Lesson video

Hi, it's Mrs. Dodds here, and thank you for joining me for this final lesson.

Let's find out what we're gonna be learning today.

So, the outcome of today's lesson is to evaluate how effective a podcast is.

Let's take a look at our keywords for this lesson today.

So, we've got two words.

I'm going to say them first, and then I'm gonna ask you to repeat them, and then we'll have a look at the meaning of each word in turn.

So, the first word is "evaluation." You try.

Brilliant.

A review of a creation that considers strengths and improvements.

Let's look at the second word: "improvements." You say it.

Fantastic.

Identify ways to make something better.

Let's move on.

So, the first part of our lesson today is identifying strengths.

Actively listening to a podcast allows us to evaluate it and identify the parts that sound great as well as any parts we would like to improve.

Let's listen to a podcast to identify how it could be improved.

Let's listen to this podcast and see if we can identify any improvements that could be made.

Let's take a look.

(light upbeat dance music) Hi there, awesome internet explorers! Welcome to "Be Safe, Be Smart Online," the podcast that helps you stay safe while having fun online.

I'm your host, Sarah.

So, today we're talking about something really important: protecting your personal details when you're online.

So, what are personal details? Well, they're things like your full name, your address, your school, your phone number, and even your birthday.

So, why does it matter? Because if the wrong person gets your information, they might pretend to be you or try to trick you, and that's not cool.

So, here's rule one: never share your real name online.

Use a fun nickname instead, like DragonDancer92 or PixelPenguin.

So, rule two: don't post pictures that show your school uniform or your house.

Even if you think it looks cute, it gives away where you live.

So, rule three: ask before you click.

If you see a pop-up that says, "Click here to win a new game," stop.

Ask a trusted adult first because not everything online is safe.

So, rule four: keep your password secret, even from your best friend.

Your password is like your toothbrush; don't share it.

So, what should you do if someone online asks for your information? You say, "No way!" Tell a grown-up straight away.

And so remember: stay smart, stay kind, and keep your personal stuff private.

(audience applauding) Great, you're back.

I hope you had time to listen to that, and I hope you've identified some improvements that could be made.

Let's move on.

Now that you've listened to the podcast, how could it be improved? I want you to now spend some time talking to a partner about the improvements that could be made based on what you've listened to.

Pause the video now so that you've got time to talk to a partner or just have a think about how we could improve it.

Pause the video now.

Fantastic, you're back.

Let's take a look.

So, Sam has said, "I think Sarah should slow down when she's speaking and pause more." Sofia has said, "I keep hearing the word "so." I think Sarah should try to use it less." Hopefully, you had some similar ideas.

You might have had some extra ideas as well about how it could be improved.

Let's move on.

Scan through this podcast and see how many times you spot the word "so." Let's take a look.

"Hi there, awesome internet explorers! Welcome to "Be Safe, Be Smart Online," the podcast that helps you stay safe while having fun online.

I'm your host, Sarah.

So, today we are talking about something really important: protecting your personal details when you're online.

So, what are personal details? Well, they're things like your full name, your address, your school, your phone number, and even your birthday.

So, why does it matter? Because if the wrong person gets your information, they might pretend to be you or try to trick you, and that's not cool.

So, here's rule one: never share your real name online.

Use a fun nickname instead, like DragonDancer92 or PixelPenguin.

So, rule two: don't post pictures that show your school uniform or your house.

Even if you think it looks cute, it gives away where you live.

So, rule three: ask before you click.

If you see a pop-up that says, "Click here to win a new game," stop and ask a trusted adult first, because not everything online is safe.

So, rule four: keep your password secret, even from your best friend.

Your password is like your toothbrush; you don't share it.

So, what should you do if someone online asks for your information? You say, "No way!" and tell a grown-up straight away.

And so, remember: stay smart, stay kind, and keep your personal stuff private." Now we've spent some time looking through that podcast, I want you to note down how many times you have seen the word "so" or heard the word "so." And I want you to stop the video now so you've got time to discuss that with your partner.

Stop the video now.

Great, you're back.

Let's move on and find out.

So, how many times did you spot the word "so" being repeated? Let's take a look.

Sofia said, "I counted 'so' being used nine times." It is important to listen back over your podcast to spot words that you might use too often.

We sometimes use words like this when we are thinking about what we're going to say next.

Identifying parts of your work that you want to improve doesn't mean your podcast is bad; it just means you're trying to make it even better.

Sound engineers would listen to their work or share it with the team to find parts of their podcast to improve.

