Mission 1

                                                                                                                                     Mark O'Brien

Mission 1                                              

Process

Our goals for this mission were to record a podcast and then present it to our class along with a power point presentation which would display a range of topics around podcasts, for example we had a section about ow podcasts are made along with another section on the history of podcasts. The resources we used to make the podcast were a microphone attached to an iPhone, we recorded the podcast on the 'Voice Memos' iPhone app. We then transferred the audio files over to a computer in the library. Then we edited the audio files on an editing program called 'WavePad', this was the most time consuming part of the process. Another big part of the process was research, we had to carry out research to make the power point, researching the history of podcasts and also researching how to make podcasts, both for the presentation and for ourselves. Looking back on it i'm happy with how it turned out overall, I think we could have used a better microphone so the quality of audio was better, I also think we should have concentrated more on the podcast rather than the power point, this was down to a lack of understanding more than anything. If I was to do this again I would have researched more on how to use the editing software and which software was the best to use.

Product

Our final product was a short podcast along with a power point. In the presentation we went over things such as 'How Podcasts Are Run' and the editing process of the podcast. to make it we sat in a spare room we found in college and laid the microphone down on the table and Sam asked us questions about college life during out first few weeks etc. and then the next step after recording was to edit. The first step in the editing process was transferring the audio files from the phone over to the computer in the college library which wad done by using a charging cable plugged into the computer, we then dragged and dropped the files onto the desktop. We then cut and stuck together the audio clips using the audio editing program 'WavePad'. And saved the finished audio file which was our final podcast. We then each researched a different topic each to then write about in our power point presentation. I researched the history of podcasting and made slides about the first podcasts etc and different big podcasts today. The other two members of my group researched how podcasts are run and also made slides about challenges we faced and the equipment that we used etc.

Reflection

I learned a lot about working in groups as this was my first real group project in college, it is difficult to coordinate with time etc. because everyone has busy lives with work and stuff like that so that was the first thing I noticed, it is very important in group projects to lay out a plan early on so that each person can work away separately until the group gets a chance to work together as a group, this is something I'll definitely take into account for future projects. I also learned how to use audio editing software which is helpful and hopefully is something I can use again in the future. Another thing I learned is that it is important in these assignments to concentrate more on the 'meat' of the assignment rather than the presentation. In terms of learning information I learned a lot in terms of how podcasts are made and how to edit audio which I'm sure is the main point of these projects so on those terms I would class this as a success. I learned about myself over these past weeks also and realized what I must do to get the best out of my work. I need to clearly lay out a plan regarding what I need to do between the beginning and the due date of the assignment. In terms of success and failure regarding this project I would say we were successful in what we had set out to do as a group but our failure was that we didn't really set out to do the correct thing. I say this because we wanted to make a short podcast along with a long slideshow full of information on podcasts, but in truth we should have been concentrating on making a good podcast and then explaining the process of making it etc.