# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Listen to this post as a podcast:
When I worked with student teachers on developing effective lesson plans, one thing I always asked them to revise was the phrase "We will discuss."
We will discuss the video. We will discuss the story. We will discuss our results.
Every time I saw it in a lesson plan, I would add a note: "What format will you use? What questions will you ask? How will you ensure that all students participate?" I was pretty sure that We will discuss actually meant the teacher would do most of the talking; He would throw out a couple of questions like "So what did you think about the video?" or "What was the theme of the story?" and a few students would respond, resulting in something that looked like a discussion, but was ultimately just a conversation between the teacher and a handful of extroverted students; a classic case of Fisheye Teaching.

The problem wasn't them; in most of the classrooms where they'd sat as students, that's exactly what a class discussion looked like. They didn't know any other "formats." I have only ever been familiar with a few myself. But when teachers began contacting me recently asking for a more comprehensive list, I knew it was time to do some serious research.

So here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging. If you've struggled to find effective ways to develop students' speaking and listening skills, this is your lucky day.

I've separated the strategies into three groups. The first batch contains the higher-prep strategies, formats that require teachers to do some planning or gathering of materials ahead of time. Next come the low-prep strategies, which can be used on the fly when you have a few extra minutes or just want your students to get more active. Note that these are not strict categories; it's certainly possible to simplify or add more meat to any of these structures and still make them work. The last group is the ongoing strategies. These are smaller techniques that can be integrated with other instructional strategies and don't really stand alone. For each strategy, you'll find a list of other names it sometimes goes by, a description of its basic structure, and an explanation of variations that exist, if any. To watch each strategy in action, click on its name and a new window will open with a video that demonstrates it.

Enjoy!
a.k.a. Chat Stations
Basic Structure: Stations or posters are set up around the classroom, on the walls or on tables. Small groups of students travel from station to station together, performing some kind of task or responding to a prompt, either of which will result in a conversation.

Variations: Some Gallery Walks stay true to the term gallery, where groups of students create informative posters, then act as tour guides or docents, giving other students a short presentation about their poster and conducting a Q&A about it. In Starr Sackstein's high school classroom, her stations consisted of video tutorials created by the students themselves. Before I knew the term Gallery Walk, I shared a strategy similar to it called Chat Stations, where the teacher prepares discussion prompts or content-related tasks and sets them up around the room for students to visit in small groups.
a.k.a. Values Continuum, Forced Debate, Physical Barometer, This or That
Basic Structure: A statement that has two possible responses-agree or disagree-is read out loud. Depending on whether they agree or disagree with this statement, students move to one side of the room or the other. From that spot, students take turns defending their positions.

Variations: Often a Philosophical Chairs debate will be based around a text or group of texts students have read ahead of time; students are required to cite textual evidence to support their claims and usually hold the texts in their hands during the discussion. Some teachers set up one hot seat to represent each side, and students must take turns in the seat. In less formal variations (which require less prep), a teacher may simply read provocative statements students are likely to disagree on, and a debate can occur spontaneously without a text to refer to (I call this variation This or That in my classroom icebreakers post). Teachers may also opt to offer a continuum of choices, ranging from "Strongly Agree" on one side of the room, all the way to "Strongly Disagree" on the other, and have students place themselves along that continuum based on the strength of their convictions.

Basic Structure: Students are divided into 4 groups. Three of these groups are assigned to represent specific points of view. Members of the fourth group are designated as "provocateurs," tasked with making sure the discussion keeps going and stays challenging. One person from each group (the "speaker") sits in a desk facing speakers from the other groups, so they form a square in the center of the room. Behind each speaker, the remaining group members are seated: two right behind the speaker, then three behind them, and so on, forming a kind of triangle. From above, this would look like a pinwheel. The four speakers introduce and discuss questions they prepared ahead of time (this preparation is done with their groups). After some time passes, new students rotate from the seats behind the speaker into the center seats and continue the conversation.

Variations: When high school English teacher Sarah Brown Wessling introduced this strategy in the featured video (click Pinwheel Discussion above), she used it as a device for talking about literature, where each group represented a different author, plus one provocateur group. But in the comments that follow the video, Wessling adds that she also uses the strategy with non-fiction, where students represent authors of different non-fiction texts or are assigned to take on different perspectives about an issue.
a.k.a. Socratic Circles
Basic Structure: Students prepare by reading a text or group of texts and writing some higher-order discussion questions about the text. On seminar day, students sit in a circle and an introductory, open-ended question is posed by the teacher or student discussion leader. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with textual evidence. There is no particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with others. Discussion is meant to happen naturally and students do not need to raise their hands to speak. This overview of Socratic Seminar from the website Facing History and Ourselves provides a list of appropriate questions, plus more information about how to prepare for a seminar.

