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Podcasting/Use of RSS/Use of iTunes

What is a Podcast?

A podcast is a free video or audio episode — like a TV or radio show — that you and/or others upload and you download to play on your computer or mobile device.

Podcasting from OurTube to any capable RSS reader

You can use any RSS feed link on the site e.g. for standard RSS Readers.

You can also paste the link/web address/URL on the RSS pages into a VLE such as Moodle's RSS Module.

Click on the RSS button in a page to open the feed and copy the link. These standard RSS links will not work in iTunes.

Note that only the media items which are AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD are available to iTunes.

Podcasting from OurTube into iTunes

You should use the information below to add to iTunes and/or use the iTunes button on the site to add to iTunes e.g.

Note that Access Code protected items do NOT appear in RSS and iTunes feeds.

How to add the last 20 items to iTunes

The last 20 items uploaded are already in the iTunes store.

Either, (a) open your local copy of iTunes, go to the iTunes store and search for OurTube. Subscribe to the free podcast or (b) click here to open iTunes on your computer and locate the 'last 20 items uploaded' podcast channel automatically (opens in a new window). Searching for OurTube on iTunes may list additional channels.

Or, follow the instructions below.

1. Copy the link from the box below - you will need to paste this into your local copy of iTunes next.

2. Open iTunes >> go to Advanced >> Subscribe to Podcast >> paste the link of the podcast channel you have just copied into the box.

3. Click OK.

4. If necessary, go to 'Podcasts'.

5. Double click 'OurTube - Last 20 items added'

6. Use the GET button to download the podcast episodes you wish to view from OurTube into iTunes.

7. In iTunes Podcasts ensure that you are 'subscribed' to the podcast

8. In 'Podcast settings' ensure that you have either the default settings selected (i.e download the most recent episode) or choose to download all new episodes when available. You can also choose to update hourly, daily or weekly.

9. That's it! When you synchronise your iPOD, new podcast items will be downloaded to your iPOD.

This iTunes Podcast is for your use - to share see 'Sharing your Podcasts on iTunes store with colleagues, tutors and learners' below.

Also see Tips for Podcast Fans on the Apple website. Opens in a new window.

For normal RSS feeds

• use the RSS button on the page listing 'All Media'

and copy the web address/link/url starting http:// into a website or an RSS module in your virtual learning environment

How to add the last 20 items from your college/organisation into to iTunes

1. From the 'All Media' page click on your college/organisation link in the middle column on the page

2. A page will now list the media uploaded by your college/organisation with an link. Click on the iTUNES link to open a page in a new window.

3. At the top of this page in the web address area copy the entire web address/url/link starting http://

4. Open iTunes >> go to Advanced >> Subscribe to Podcast >> paste the link of the podcast channel you have just copied, into the box.

5. Click OK.

6. If necessary, go to 'Podcasts'.

7. Double click 'OurTube - Last 20 items added ....'

8. Use the GET button to download the podcast episodes you wish to view from OurTube into iTunes.

9. In iTunes Podcasts ensure that you are 'subscribed' to the podcast

10. In 'Podcast settings' ensure that you have either the default settings selected (i.e download the most recent episode) or choose to download all new episodes when available. You can also choose to update hourly, daily or weekly.

11. That's it! When you synchronise your iPOD, new podcast items will be downloaded to your iPOD.

This iTunes Podcast is for your use - to share see 'Sharing your Podcasts on iTunes store with colleagues, tutors and learners' below.

Also see Tips for Podcast Fans on the Apple website. Opens in a new window.

For normal RSS feeds

• use the RSS button on the page listing the media uploaded by your college/organisation

and copy the web address/link/url starting http:// into a website or an RSS module in your virtual learning environment

How to add the last 20 items in a particular curriculum category to iTunes

1. From the 'All Media' page click on a category in the right-hand column on the page

2. A page will now list the media relevant to the selected category with an link. Click on the iTUNES link to open a page in a new window.

3. At the top of this page in the web address area copy the entire web address/url/link starting http://

4. Open iTunes >> go to Advanced >> Subscribe to Podcast >> paste the link of the podcast channel you have just copied, into the box.

5. Click OK.

6. If necessary, go to 'Podcasts'.

7. Double click 'OurTube - Last 20 items added ....'

8. Use the GET button to download the podcast episodes you wish to view from OurTube into iTunes.

9. In iTunes Podcasts ensure that you are 'subscribed' to the podcast

10. In 'Podcast settings' ensure that you have either the default settings selected (i.e download the most recent episode) or choose to download all new episodes when available. You can also choose to update hourly, daily or weekly.

11. That's it! When you synchronise your iPOD, new podcast items will be downloaded to your iPOD.

This iTunes Podcast is for your use - to share see 'Sharing your Podcasts on iTunes store with colleagues, tutors and learners' below.

Also see Tips for Podcast Fans on the Apple website. Opens in a new window.

For normal RSS feeds

• use the RSS button on the page listing the media uploaded to a particular curriculum category
• use the search box to search for media (e.g. hairdressing)

and copy the web address/link/url starting http:// into a website or an RSS module in your virtual learning environment

How to add the last 20 MoLeNET related items into iTunes

1. Click on MoLeNET Media in the navigation bar.

2. A page will now list the media relevant to MoLeNET with an link. Click on the iTUNES link to open a page in a new window.

