How to Create a Podcast

About podcasts

A podcast is a series of audio or video clips distributed using a news feed. With a little training, faculty and staff members in the School can easily create and distribute their own podcasts.

Before recording audio or video

If you don't already have one, get a GALEN account -- you'll need it to upload your recordings.
Understand the legal issues - To protect yourself and the University from potential liabilities, there are a few legal issues you should understand before creating or distributing a podcast.
Know your resources and get training - A wide variety of resources are available to help you create a podcast. If you're new to podcasting, we recommend training options to help you get started quickly and efficiently.
We strongly recommend that you take the free Introduction to Podcasting class, provided regularly by the Library.

Recording audio or video

There are a lot of different ways to create audio or video for a podcast, and how you choose depends on a lot of things: what material you want to share, how much time you have, how you like to work, and so forth. If you're not yet sure what method will work best for you, explore your options in Know your resources and get training. Some choose to record lectures in the classroom, but you can also create recordings in the office, in your home, or on location.

After recording audio or video

Upload the file to Podcasts@UCSF. When you share your podcast through Podcasts@UCSF, you can choose whether to make it public or UCSF-only.

Sharing your podcast

To share your podcast, use the URL provided by Podcasts@UCSF. Also see Subscribing to a podcast.

Need help?

Contact your computer support coordinator for assistance in creating a podcast.

Go To: Information for Faculty and Staff

Why podcast?

A podcast enables you to easily share audio or video recordings that can provide a richer educational experience to our students. Some examples:

Enable flexible, repeatable experiences - Students can review a recorded lecture whenever, wherever, and however many times they want -- it's the ultimate flexibility! Imagine students reviewing your lecture while waiting for the bus or while on the treadmill at the gym.
Bring the outside in - Faculty members can record information outside the classroom that is too expensive or too large to bring into the classroom.
Take the students out - Create a virtual field trip: pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, science talks, health clinics. When it's impossible to take your students someplace valuable, record the experience and provide the audio or video instead.

What might I record?

Classroom lectures
Visiting lecturers (e.g., department grand rounds presentations)
Opinions of experts in your field
Panel discussions on important topics
Seminars
Clinical case presentations
Anonymous patient interviews
Ancillary or optional course content
Any information that you want to share using audio or video

Podcast examples

To hear and watch examples of podcasts, see Podcast examples.