Variations: If students are beginners, the teacher may write the discussion questions, or the question creation can be a joint effort. For larger classes, teachers may need to set up seminars in more of a fishbowl-like arrangement, dividing students into one inner circle that will participate in the discussion, and one outer circle that silently observes, takes notes, and may eventually trade places with those in the inner circle, sometimes all at once, and sometimes by "tapping in" as the urge strikes them.
a.k.a. Affinity Diagramming
Basic Structure: Give students a broad question or problem that is likely to result in lots of different ideas, such as "What were the impacts of the Great Depresssion?" or "What literary works should every person read?" Have students generate responses by writing ideas on post-it notes (one idea per note) and placing them in no particular arrangement on a wall, whiteboard, or chart paper. Once lots of ideas have been generated, have students begin grouping them into similar categories, then label the categories and discuss why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another, and so on.

Variations: Some teachers have students do much of this exercise-recording their ideas and arranging them into categories- without talking at first. In other variations, participants are asked to re-combine the ideas into new, different categories after the first round of organization occurs. Often, this activity serves as a good pre-writing exercise, after which students will write some kind of analysis or position paper.
a.k.a. Speed Dating
Basic Structure: Students form two circles, one inside circle and one outside circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. The teacher poses a question to the whole group and pairs discuss their responses with each other. Then the teacher signals students to rotate: Students on the outside circle move one space to the right so they are standing in front of a new person (or sitting, as they are in the video). Now the teacher poses a new question, and the process is repeated.

Variations: Instead of two circles, students could also form two straight lines facing one another. Instead of "rotating" to switch partners, one line just slides over one spot, and the leftover person on the end comes around to the beginning of the line. Some teachers use this strategy to have students teach one piece of content to their fellow students, making it less of a discussion strategy and more of a peer teaching format. In fact, many of these protocols could be used for peer teaching as well.

Basic Structure: Another great idea from Sarah Brown Wessling, this is a small-group discussion strategy that gives students exposure to more of their peers' ideas and prevents the stagnation that can happen when a group doesn't happen to have the right chemistry. Students are placed into a few groups of 4-6 students each and are given a discussion question to talk about. After sufficient time has passed for the discussion to develop, one or two students from each group rotate to a different group, while the other group members remain where they are. Once in their new group, they will discuss a different, but related question, and they may also share some of the key points from their last group's conversation. For the next rotation, students who have not rotated before may be chosen to move, resulting in groups that are continually evolving.

Basic Structure: Two students sit facing each other in the center of the room; the remaining students sit in a circle around them. The two central students have a conversation based on a pre-determined topic and often using specific skills the class is practicing (such as asking follow-up questions, paraphrasing, or elaborating on another person's point). Students on the outside observe, take notes, or perform some other discussion-related task assigned by the teacher.

Variations: One variation of this strategy allows students in the outer circle to trade places with those in the fishbowl, doing kind of a relay-style discussion, or they may periodically "coach" the fishbowl talkers from the sidelines. Teachers may also opt to have students in the outside circle grade the participants' conversation with a rubric, then give feedback on what they saw in a debriefing afterward, as mentioned in the featured video.

Basic Structure: One student assumes the role of a book character, significant figure in history, or concept (such as a tornado, an animal, or the Titanic). Sitting in front of the rest of the class, the student responds to classmates' questions while staying in character in that role.

Variations: Give more students the opportunity to be in the hot seat while increasing everyone's participation by having students do hot seat discussions in small groups, where one person per group acts as the "character" and three or four others ask them questions. In another variation, several students could form a panel of different characters, taking questions from the class all together and interacting with one another like guests on a TV talk show.
a.k.a. Pyramid Discussion
Basic Structure: Students begin in pairs, responding to a discussion question only with a single partner. After each person has had a chance to share their ideas, the pair joins another pair, creating a group of four. Pairs share their ideas with the pair they just joined. Next, groups of four join together to form groups of eight, and so on, until the whole class is joined up in one large discussion.

Variations: This structure could simply be used to share ideas on a topic, or students could be required to reach consensus every time they join up with a new group.

Whereas the other formats in this list have a distinct shape-specific activities you do with students-the strategies in this section are more like plug-ins, working discussion into other instructional activities and improving the quality and reach of existing conversations.

