Questions to Keep in Mind

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As you look at existing materials, here are some questions to keep in mind:

  1. What aspects of campus life are typically portrayed? Athletics? Academics? Team projects? Social life?
  2. Which images and descriptions seem realistic? Which do not?
  3. What do the designers of these podcasts and videos think will really attract students to their schools?
  4. Can you think of anything these designers have overlooked? Are there aspects of your own experiences with campus life that you think would be useful to have as part of a podcast? Or are you going to stick with the types of things these promotional materials typically cover?

After you’ve brainstormed some ideas for topics, come up with five to seven specific things to cover in the podcast (in other words, a very brief outline). Review your outline and ask yourself the following questions.

  1. What is the specific theme or topic of your podcast? (“Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Student”? “Highlights of Campus Life”? “Interviews with Students about Why They Like It Here”?)
  2. Who will be talking during each segment? The same person? Multiple people?
  3. What details will your script need to include? Are there names, places, or dates that you need to be sure are correct in the podcast?
  4. Will there be any background music or sound effects? If so, will you create them yourself, or will you find them someplace else? If someone else has created them, do you have permission to use copyrighted material in your podcast? (The school is very sensitive to intellectual property lawsuits.)
  5. Will any additional sound (effects, background music) be live, or will you be able to add it in later with editing software?

Based on your answers, write a script for the podcast covering the points from your outline.