Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners

Blogging and Podcasting are great ways to express yourself, but maybe you're not sure how to start. This course will teach you how to successfully plan and create your very own blog and podcast using hands-on exercises and free web tools.

Details
Syllabus
Requirements
Instructor
Reviews

Enrollment Options

$125.00

Self-Guided

3 Months Access

No Instructor. Course begins when you enroll.

Instructor-Moderated

6 Weeks Access

Study online with Instructor moderated discussion boards.

Select Course Start Date:

October 16, 2024

November 13, 2024

December 18, 2024

January 15, 2025

Enroll Now

$125.00

Self-Guided

Enroll Now

Details

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create your very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Syllabus

Lesson 1 - Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Lesson 2 - Blogging

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Lesson 3 - Hosting and Software

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Lesson 4 - Appearance

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Lesson 5 - Privacy

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Lesson 6 - Styling

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Lesson 7 - Photos

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Lesson 8 - Podcasts

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using an effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Lesson 9 - Your First Audio Podcast

This lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Lesson 10 - Editing and Publishing Audio Podcasts

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Lesson 11 - Video Podcasts

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Lesson 12 - Editing Video Podcasts

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

PC: Windows 8 or later.
Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor

Richard Mansfield

Richard Mansfield is a best-selling author and widely recognized expert on computer programming. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written numerous articles and columns on computer topics, and was the editor of Compute! Magazine. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 44 books, including the best sellers Machine Language for Beginners (Compute!) and The Visual Guide to Visual Basic (Ventana). His more recent titles include Creating Web Pages for Dummies (co-authored, Wiley), XML for Dummies: All-in-One Desktop Reference (co-authored, Wiley), Mastering VBA for Office 2019 (Sybex), and Programming: A Beginner's Guide (McGraw-Hill). Richard's books have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 12 languages.

Reviews

I have almost zero computer skills I though this class would be way over my head but I am actually following along with your helpful advice.

Absolutely loved this course! The instructor was informative/attentive/responsive. I've taken other online courses and this one is at the top of my list! I will definitely recommend this course to others.

This course was amazing I got way more out of it than I even expected. I was originally just interested in blogging but now I found a great interest in podcasting to. The way all of the information was broken down made starting so much more interesting, easier, and overall less intimidating as well. Thank you so much for everything this was a great course.

Our instructor Richard was very engaging. My experience felt like I was actually in a classroom setting on campus. I've taken some of his other courses, which I put the cart before the horse. I will retake the website building classes in the near future. His style of teaching and the course materials whether written or illustrated with photos provided me with the confidence to 'finally' launch my blog/podcast and other social media to grow my business website. Thank you Richard!!!l

This class was fun and very practical. I feel that I can apply the material right away and help me grow my web presence. Thanks!

I was very happy with the course and with the instructor. I got more than I expected. I would definitely recommend both the course and Robin to others. I hope to take other classes Robin teaches as I believe she is a gifted teacher.

Instructor was knowledgeable; course content was right on the mark.

I am very happy that I took this class.... it was exactly what I needed to understand many of the terms being thrown around my workplace.

I really enjoyed the class and plan to put my new knowledge into effect for the coming school year. I hope to get teachers to use blogs and wikis especially with their classes

This course took the fear factor out of some things I had wanted to do for a while. Steps were broken down into doable parts. The instructor provided alternatives that let me learn the material even when I lacked technology (like a webcam or digital camcorder) that would have been useful. Best of all, I could fit the course into my schedule instead of the other way around. Thanks!

This is a very good course! And the step by step instructions are very useful and made things accessible to a non-techie.

Great course. Lots of extra effort by instructor in putting it together. I learned a lot.