One of the limitations of discussion is that rich, face-to-face conversations can only happen when all parties are available, so we're limited to the time we have in class. With a tool like Voxer, those limitations disappear. Like a private voice mailbox that you set up with just one person or a group (but SOOOO much easier), Voxer allows users to have conversations at whatever time is most convenient for each participant. So a group of four students can "discuss" a topic from 3pm until bedtime-asynchronously-each member contributing whenever they have a moment, and if the teacher makes herself part of the group, she can listen in, offer feedback, or contribute her own discussion points. Voxer is also invaluable for collaborating on projects and for having one-on-one discussions with students, parents, and your own colleagues. Like many other educators, Peter DeWitt took a while to really understand the potential of Voxer, but in this EdWeek piece, he explains what turned him around.

A backchannel is a conversation that happens right alongside another activity. The first time I saw a backchannel in action was at my first unconference: While those of us in the audience listened to presenters and watched a few short video clips, a separate screen was up beside the main screen, projecting something called TodaysMeet (update: TodaysMeet has shut down. Use YoTeach! instead.) It looked a lot like those chat rooms from back in the day, basically a blank screen where people would contribute a few lines of text, the lines stacking up one after the other, no other bells or whistles. Anyone in the room could participate in this conversation on their phone, laptop, or tablet, asking questions, offering commentary, and sharing links to related resources without ever interrupting the flow of the presentations. This kind of tool allows for a completely silent discussion, one that doesn't have to move at a super-fast pace, and it gives students who may be reluctant to speak up or who process their thoughts more slowly a chance to fully contribute. For a deeper discussion of how this kind of tool can be used, read this thoughtful overview of using backchannel discussions in the classroom by Edutopia's Beth Holland.
a.k.a. Accountable Talk
Talk moves are sentence frames we supply to our students that help them express ideas and interact with one another in respectful, academically appropriate ways. From kindergarten all the way through college, students can benefit from explicit instruction in the skills of summarizing another person's argument before presenting an alternate view, asking clarifying questions, and expressing agreement or partial agreement with the stance of another participant. Talk moves can be incorporated into any of the other discussion formats listed here.

Whole Brain Teaching is a set of teaching and classroom management methods that has grown in popularity over the past 10 years. One of WBT's foundational techniques is Teach-OK, a peer teaching strategy that begins with the teacher spending a few minutes introducing a concept to the class. Next, the teacher says Teach!, the class responds with Okay!, and pairs of students take turns re-teaching the concept to each other. It's a bit like think-pair-share, but it's faster-paced, it focuses more on re-teaching than general sharing, and students are encouraged to use gestures to animate their discussion. Although WBT is most popular in elementary schools, this featured video shows the creator of WBT, Chris Biffle, using it quite successfully with college students. I have also used Teach-OK with college students, and most of my students said they were happy for a change from the sit-and-listen they were used to in college classrooms.

An oldie but a goodie, think-pair-share can be used any time you want to plug interactivity into a lesson: Simply have students think about their response to a question, form a pair with another person, discuss their response, then share it with the larger group. Because I feel this strategy has so many uses and can be way more powerful than we give it credit for, I devoted a whole post to think-pair-share; everything you need to know about it is right there.

TWO MORE YOU'LL LOVE

Since writing this post, I have learned about two more discussion strategies that teachers are finding to be incredibly effective and powerful for getting students to talk, especially about books and other texts:

This protocol has students come up with their own Thoughts, lingering Questions, and Epiphanies from an assigned reading. Teachers who have used this method say it has generated some of the richest conversations they have ever heard from students!

This strategy places students into one-on-one conversations, getting them to learn each others' names better and create a track record of what they talked about. Excellent for classes where you want to assess for discussion and help students get more comfortable with each other.

So what else do you have? I would like to think this is a pretty complete list, but I'm sure more strategies are out there. If you use a discussion strategy that's not mentioned here, please share it below.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this post as a podcast: When I worked with student teachers on developing effective lesson plans, one thing I always asked them to revise was the phrase "We will discuss." We will discuss the video. We will discuss the story. We will discuss our results.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
education creativity teaching learning teachers teacher "design thinking" sketch-note "maker challenges" "maker projects" maker

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I want to make something each day. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both. See, I believe all children are n...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
More people are listening to podcasts than ever before. According to Edison Research, the number of American's who listen to a podcast each week has grown 100% over the past four years, and 67 million American's listen to a podcast every month.

As the audience for podcasts continues to grow, there has never been a better time to start a podcast for your church, business, or a personal hobby. If you follow this guide, you'll be primed to launch your own podcast and take advantage of this exciting new medium.

Podcasts are a great way to build a genuine connection with your audience. Instead of the fractured connection you make through social media, podcasts allow you to engage your audience with unique long-form content. And podcasts are more convenient than blog posts: people can listen to podcasts while driving, working out, or just doing chores around the house.

