How to Podcast using Blackboard

How to Podcast from Blackboard in three easy steps


1 Add a Podcast Episode to any section in Blackboard

In Blackboard, as an instructor, to add Podcast content, go to Control Panel -> Course Documents (or any other content area or folder you want) and use the dropdown box at the upper-right to add a "Podcast Episode". (Click the GO button to the right of the drop-down).



You may upload a local media file (such as an .mp3 file) that you have prepared by using the browse button, or a you can specify a URL that points to a media file located somewhere else. Remember to select the appropriate radio button:




2 Turn on RSS Feed

By default, the podcast will only be available in Blackboard (not iTunes). In order to allow students to access your podcast from within iTunes and their ipods, you will need to turn on the course RSS feed. To do so, go to Control Panel -> Manage Podcast. Turn it on by setting Visibility to "Everyone":



Since the link to the podcast is only available from your course and not publicly searchable/discoverable, the podcast is not "public" per se, but it needs to be set that way so iTunes can access it.


3 Access your Podcast

In Blackboard, your students may access all of your podcast content in one place in the Course Tools section on the left side of your blackboard course.



The files are also accessible from the original section in Blackboard where you upload them (e.g. "Course Documents").

Because you turned on the RSS feed in step 2, the Course Tools -> Podcast section should contain both an RSS icon as well as an iTunes icon that students can use to subscribe to your course's podcast.

Once the students subscribe by clicking the button of their choice, your course podcasts will subsequently be downloaded into iTunes automatically, which makes it very easy for students to take the podcasts with them on their iPods.

Whenever you want to add an episode to your podcast, simply repeat Step 1 above, and the rest is taken care of automatically for you.