3. At the top of this page in the web address area copy the entire web address/url/link starting http://

4. Open iTunes >> go to Advanced >> Subscribe to Podcast >> paste the link of the podcast channel you have just copied, into the box.

5. Click OK.

6. If necessary, go to 'Podcasts'.

7. Double click 'OurTube - MoLeNET Media ....'

8. Use the GET button to download the podcast episodes you wish to view from OurTube into iTunes.

9. In iTunes Podcasts ensure that you are 'subscribed' to the podcast

10. In 'Podcast settings' ensure that you have either the default settings selected (i.e download the most recent episode) or choose to download all new episodes when available. You can also choose to update hourly, daily or weekly.

11. That's it! When you synchronise your iPOD, new podcast items will be downloaded to your iPOD.

This iTunes Podcast is for your use - to share see 'Sharing your Podcasts on iTunes store with colleagues, tutors and learners' below.

Also see Tips for Podcast Fans on the Apple website. Opens in a new window.

For normal RSS feeds

• use the RSS button on the page listing the media uploaded under MoLeNET by searching for MoLeNET

and copy the web address/link/url starting http:// into a website or an RSS module in your virtual learning environment

How to devise your own podcast channels on OurTube to use in iTunes

Creating a Podcast Channel

When you are logged in to OurTube podcasts can be added to your 'My Podcasts' page by clicking on a media item to play.

At the bottom of the ‘player’ page is a ‘Podcasts Module’ to which you can add specific items for your own personal playlist.

1. You can add the item you have viewed to a new podcast channel (also known as a feed or web feed) or to an existing channel. Click Go.

2. When you add a 'new podcast channel' you will be asked to supply a title, a subtitle (optional) and a description. Make your title specific. A podcast entitled "My Podcast Channel " is too vague. If you are sharing your channel it will attract no subscribers, no matter how compelling the content.

The item you viewed will have been added to this channel.

3. If necessary, go to 'Me' >> 'My Podcasts' from the top navigation bar. The number of items in your channel will be available as will the link/url/address which you can copy and paste.

The 'Me' tab (which leads to 'My Podcasts') is available when you are logged into the site.

4. You can share your podcasts by

• publishing the link/url/web address on a web page
• sending an email containing the link
• pasting the link in your VLE using a RSS module such as the one in Moodle
• adding this podcast using the link supplied to an RSS News Reader.
• If you have a MyYahoo or MyMSN account, you can easily add any podcast channel to that account. The podcast channel will simply appear as a new module, and each new "post" will appear as a new "headline" on your personalized page.
• using iTunes - for your own use, or to share, see below for more information about using iTunes for podcasting.

Adding a podcast channel to iTunes

One effective way of making full use of the media in your podcast channel(s) is to use iTunes.

1. Next to the RSS/iTunes buttons in 'My Podcasts' copy the web link/URL/address provided - you will need to paste this in iTunes shortly (alternatively, you can click on the iTunes button to open the feed and copy the web address from that page).

2. In iTunes go to Advanced >> Subscribe to Podcast >> paste the link/URL/address of your podcast channel in the 'My Podcasts Module' page into the box.

3. Click OK.

4. If necessary, go to 'Podcasts'.

5. Double click the name of the Podcast Channel you added to open it.

6. If necessary, use the GET button to download the podcast episodes you wish to view from OurTube into iTunes.

7. In iTunes Podcasts ensure that you are 'subscribed' to the podcast

8. In 'Podcast settings' ensure that you have either the default settings selected (i.e download the most recent episode) or choose to download all new episodes when available. You can also choose to update hourly, daily or weekly.

9. That's it! When you synchronise your iPOD, new podcast items will be downloaded to your iPOD.

This iTunes Podcast is for your use - to share see 'Sharing your Podcasts on iTunes store with colleagues, tutors and learners' below.

Also see Tips for Podcast Fans on the Apple website. Opens in a new window.

Sharing your Podcasts on iTunes store with colleagues, tutors and learners

It is possible to upload your podcast channels to the iTune store however they must meet certain criteria, such as (a) be regularly updated (b) contain non-copyright material (which all media on OurTube should be).

1. First, try to determine that the particularly Podcast Channel you want to add has not already been added.

2. Open up iTunes and the iTunes Store, and click on Podcasts.

3. In the middle of the screen, amongst the other podcasts, is a button called "Submit a Podcast. This takes you to a screen where it will request the URL for the podcast RSS feed that you would like to consider adding to the iTunes Store.

4. A second screen might appear, asking you for additional information such as language, category, and whether the podcast requires explicit tags.

That's it! The final step involves getting the iTunes staff approval. If approved, you should be able to find it via Search or Browse, and later, you can add more episodes by adding them to your channel through OurTube. It may take up to five days for your podcast channel to appear in iTunes store. Podcast Channels may disappear from the iTunes store if they are not auto-updated regularly (i.e. content added by uploaders to the relevant channel on OurTube).

iPOD Touch and iPhone3G

OurTube (and iTunes) can also be viewed on the iPOD Touch and iPHONE 3G by going to ourtube.ccm.ac.uk/mobile/ipod. Wireless connection required. This version of OurTube will not work in computer web browsers.