There is also a lot of unexplored space in podcasting. As of 2018, there are close to 50 million YouTube channels, ¹ 440 million blogs, ² but just over 550,000 podcasts listed in Apple Podcasts. ³ That means for every podcast there are 800 blogs and 90 YouTube channels.

Imagine the incredible opportunity there was to start a blog in 2004 and you'll have an idea of where podcasting is today.

Step 1: Develop your podcast concept

How to pick a title, format, and theme for your podcast

Podcasts are as varied as the people that create them: there are great podcasts about history, pop-culture, neuroscience, and a fictional town where aliens are friends with the Yeti. ⁴ The only limit to what you can do with a podcast is your own imagination.

Before we start tackling questions about podcast name, format, and length, we'll want to consider a couple more fundamental questions. To start, you'll need to ask yourself "Why am I starting a podcast?" and "What is my podcast about?"

Once you've answered the why and what for your podcast, the rest of the concept will fall into place.

Why are you starting a podcast?

The first question to tackle is "why are you starting a podcast?" To phrase it another way, "what's your goal or purpose for the podcast?" To help you get started, here are some common goals in podcasting:

To generate leads for a business

To be recognized as a leader in an industry

To share an important message

To have fun

It's good to write your answer down so you can refer back to it as you develop your podcast concept.

What is your podcast about?

The second question is deciding what your podcast is about. It can be as broad as pop-culture or as focused as discussions about recent Supreme Court rulings. ⁵ The only requirement is that the topic has to be something you're passionate about-something you're excited to research and discuss on a regular basis.

Once you have an idea of what to podcast about, it's a good idea to do some market research. Search Apple Podcasts and see if there are already some podcasts in that space. If there are, listen to a handful of episodes to see what they're doing well and think of ways they could improve.

What's the best format for a podcast?

Some podcasts just have a single host, others are scripted stories, and others feature in-depth interviews. The most important thing to remember is that the format should fit what your podcast is about and be a format you're comfortable with.

Here are a few of the most common podcast formats:

Interview podcasts: These are podcasts with a single host who interviews people in a particular industry. Examples: The Joe Rogan Experience, Fresh Air, and Trained by Nike.

Scripted non-fiction: These shows are mostly serial podcasts that have a single theme for a full season. Examples: Serial, Slow Burn, and Hardcore History.

News recap: A podcast that recaps the news in a specific industry. Examples: The Daily, Kickass News, or Planet Money.

Educational podcasts: These are scripted non-fiction shows that focus on teaching their audience. Examples: Stuff You Should Know, Hidden Brain, and TED radio hour.

Scripted fiction: These podcasts are most similar to radio dramas and are often scripted and highly produced. Examples: Bubble by Maximum Fun, Limetown, and Everything Is Alive.

How do I pick a name for my podcast?

While Shakespeare might have thought "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet", he never had to rank for keywords in Apple Podcasts.

When you're picking a podcast name, you'll want to pick something that's catchy, memorable, and will rank for keywords that are relevant to your podcast. Here's Apple's advice on how to pick a good title for your podcast:

Pay close attention to the title, author, and description tags at the '<channel>' and '<item>' level of your podcast. Apple Podcasts uses title, author, and description fields for search. The metadata for your podcast, along with your podcast artwork, is your product packaging and can affect whether your podcast shows up in relevant searches, and how likely users are to subscribe to it.

Make your title specific. A podcast named Our Community Bulletin is too vague to attract many subscribers, no matter how compelling the content.

From Apple's Podcast Best Practices.

You don't want to stuff your title with keywords, but you want to make it easy for people to find your podcast. So if you have a one or two-word podcast name you should add a really brief description in the title tag. Here are a couple examples:

Akimbo: A Podcast from Seth Godin. Most people searching for this podcast will probably search for Seth Godin. That's why it's important to include his name in the podcast title.

Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats. There probably aren't many people searching for "Syntax" in Apple Podcasts that haven't already heard of this show, but by adding "tasty web development treats" the podcast can show up if somebody searches for "Web Development."

How long should podcast episodes be?

Don't let people tell you there is an optimal length for a podcast episode. Take a look through the top podcasts and you'll find shows like The Daily that are 20 - 30 minutes long, Accidental Tech Podcast that averages about 2 hours per episode, and Hardcore History with episodes that are as long as some audiobooks.

Your podcast should be as long as it needs to be, without being any longer. Be comfortable with cutting out rambling segments, boring questions, and parts that don't add much value to the listener. But if you're producing great content, be confident that people will keep listening.

