The pod squad

Eighteen months ago, primary school teacher and ICT coordinator Mark Warner stumbled upon some broadcasting software while surfing the net. The next morning, he demonstrated it to his Year 6 class at Downs Park School in Kent, and the school's internet radio station — Downs FM — was born. "It was recorded in advance and played on Friday afternoons," says Mark.

Downs FM is broadcast much like any other school radio station, from a classroom by a handful of dedicated pupils — the difference being you hear the 15-minute show via the internet, not the radio. In September 2006, it became a podcast, meaning the programme is recorded and uploaded onto the internet for people to download and listen to whenever they want, on a PC or on a portable device, such as an iPod.

"Downs FM has helped pupils develop life skills — working together, sharing and communicating," says headteacher Catherine Karunaratna. "The older children interact with the younger ones, which means they're more aware of the younger kids and their needs. It's certainly helped them think more about the content of the show."

Primary podcasters conduct lots of interviews which develop question forming and listening skills, while presenting makes them focus on public speaking. And the children are learning just as much from the software side. "I can use all sorts of different computer programmes to do with recording, editing, making jingles and loads more," says Hannah, 11, aka DJ Fabulous.

Mark and the Downs FM DJs use podcast-creating software GarageBand (free with Macs) and Dreamweaver to upload it onto the school's website. The children use an iPod with a microphone adapter to record interviews around the school. Adapters cost about £20 and iPods start from £100. Educational discounts on Apple products are available, but podcasts can also be created with regular PCs and recording equipment, and other software is available such as Microsoft Audacity. (Microsoft also offers educational discounts.)

Listeners to Downs FM download the latest instalment from the school's website. The show has fans as far away as Australia; but it's also inspiring others closer to home. "We get lots of emails from schools saying, 'We want to start one. Can you help us out?'" says Mark. Anyone can podcast: you don't need a licence, but be sure to use only 'podsafe' (non-copyrighted) music, advises Mark.

At Downs Park School, they've held an X Factor-style event to unearth musical talent for the show. "We held D Factor, with children singing covers of their favourite songs and the teachers playing the Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne roles. We asked listeners to visit our site and vote for their favourites.

"More and more schools want to get involved in this kind of thing," says Mark. "We were there in the early days, and I'm very proud of what's happened. We've had loads of success."

Podcasting: getting started

• Listen to other podcasts to find out what it's all about. Discover what's possible
• For children without internet access, copy some child-friendly podcasts onto a CD and let them listen at home
• Your podcast can start as a basic sound file you've uploaded to the web for others to listen. Get more advanced as your confidence grows
• For more info see www.downsfm.com

Words: Catherine Jones Illustrations: Jenny Bowers

For more information

Downs FM podcast — www.downsfm.com (also available to download for free on iTunes)

Audacity — http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Apple — www.apple.com/uk/education

This content was published in November 2006 and may not reflect current policy