Anchor (now Spotify for Podcasters)

ConnectivismSocial ConstructivismPodcastAudio Editing

Anchor is an online podcast creation tool owned by Spotify. Podcasts are like radio shows that are hosted on the Internet – they are audio-only programs with one or more hosts presenting topical discussions, open speculative conversation, comedy, or stories. Podcasts deliver educational content informally through storytelling or conversations or formally through evidence-based presentations of information. You can find podcasts in digital repositories, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, podcast hosting sites, like Anchor and Synth, or on personal websites.

Anchor lets anyone create, edit, and host a podcast for free using a mobile app or through their website. Anchor provides creators with unlimited free hosting service and includes an option to move their podcasting service from other service providers (e.g., Podbean, SoundCloud) for free. Anchor makes it easy to set up a podcast station for listeners to subscribe to for notifications about new episodes. As an educator, you could create a class podcast station or have your students collaboratively design a podcast series.

(Anchor.fm) “Completely demystifies the podcasting process.
Common Sense for Education

A special feature of Anchor is the “leave a message” feature, which allows podcast listeners to post messages for the podcast host by tapping on the “leave a message” button on any podcast episode. Students could use this feature to listen to a preview of your class lecture and communicate their questions to you before class. Anchor also allows podcast creators to invite up to 5 users to collaboratively record a podcast. This functions as a group call with the host as the moderator.

Spotify for podcasters homepage: Creation at your fingertips All the tools you need to host, create, edit, and distribute your podcast like a professional—all for free. Whether you’re starting your first podcast or your fifth season, you can find what you need to make your best episode here.

Tool Snapshot

Price Free
Learning Social Constructivism, Connectivism
Ease of Use ★★★★✩
Privacy ★★✩✩✩
Accessibility ★✩✩✩✩
Class Size Not Applicable
Login Yes for podcast creators; No for podcast listeners
ISTE*S Empowered Learner, Creative Communicator, Global Collaborator, Knowledge Constructor
COPPA/
FERPA
No COPPA/FERPA policy was found. Check with your school IT administrator.
GDPR Yes

Accessibility

In a personal email (March 23, 2020), Michi of Anchor Support states: “We deeply care about the use of our app and make sure it is accessible to everyone. Rest assured that we’ll do everything we can to become better. In full transparency, it might take some time to make some of the improvements that you mention but it is on our roadmap, and I’ll continue to advocate for these fixes as best I can for you personally.”

Ease of Use

The user can quickly learn how to use the tool with relative ease. Minimal instruction is needed for learning how to use the tool. There are tutorials and detailed FAQ information available if the user runs into an issue with the tool.

Privacy

The user has to share some personally identifiable information (e.g., email address, name, location). The privacy policy clearly states how the information is used or shared.

Anchor.fm Overview Video

Watch on YouTube

Video Transcription

Anchor.fm & the SAMR Model

Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool. Here is an example of how Anchor.fm might fit within the SAMR model:

Learning Activities

Math

Science

Language Development

Music

Other

Man using a computer with a microphone

Resources

How to Use Anchor.fm

  1. Go to www.anchor.fm.
  2. Click “Sign Up” and register for an account.
  3. Return to Anchor and log in and click on “Let’s do it.
    Animated GIF of starting Anchor.fm and clicking on Let's do it
  4. Click on the orange panel record button at the top to start recording your podcast right on your computer.
  5. Click “Allow” on any microphone usage prompts from your browser. The “Allow” button may look different from this gif shown depending on the browser you are using.
    Animated GIF clicking on allowing a microphone on a web browser
  6. Click on “Start recording” to record your podcast. Stop the recording at any point by clicking the “Stop Recording” button.
    Animated GIF of recording
  7. Click on the round + icon on the right of the recording to add it to the episode. The recording will appear in the episode section on the right.
    Animated GIF of adding to the episode
  8. To add transition sound effects, click on the “Transitions” button in the lower-left corner with the arrow icon.
  9. Choose and play a sample sound transition.
  10. If you would like to add it to your podcast episode, click the plus icon on the right of the sound sample. The transition sound effect will appear in the episode.
    Animated GIF, playing a song and adding it to an episode
  11. To change the order of your transitions or podcasts, click on one of your selections, drag it to the new position, then
  12. release it.
    Animated GIF of dragging and dropping audio
  13. To save your episode click “Save episode” on the upper right of your screen.
  14. Congratulations! You have just finished your first podcast and now you are ready to publish it on the Internet!
  15. Publish your episode by clicking on “Dashboard” in the top left corner. Then click on “Go to podcast setup” in the center of the screen.
  16. You will be asked to create a podcast profile and to select a podcast photo (you can upload an image). You can also ask the system to choose an image for you. You can then update your cover art.
  17. Now, share out your podcast! Learn more from  Sharing Your Podcast and Growing Your Audience. Once you publish your podcast, you will be notified when it is available and searchable
    online.
    Picture of the sharing options

Research

Evans, C. (2008). The effectiveness of m-learning in the form of podcast revision lectures in higher education. Computers & education, 50(2), 491-498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.09.016

Hasan, M. (2013). Podcast applications in language learning: A review of recent studies. English Language Teaching, 6(2), 128-135.

Kay, R. H. (2012). Exploring the use of video podcasts in education: A comprehensive review of the literature. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(3), 820-831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.01.011.

Tam, C.O. (2012). The effectiveness of educational podcasts for teaching music and visual arts in higher education. Research in Learning Technology, 20. https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v20i0.14919

Authors

Page created by Constance M. Cook and Sai Satish Gattupalli.

This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/onlinetools/anchor.