Step 2: Get some recording equipment and software

Podcasts are awesome because they have such a low barrier to entry. You can start recording a podcast with your iPhone headphones and grow your way into a $20,000 podcast studio. Just remember, your content is the most important part. Nobody listens to a boring podcast just because it has great sound quality.

What's the best podcast equipment?

Picking the best podcasting setup can get confusing, especially if you don't have a background in audio recording. To make it easy, we put together three podcast equipment packages based on the number of people you're recording.

Disclosure: Some of these product links are affiliate links, which means Buzzsprout might receive a small commission if you decide to purchase them.

What's the best podcasting software?

Once you've recorded your podcast, you're going to want to make some edits and adjustments to get the best sound quality possible. The great news is that podcast editing software is surprisingly affordable.

Here are our recommendations:

Audacity - Free - Mac, Windows, & Linux
Audacity is a free and open-source audio editor. It comes with pro-level features so that your podcast software won't hold you back. There are versions for Apple, Windows, and Linux computers. The only downside is that it has a steep learning curve, but there are tons of videos and online tutorials to help.

Check out our Audacity tutorial for podcasters to get started.

GarageBand - Free - Mac & iOS
GarageBand comes pre-installed on most Apple computers. If you don't have it, then you'll be able to download it for free. It's a bit easier to start using GarageBand than Audacity, but unfortunately, it's limited to Apple devices.

Hindenburg - $95 - Mac and Windows
Hindenburg is pro-level audio editing software for radio and podcasts. It isn't as cheap as Audacity, but it offers a lot of built-in podcasting features. We recommend starting with a 30-day trial on the Hindenburg Journalist version.

Read more about picking the right software and equipment for your podcast. And check out this post, for in-depth reviews of podcasting equipment.

Step 3: Record your first episode

When people ask Stephen King how to become a great writer, he always tells them to start by becoming a great reader. In the same vein, you'll become a great podcaster by listening to podcasts. If you don't listen to podcasts already, start by subscribing to a handful and listening to some episodes.

How to write a podcast outline

One of the biggest mistakes new podcasters make is that they tend to ramble. The best way to fight this tendency is to write a podcast outline. You don't have to write our your podcast verbatim, but taking 15 minutes to sketch out an episode with bullet points will lead to a dramatic improvement.

If you're working with a co-host, share the outline with them so you can work on it together. Now you'll be on the same page and prevent your conversation from going down a rabbit hole.

How to pick the best place to record your podcast

While you might really enjoy singing in the shower, recording in small spaces with hard, flat surfaces will almost always mean a more reverberant sounding recording. If possible, you'll want to record in a quiet, large room with plenty of space around you.

If a small space is the only one available, try to find one with fewer reflective surfaces or lots of material that can absorb or diffuse the sound: furniture, carpeting, or even a closet full of clothes can help. This means that for a lot of podcasters, the best place to record is in their walk-in closet.

Selecting the best place to record is more important than picking the right headphones or editing software. The simplest way to deal with audio problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place. If you get a crisp recording to begin with, you'll be much closer to a polished recording. Cleanly recorded audio will make the technical aspects of editing and mixing in the next step much easier.

How to set up a microphone for a podcast

To get your microphone ready to record you'll need to connect it to your computer or audio recording device. For simplicity, we recommend purchasing a USB microphone unless you have experience with audio equipment.

USB Microphones: Plug your microphone directly into a USB port on your computer. Once plugged in, go into the settings of your audio editing software (Audacity, GarageBand, etc.) and make sure that your microphone is highlighted as your audio input. Once you've selected your microphone as your audio input you are ready to record.

XLR Microphone: If you don't have a USB microphone, chances are your microphone has an XLR connection. For an XLR microphone, you can use a USB interface (like the Scarlett Solo) to record directly from your microphone into your computer. Another option is to hook up your XLR microphone to an external audio recording device (like the Zoom H4n) that will save your audio to an SD card.

How to speak into the microphone

We've all heard distracting plosives or "P-Pops" before and cringed at hyper-sibilant "S" sounds. Both of these issues are caused by excessive bursts of air hitting the microphone capsule, which is a symptom of poor mic technique.

If you notice too many plosives or harsh sibilance in your recordings, the simplest solution is to move off-axis from the microphone. Setting your mic up to the side, angled slightly toward your mouth, will prevent bursts of air from hitting the capsule directly and can result in a smoother, more natural tone.

In general, you want to position your mouth 2" - 4" away from the microphone for the cleanest sound, but the optimal distance may vary based on your microphone. Try recording yourself talking at a consistent volume at several different positions. Once you're done, listen to the recording to see which position gave you the best audio quality.

