By: Kary | In: Podcasting |
In a previous post, I wrote how to use Edublogs as your podcasting host. There were some good things and bad things about using this service. The biggest problem is the limitations in file size. You can only upload a file 2mb or smaller. And, you only have a total of 50mb of space to house all of your podcasts.
The problem comes in when you want to make an individual podcast that is larger than 2 minutes in length. A two minute podcast will end up being approximately 2 mb in file size. So if you want to create podcasts that are 5, 10, or 20 minutes in length, you are out of luck if you plan on using Edublogs.
So what do you do?
Keeping within the restraints of “free”, “easy” and “not blocked by the district’s firewall” another option that you have is to use a combination of of Blogger and Gcast.
Blogger is a free blogging site that is on the “approve” list of district blogging sites. The problem is, Blogger only allows you to upload image files. Mp3 files are not allowed. So you have to find a place to actually HOST your podcast. That’s where Gcast comes in. So what are the pros and cons of using this dual service?
PROS:
- Blogger and Gcast are both free.
- Neither site is blocked by the SBISD firewall; blogger is one of the three “approved” blogging sites by SBISD.
- Both Blogger and Gcast are easy to use.
- Uploading a podcast to Gcast is relatively simple.
CONS:
- You can not upload MP3 files directly to Blogger, therefore you have to use both Blogger and a podcast hosting site - in this case Gcast.
- The podcasts aren’t attached as part of your blog. You can not embed the podcast inside a blog post like you can on Edublogs.
- Gcast service is free, but they also make that money back by placing ads on their site. It is unknown at this time if they actually place ads within the podcasts that you host there. For this reason, I am looking for other free hosting sites that are not blocked by the district firewall.
So its a trade-off. But if you want to create longer podcasts than Edublogs allows, and you want a free service that isn’t blocked by the district firewall…this is a great and easy alternative.
I won’t go into the details here on how to do it. I have a tutorial on the Edtech Podcasting site that shows how to upload a podcast to Gcast and place that podcast on Blogger. Its not as easy as Edublogs…but its not hard either.
So there you have…two great choices in hosting and publishing your podcasts. Edublogs and Blogger/Gcast. Both have their pros and both have their cons. You decide what you need and GO FOR IT!
Technorati Tags: podcasting Blogger Gcast
