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Reserve the Digital Media Laboratory Podcast Room

Reserve the Digital Media Laboratory Podcast Room

Table of Contents

Housekeeping & Etiquette

  1. To use the Podcast Room, you must reserve it first.

  2. The Podcast Room is located in Old Main 402.

  3. When using the Podcast Studio, please use the "Recording in Progress PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB" door sign to prevent other patrons from accidentally walking in. It is located on the handle on the inside of the main door and can be placed on the handle on the outside of the door.

    1. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB Sign on Podcast Room Door.
      PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB Sign on Podcast Room Door.

       (click on image to enlarge)

  4. All Faculty, Staff, and Students that are interested in using the Podcast Studio should reserve the room using this Google Form.

  5. Respect the room and our environment. When you are done using the Podcast Room, please return it the way you found it. This includes:

    1. turning off all lights and displays

    2. return the "PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB" sign to the handle on the inside of the door

    3. clean up any garbage

    4. double-check to make sure you have not left anything, like chargers, cables, or USB sticks

  6. Please respect the time that you have reserved the Podcast Room for. If another person has reserved the Podcast Room soon after you, we will be obligated to have you leave so the next person can use it.

  7. If you are using Audacity, or any other program that requires you to set the input, please make sure that the Input Recording Device is the Zoom Podtrak P8.

    1. For additional help with Audacity, check the documentation: https://manual.audacityteam.org/ or the Podcasting Tutorials page.

  8. The Zoom Podtrak P8 is a powerful mixer. For the most part, you will only need to use the volume sliders. However, the mixer can be used for much more. Here are the manuals and other resources:

    1. ZoomPodTrak_P8_QuickGuide_2.pdf 

    2. ZoomPodtrak_P8_FullOperationManual.pdf 

    3. Additional Support and Tutorials

Failure to adhere to any of the above may result in permanent ban from the Podcast Room.

Tips for Podcasting

In general we recommend Audacity, a free, open-source software, though there are plenty of other software too. To download Audacity, go to https://www.audacityteam.org/download/ and select the appropriate Operating System for your computer. From there, make sure to select the 64-bit Installer (Windows), Universal dmg or Universal pkg (Mac), or appropriate AppImage (Linux). If further help is needed, check out our Podcasting Tutorials or review Audacity’s Support Documentation.

In addition:

  1. When thinking about your podcast, write in bullet points. This will still give you some flow without sounding robotic.

  2. If you are interviewing someone, provide them with the questions ahead of time

    1. Also, meet with them at least 24 hours before your record the podcast, just to make sure that everything is working and/or hash out certain details (the same goes for working in a group)

  3. Do a test recording and play with the volume sliders to see what volume is right for your recording

Additional tips can be found around the web, but we have curated a few here.

Reserve the Podcast Room

We use 25Live for reserving the room. The Podcast Room Calendar can be reviewed here. To reserve the Podcast Room, fill out this Google Form.

You MUST be logged into My Canisius to reserve the Podcast Room. If this is your FIRST time reserving the Podcast Room, we recommend that you book a time with COLI Staff beforehand to learn about how to use the Podcast Studio. Students can only access the Studio from 8AM to Midnight, Monday through Friday.

Podcasting for Classes

If faculty are planning on having students Podcast Room for assignment, contact helpdesk@canisius.edu with the course abbreviation, number, and section letter (i.e., CAN101E) so COLI staff can add you and your students to the swipe access for the room. In addition, please book an appointment with COLI staff https://canisius.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FacTS/pages/35130682 for training on using Audacity and the Podcast Room.

The Podcast Room Calendar can be reviewed here (faculty and staff can also use this link to directly reserve the Podcast room. Note that students are not able to directly reserve the podcast room). For students reserve the Podcast Room, share this Google Form in your D2L Course:

https://forms.gle/atxcJMbtJ1q4aVMw8

You MUST be logged into MyCanisius to reserve the Podcast Room. Students can only access the Studio from 8AM to Midnight, Monday through Friday.

Need Help?

COLI staff are available to help patrons of the Digital Media Labs Podcast Room. Contact COLI staff via Helpdesk (helpdesk@canisius.edu)  to schedule a meeting at least 24 hours before you are planning to record a podcast. This is specifically if you need an introduction to the room or need help recording. For classes, we recommend contacting COLI at least two weeks before students are to start recording podcasts.

If you are looking for more immediate help, check out the Podcasting Tutorials Wiki Page.

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