Grab a drink and start recording

So, you've written your outline, picked a place to record, set up your microphone, and practiced your mic technique. It's time to grab a drink and start recording your first episode. Having a glass of water, coffee, or whiskey nearby will do wonders if your voice starts to get dry.

Don't worry about mistakes, stammers, or a little silence. You can make all the necessary edits in the next step.

Step 4: Edit and export your episode

Once everything is recorded, you're on to the editing phase. Let your content goals be your guide here-are you looking for a leaner, faster pace? A shorter runtime? Does it make sense to preserve a conversational dynamic? Is it a narrative format, an interview, a monologue?

Identifying your goals before you start cutting and crossfading will keep your episodes flowing naturally.

Tips to edit your podcast episode

Use crossfades between clips: Every time you cut a clip/region in your DAW, make sure you insert a crossfade to join adjacent clips. Forgetting crossfades can lead to distracting pops or clicks in your published episode.

Pay attention to your breath: Make sure you pay attention to where you are taking breaths between sentences. It can be easy, especially if you're editing at a low volume, to cut breaths in unnatural ways and cause a "hiccup" or double-breath effect.

Trim filler words and false starts: Once you're editing, you'll probably begin to notice just how often "um," "uh," and "like" make appearances, or how often speakers begin a sentence before they have a complete thought to share. It can help trim time (and make everybody sound more eloquent) to simply delete fillers and false starts altogether. Be mindful to preserve inflection, though. If the sentence flow sounds halted or unnatural, it's better to leave it alone.

For a deeper dive into editing, check out our guide on how to record, edit, and mix a great sounding podcast.

How to export a podcast episode

Once you have finished editing your episode you'll want to export and optimize your audio file. You can skip this section if you host your podcast on Buzzsprout since this is all done automatically when you upload a new episode.

What's the best file type and bitrate for a podcast?
Most podcasters export their episodes as mp3s to ensure compatibility with the most podcast apps. You'll want to set the bitrate to 96 kbps mono for spoken word podcasts and 192 kbps stereo for podcasts that feature music.

Do you need ID3 Tags?
There are some small benefits to tagging your audio files with ID3 tags. These tags make sure that your media player has all the correct information about the episode. Right now, most podcast apps will get this information from the RSS Feed, but it might be lost if somebody shares the audio file itself.

The only downside is that tagging your audio file can add time to your podcast workflow without enough of a payoff.

File types, bitrates, and ID3 tags on Buzzsprout
If you host your podcast on Buzzsprout you don't need to stress anything in this section. You can upload any file type and we'll automatically convert it to the correct file type and bitrate.

As you add episode details like a title, description, and images, Buzzsprout will automatically tag your files with the applicable ID3 tags.

Step 5: Upload your episode to your podcast host

Now that you have your final audio file, it's time to get your podcast online. You're going to need to find a reliable place to host your podcast and a way to generate an RSS Feed.

Here are the four main reasons you'll want to find a reliable podcast host:

Bandwidth: It's tempting to use the same server for your website and audio files, but once you start to get traction you'll risk bringing your website down every time you publish a new episode.

RSS feed: You can generate your own RSS feed, but it can become really time-consuming. There are also different tags and fields for directories like Apple Podcasts that you'll have to add in addition to the RSS 2.0 specifications.

Embed players: If you have your own website, you'll want an easy way for people to play your episodes from your web pages. Once they listen to a few minutes, they'll be able to subscribe to your podcast in their favorite podcast app.

Social sharing tools: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have their own unique ways to share audio files on their platforms. You'll want to share your podcast in a way that it can be played from within these platforms so you can grow your audience.

Hosting your podcast with Buzzsprout

Back before we launched Buzzsprout we had a small website building tool designed for churches and non-profits. As podcasts grew in popularity we had lots of clients ask us for help in starting a podcast, so in 2009 we launched Buzzsprout as an easy way to host, promote, and track your podcast.

Here's a bit of what you get with Buzzsprout:

Reliable podcast hosting

Podcasting statistics

Ability to publish to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more

Social sharing tools

Automatic file conversion and ID3 tagging

Customizable embed players

Podcast scheduling

And an awesome support team

You can get all of this on a free Buzzsprout plan, so you don't have to commit to anything to start podcasting.
Start a Podcast for Free
Step 6: Get listed in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

Now that you've hosted your podcast and generated your RSS Feed, you'll want to get your podcast out into the world. If you want to get in front of podcast listeners then you need to get listed in the largest podcast directories: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

It's a common misconception that Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes) hosts your files, but they are actually a podcast directory. The best way to explain it is to think about an address book. An address book lets you know where people live. If you don't have somebody's contact information in your address book, then it's going to be hard to find out where they live.