Making mistakes and fixing them is part of the job.

Time for a check for understanding.

So, I'm gonna read a question to you now and the possible answers, and you are going to stop and have a think about the answers and discuss them with a partner.

What is one good way to improve the podcast you listened to? Is it A: use as many technical words as you can? Is it B: speak faster so it finishes more quickly? Is it C: use fewer repeated words like "so" to make it clearer? Or D: remove the fun part so it's all serious? I want you to pause the video now so that you've got time to talk about that and discuss it with a friend.

Pause your video now.

Great, you're back.

Should we take a look at the answer? It is C: use fewer repeated words like "so" to make it clearer.

Let's move on and find out what's next.

Adding music and sound effects is a great way to add interest and highlight parts of your podcast.

Music can add to the mood of the podcast, making it seem happy, exciting, or serious.

You're going to listen to and evaluate this podcast.

Let's take a listen.

(light upbeat dance music) Hi there, awesome internet explorers! Welcome to "Be Safe, Be Smart Online," the podcast that helps you stay safe while having fun online.

I'm your host, Sarah.

So, today we're talking about something really important: protecting your personal details when you're online.

So, what are personal details? Well, they're things like your full name, your address, your school, your phone number, and even your birthday.

So, why does it matter? Because if the wrong person gets your information, they might pretend to be you or try to trick you, and that's not cool.

So, here's rule one: (electronic blasting) never share your real name online.

Use a fun nickname instead, like DragonDancer92 or PixelPenguin.

(electronic blasting) So, rule two: don't post pictures that show your school uniform or your house.

Even if you think it looks cute, it gives away where you live.

(electronic blasting) So, rule three: ask before you click.

If you see a pop-up that says, "Click here to win a new game," stop.

Ask a trusted adult first, because not everything online is safe.

So, (ominous dramatic music) keep your password secret, even from your best friend.

Your password is like your toothbrush; don't share it.

So, what should you do if someone online asks for your information? You say, "No way!" Tell a grown-up straight away.

And so, remember: stay smart, stay kind, and keep your personal stuff private.

(audience applauding) Great, you are back.

How could the music and sound effects be improved? I want you to spend some time now.

We're gonna pause the video, and you are gonna have time to have a think about that.

How could the music and sound effects be improved in the podcast that you've just listened to? Pause the video now so that you've got time to discuss that.

Brilliant.

You're back.

I hope you've had time to discuss that, and I'm sure by now that you are becoming an expert at evaluating podcasts.

So how could the music and sound effects be improved? Let's find out.

After evaluating the music and sound effects, how do you think this podcast could be improved? Let's have a look.

Some improvements could be: make sure the sound effects and music match the topic of the podcast, make sure no one is speaking when the sound effect or music starts or ends, use only a few sound effects, or make sure your sound effect and music are not too loud.

So these are all ways that you can improve how you use music and sound effects in your podcast.

Let's move on.

So it's now time for task A.

It is time to listen to your podcast.

So this is the one that you've been creating.

You will need to open it in Audacity.

So listen to it carefully, focusing on what is said and any sound effects you have used.

You might want to record parts again, delete a sound effect that is not needed, or move a sound effect if it's in the wrong place or if you want it in a particular place instead.

So it's now time to pause the video so that you can open Audacity, go and find your project, and then begin evaluating it.

Pause the video now.

Fantastic.

I hope you've managed to do that and that you've looked for some improvements that could be made.

Remember, sound engineers who do this as their job always evaluate, edit, and improve their work.

You may need only to make a few improvements to your podcast.

But think of all the new skills that you have learned and how you can use them to create more podcasts.

So now we're moving on to part two of our lesson, where we're going to suggest improvements.

Let's take a look.

Evaluating our work helps us to make sure the next podcast we plan and record is the best that it can be.

Thinking critically about our work helps us to plan our work more carefully.

This might mean searching for specific music or sound effects.

It might mean using a detailed and clear script with instructions to help with recording.

Using criteria when we listen to a podcast helps us to identify what has been achieved and what can be improved.

So let's look at the criteria we've got in this table below: clear voices, unwanted sound removed, suitable music, a suitable sound effect, an intro section included, a main section included, and finally, an outro section included.

We need to look at what's been done well and what needs improving.

We're gonna use this criteria to help us evaluate a podcast that we're just about to listen to.

We're going to listen to this practise podcast, and we're gonna carefully listen and identify any changes you think need to be made.

