Training digital volunteers to create podcasts
This is a ‘how to recruit, manage and support volunteers’ guide produced as part of the Digital Skills for Heritage’s Digital Volunteering programme.
1. Project background
The Glasgow Women’s Library’s (GWL) wider digital volunteer project focuses on making the collections within our care more accessible and more visible. This includes papers and records of organisations and individuals that represent the achievements and activities connected to women and women’s issues.
It is important to promote this heritage because it has been historically overlooked or dismissed and is therefore at risk of being lost.
This guide focuses on the recording of a podcast series about GWL’s 30 year history and the materials which relate to this history. Promoting, capturing and sharing our heritage is important because of the unique nature of our organisation, the imperative need to record and preserve institutional knowledge from organisational “elders”, and the value of sharing this with other grassroots cultural organisations.
2. Recruitment
We aimed to recruit digital volunteers that were young women between the ages of 16-24, and those who may be digitally skilled but have no or limited experience of our organisation and the heritage sector more widely.
The five digital volunteers engaged were representative of these groups. There was a varied age range, two of the five were within the age range targeted, and two of the five were volunteers who had a more in depth knowledge of our organisation and the heritage sector.
Although all volunteers were digitally skilled generally, none had previous experience of podcasting specifically. All were either already volunteering with GWL in other roles or had applied to volunteer with GWL but not for this specific role (we receive a lot of general enquiries to volunteer, and then match applicants to a role depending on their interests and skills).
We put a call out within our volunteer team to our existing volunteers (a pool of around 60 individuals) promoting this new role. We also engaged in outreach work to organisations working with those in our targeted groups – specifically women between the ages of 16-24. However this did not yield any results.
3. Volunteer support
All support was provided in person, unless otherwise specified:
- Monthly in-person group activity for the volunteer cohort – such as planning and training sessions.
- Weekly independent peer-learning sessions to develop skills (we communicated dates and times, and provided space and laptops, but then encouraged the volunteers to practise editing together).
- Ongoing email and face-to-face support, with one-to-one check-ins with a staff member when required.
- Engagement with the project was largely successful due to the sense of ownership exhibited by the cohort, and their ability to shape the project and its output(s).
We provided volunteers with training on audio recording and editing, which was developed and delivered in-house by our Production Coordinator, and included:
- Production planning to shape the format of the podcast.
- Audio recording kit and editing software
- Peer learning and practice through weekly drop in sessions.
- Transcribing and uploading content via WordPress
We had three sessions for volunteers and staff to develop and plan the podcast. We agreed overarching themes and length of the podcasts while deliberately leaving scope for volunteers to shape the podcasts. We provided volunteers audio recording equipment and editing software, as well as offering peer learning and practice through weekly drop-in sessions. Staff connected volunteers with those to be interviewed, provided feedback on questions being asked, attended the recording, and were on hand to help with technical and logistical queries throughout.
4. Digital technology and tools
Types of technology podcast volunteers used:
- Recorded audio using Zoom recorders, Audio Technica headphones, and SD cards
- Edited audio files using Openshot Video Editor and Audacity Audio Editor (both open source) website and a laptop
- Transcribed audio files using Otter.ai
- Shared audio files online using Youtube and WordPress
- Communicated with the project team using email
Cost of each digital tool, service or approach
- Zoom recorders: £250 each
- Audio technica headphones: £60-£100
- SD cards (64GB): £12 each
- Laptop: £600 each
5. Project stages
1. Staff planning
Agreed overarching themes and length of the podcasts while deliberately leaving scope for volunteers to shape the podcasts.
2. Recruiting volunteers
Call out to existing volunteers (a pool of around 60 individuals), and new volunteers to be recruited.
3. Training
Delivered to volunteers by staff with relevant knowledge and skills.
- Podcast production planning to shape the format of the podcast.
- Audio recording kit and editing software
- Peer learning and practice through weekly drop in sessions.
- Transcribing and uploading content via WordPress
4. Volunteer management
Volunteering programme staff communicated meetings and training sessions, organised additional training, had 1-1 catch up meetings if needed, and liaised with other staff members.
5. Ongoing planning
Three sessions for volunteers and staff to develop ideas and plan the podcast
6. Recording and editing
Staff connected volunteers with those to be interviewed, provided feedback on questions being asked, attended the recording, and were on hand to help with technical and logistical queries throughout
7. Evaluation
Verbal and written feedback from volunteers to ascertain their level of engagement with and knowledge of the organisation’s heritage, and skills developed.
6. Key learnings
Ongoing training cycles
Re-running training throughout the project has allowed more volunteers to get involved and for the team of volunteers to benefit from a growing range of skills and interests — for example, interviewing, audio editing, etc.
Share ownership, be transparent about your lack of experience
The project was designed to ensure that staff and volunteers co-created the podcasts. Staff were open about their limited experience and invited volunteers to learn with us. Volunteers were given some parameters but still lots of freedom to design the format of the podcast.
Utilise the collective skills of your volunteers
We found that some volunteers had transferable skills and relevant interests that helped to support the project: some had done audio editing before, others were avid podcast listeners, others loved asking questions. No one had the full package of skills needed to record a podcast, but as a team there were lots of complementary skills.
7. Key challenges
Don’t be over ambitious
Allowing volunteers to shape the project resulted in less outputs than we had planned for, as it took longer for them to learn as they went along. However we feel that this was a more meaningful experience for those involved.
Challenges of recruiting younger volunteers
We hoped to recruit younger volunteers by reaching out to them via two organisations working with young people but this didn’t succeed. One reason might be the lack of other activities aimed at young women within our organisation, so that young women don’t see GWL as an organisation that is for them.
Don’t expect volunteers to be able to commit to the whole project
Be prepared for ongoing recruitment, running training again, and finding ways to fold new volunteers in throughout the project.
8. Useful links
The podcast series has not yet been uploaded to GWL’s website.
Except where noted and excluding company and organisation logos this work is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) Licence
Please attribute as: "Training digital volunteers to create podcasts (2023) by Glasgow Women’s Library supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, licensed under CC BY 4.0