Listing your podcast in these directories will ensure that people can find your podcast when they search for it. Getting into these directories is the most important step in marketing your podcast.

Here are step-by-step guides to getting listed in the most important podcast directories:

You might have heard people recommend getting listed in Stitcher, iHeart Radio, or other podcast directories. These aren't as important as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify, but they can provide another location for your podcast to get discovered.

Check out our list of podcast directories to find other places that would be good to list your podcast.

Step 7: Never stop improving your podcast

If you've made it this far you have officially made your own podcast. Thousands of people think about launching a podcast every month, but very few people actually follow through with it.

But don't slow down now! The most important piece is to keep learning and improving your podcast as you launch each new episode. Here are a few resources to help you continue to grow as a podcaster:

Learn more about podcasting with these guides

These in-depth articles will help you tackle some of the more difficult issues in podcasting like building your website, recording long-distance interviews, and creating your podcast artwork.

Join a podcast community group

There are lots of great podcast community groups where you can meet and interact with tons of experienced podcasters. Getting connected to one of these groups is a great way to ask questions, get recommendations, and stay up to date with changes in podcasting.

Buzzsprout Podcast Community Group on Facebook. This is a group where podcasters can ask questions, share podcasting best practices, and bounce ideas off each other. We'd love for you to be part of this vibrant community.

Podcast Movement Group on Facebook. This group was started by the co-founders of Podcast Movement. It's a great place to ask questions and learn more about podcasting.

/r/podcasting on Reddit. If you're more comfortable on Reddit than Facebook, check out the podcasting subreddit. It's full of useful guides, ideas, and discussion.

Connect with your podcast listeners

It's great to get feedback on your podcast from your listeners. They'll give you great ideas for new episodes, ways to improve your show, and most importantly: encouragement. Here are two in-depth articles on how to get feedback from your audience and how to turn your listeners into raving fans.

Subscribe to a few podcasts about podcasting

There are a lot of good podcasts about podcasting. Listening to these podcasts is a good way to keep up with industry news and get advice from people who are experts in the field. Here are a few of our favorites:

If you want to find one that is more tailored to you, Harry Duran of Podcast Junkies put together an awesome list of all the podcasts about podcasting.

Are you ready to start your podcast?

Podcasting is a growing medium that makes it easy to reach your audience. While it's growing super quickly, there is still a ton of opportunity to launch a podcast before the market becomes too competitive.

We went through each step of making a podcast, from developing your podcast concept, to recording your first episode, to steps to continue improving once you launch your show. So what are you waiting for?

It's time for your voice to be heard!
Create your podcast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More people are listening to podcasts than ever before. According to Edison Research, the number of American's who listen to a podcast each week has grown 100% over the past four years, and 67 million American's listen to a podcast every month.

# data[].attributes.body
As a middle school educator of 23 years; 14 of which have been as a middle school principal, the biggest issue that I have seen in my time has always been student engagement/motivation. Technology has surpassed our educational system time and time again, yet teachers continue with the same lesson plans, same activities and the same processes. I see students who are "compliant" on a daily basis but very rarely do I see what I would consider true engagement. In all honesty, do we really know what engages students in the 21st century and if so, what are we doing about it? Are we learning the online platforms that students continuously play or are we still giving paper and pencil only options that provide no creativity or passion in the learning process?
We must find a better way! Research over the past decade shows us that students who have choices in the tools in which they demonstrate they learning, produce higher levels of student engagement and achievement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Students Need to Learn Design Thinking

# data[].attributes.body
Teacher PL on Student Engagement #1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Intro PL: Just Ask Us: Students speak out on student engagement 9 19 19

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you want to see me plan a GREAT lesson, don't come find me on a Sunday afternoon when I've deliberately set aside a chunk of time for some hardcore planning. I'll be priming my brain with coffee, staring at my blank page of plans, and sitting so close to (but not actually opening) a stack of teacher books that they just might give me some plans via some weird form of osmosis...but I won't be producing the creative, original ideas that every teacher craves.

Nope. Those bad boys have a mind of their own.

Instead, these ideas happen late at night, as I'm laying in bed, calculating the hours of sleep I'll get (and consequently planning my next day's nap), when I'm driving to the school in the morning, thinking of how "eh" my current plan sounds, halfway through the school day when I've already taught the lesson to half my classes and realize how lame it actually is, or sometimes even a whole unit later, when I get random inspiration and mentally file an amorphous idea in the "maybe next year" corner of my brain...the list goes on.

These spontaneous "ah-ha" moments have actually encouraged me to sometimes procrastinate purposely wait until the last minute to plan in an attempt to coax the creative genius out of its hiding spot. I'll have one of those "eh" plans as a placeholder to alleviate the natural stress of truly not knowing what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks you're going to do with over 100 children the next day. But then I'll just sit back, relax, and play the waiting game.