Let's take a listen.

(light upbeat dance music) Hi there, awesome internet explorers! Welcome to "Be Safe.

Be Smart Online," the podcast that helps you stay safe while having fun online.

I'm your host, Sarah.

So today we're talking about something really important: protecting your personal details when you're online.

So what are personal details? Well, they're things like your full name, your address, your school, your phone number, and even your birthday.

So why does it matter? Because if the wrong person gets your information, they might pretend to be you or try to trick you, and that's not cool.

So here's rule one: (electronic blasting) never share your real name online.

Use a fun nickname instead, like DragonDancer92 or PixelPenguin.

(electronic blasting) So, rule two: don't post pictures that show your school uniform or your house.

Even if you think it looks cute, it gives away where you live.

(electronic blasting) So, rule three: ask before you click.

If you see a pop-up that says, "Click here to win a new game," stop.

Ask a trusted adult first because not everything online is safe.

So, (ominous dramatic music) keep your password secret, even from your best friend.

Your password is like your toothbrush; don't share it.

So, what should you do if someone online asks for your information? You say, "No way!" Tell a grown-up straight away.

And so, remember: stay smart, stay kind, and keep your personal stuff private.

(audience applauding) Brilliant.

You're back.

Now you've had time to listen to that practise podcast, we're going to look at these two questions: Can you suggest any improvements? What changes need to be made to improve the quality of this podcast? I want you to pause the video now so that you've got time to discuss that with a partner or have a think about that yourself.

Pause the video now.

Brilliant.

You're back.

Let's move on with the lesson.

Evaluating work helps us to think about how to improve the quality of the podcast we create.

Let's look at the improvements that could have been made to that podcast that you've just listened to.

So we're gonna look using a tick for things that have been done well and a cross for things that might need improving.

Good, clear voices; unwanted sound removed; some sound effects in there need to be removed, and they haven't been; suitable music, maybe it could have been better; suitable sound effects, some sound effects might not be appropriate.

There was an intro section, a main section, and finally, there was an outro section.

Time for a check for understanding.

I'm gonna read out a statement now, and I want you to decide if you think it's true or do you think it's false.

Let's have a look.

"If you make mistakes, it means your podcast isn't good and you should start all over again." I want you to pause the video now so that you've got time to think about that and discuss the reason for your answer with a partner.

Pause the video now.

Brilliant.

Let's have a look.

It is false.

Why? Mistakes help you learn and improve.

They don't mean your podcast is bad or that you need to start all over again.

It is important to listen to lots of other podcasts to improve the quality of your work.

This allows you to see what you like and dislike, and it helps you to begin to develop your own style, things you might like, things that maybe you're unsure of if you do like them or not, and definitely things that you don't like when you are making your own podcast.

So now we're gonna move on to task B.

You are going to listen to your podcast.

You're going to use the worksheet, which has got an evaluation criteria on it, to identify what you would improve.

So make sure that you've got a copy of that sheet so that you've got the evaluation.

You're gonna look at your clear voice, unwanted sound effects being removed.

Have they been removed? Suitable music? Suitable sound effects? Has it got an intro section? Has it got a main section? And finally, has it got an outro section? It is always important to think about your next steps.

What will you do differently next time you create a podcast? I want you to pause the video now so that you can go back, listen to your podcast, and think really carefully about what you'll do the next time you create one.

Pause the video now.

Fantastic, you're back.

Let's have a look.

So your evaluation might look similar to this.

Remember, each podcast will have its own specific criteria to improve upon.

So let's have a look at this one.

Let's look at the criteria.

It had clear voices.

There were some sound effects that hadn't been removed that could be.

But there was suitable music.

Some of the sound effects weren't suitable.

But it had an intro section, it did have a main section, and finally, it did have an outro section.

"There were many times when I had sounds that interrupted my podcast.

I would change the sound effects I used to a more suitable one." So that's just an example of what you might want to write.

So now it's time for a summary of the lesson.

Evaluating your work is part of the process of creating a podcast.

Listening over our work and taking time to review it helps us identify parts that can be improved.

There are many podcasts you can listen to online, and all of them have their own style.

Listening to different podcasts can help you when you're planning your own.

Remember always to check the source of any music or sound effects that you use.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson, and I hope you've enjoyed learning how to create podcasts.

This is our final lesson on audio production.

So remember, you can go back to all the videos and all the different lessons if there's a particular area that you want to develop.

It's goodbye from me, and I look forward to seeing you again.

Bye-bye.