens
under Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/

January 17, 2007

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