(Disclaimer: I am not necessarily advocating this method. It's certainly not for everyone, but it weirdly works for me.)

Such was the case on Thursday night. I stayed after school to get organized and start planning for next week, even though I didn't absolutely love my plans for the next day. I was actually gathering my things to leave for the night when I glanced up at my hot mess of desks, which had been mysteriously rearranged over Fall Break. (I had been too lazy to put them back in their original formation, and this week had been a free-for-all, with the kids sitting wherever they wanted). A few of the desks were in pairs, facing each other. Earlier during the day, I had remarked to the students in those face-off style desks that it looked like they were speed dating. It had been a simple joke that made them laugh and fake flirt for a few seconds, but now, the idea was rooting itself in my mind as a potential lesson plan.

Trying to capitalize on this still-abstract idea, I quickly rearranged all of my desks in pairs facing each other. I had no concrete plan, but once my desks were rearranged, I had no choice but to sit down and actually map this madness out. I had taken the time to rearrange my entire room, so I couldn't chicken out now. All I really had was "speed dating" and a new seating arrangement.

Luckily, all it took was a pun (typical me) to set the idea in motion: I even began to "decorate" each pair of desks with some cute Target Dollar spot tins I had around my classroom. Then, in standard s peed debating. After all, we were learning about rhetorical appeals and devices and would soon be starting research for our formal debates. I figured that my kids could "speed debate" with each other while using ethos, pathos, logos, and all of the rhetorical devices we had just reviewed. I whipped up over 20 different topics, some silly and some serious, and made them into little placards that could stand on each pair of desks. I created a student worksheet that required tracking of the appeals and devices, and then I worked out the logistics of the timing and rotations for the mini-debates. Then, I made a "Welcome to Speed Debating" sign that I could display on my projector as my students walked in. If You Give a Mouse A Cookie fashion, I realized I needed to go to Target. (Stay tuned for If You Give a Teacher a Reason to go to Target in 2017). I needed approximately 3 more tins and something to put inside the tins, of course. I settled on candy for the tins. Although I've never done speed dating, I imagine there are refreshments, because food makes everything, including awkward dates, better, right? (Can someone quote me on this?) If nothing else, the candy would be some good old-fashioned bribery. I was indeed a little worried about my quiet students who dislike talking to others, and my reluctant students, whose negative attitudes might not mesh with my interactive plan.

As it turned out, I didn't even need to bribe my students. As soon as I began the timer for the first round of speed debates, I knew this random late-night lesson plan was "the one." The lesson of my dreams. My little golden nugget. My new prized possession. It was the best of the best, the kind of lesson that makes you want to stand on a mountaintop and shout to your administrators, "COME OBSERVE ME, NOW!"

I am not exaggerating when I say that was engaged. It was one of those days when all I had to do was circulate throughout the room and "watch the magic happen." As I walked around listening in on the debates, this is what I saw: the "quiet" kids coming out of their shells, animatedly speaking to their partners in ways that I had never witnessed before, the "reluctant" students smiling and laughing, a clear violation of their typical "too cool for school" motto, the "talkers," gesticulating wildly as they passionately argued their topics, and everyone in between, more engaged than I ever thought possible. (Check out this video on my Instagram if you don't believe me: EVERY SINGLE STUDENT The Magic Happening!)

TRICKED YA! MADE YA LEARN! I thought to myself while sporting the maniacal teacher grin that naturally comes with making kids have so much fun that they forget they're actually learning. (This is what we LIVE for, am I right?!)

It was so fun, in fact, that I am now unsure of how I can ever top that lesson. Was that my peak as a teacher? The climax of the semester? Is it all downhill from here? What happens next? How will I return to normalcy after the thrill of speed debating? I feel like a kid on December 26th: You mean I have to wait a whole YEAR for the magic to happen again?

I'll be over here grappling with the post-perfect-lesson blues, but if you want to experience the same kind of exhilarating lesson, you can check out my complete resource here: Speed Debating: Engaging Activity to Practice Debate, Ethos, Pathos, & Logos. While you're at it, you may want to check out what I call my second-best lesson, too: Rhetorical Devices in Songs: Engaging & Kinesthetic "Question Trail" Activity (It fits perfectly with Speed Debating and will also get EVERYONE up and moving and having fun).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Speed Debating in the ELA Classroom - Write on With Miss G

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you want to see me plan a GREAT lesson, don't come find me on a Sunday afternoon when I've deliberately set aside a chunk of time for some hardcore planning. I'll be priming my...