RØDE Partners With Whooshkaa To Deliver Podcasts To Schools Going Online Due To COVID-19

Following last week’s announcement that RØDE is donating up to $2 million worth of podcasting equipment to help NSW schools impacted by COVID-19, we have today announced a partnership with podcast hosting platform Whooshkaa to help deliver course material to students forced to study from home.

On Friday, we unveiled an initiative giving all public high schools in NSW access to a free RØDE podcasting kit, which includes a RØDECaster Pro Podcast Production Studio, microphones and accessories, to be used to record course material remotely in the event that students are quarantined for an extended period of time.

“We’ve had a phenomenal response to the initiative,” says RØDE Founder and Chairman Peter Freedman AM. “So far, hundreds of schools have applied to receive a podcasting kit and we are busy packing them to be shipped off later this week.”

Schools will also be provided with an information pack on how to record and edit their podcasts on the RØDECaster Pro, plus a free subscription to Whooshkaa’s new ‘private podcast’ platform to distribute the content to students.

Whooshkaa is a world-leading podcast hosting service. This breakthrough technology, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will allow schools and other institutions to deliver podcasts privately to select groups of recipients.

Whooshkaa Founder and CEO Robert Loewenthal said the company would offer free professional private podcasting packages to schools worldwide to support continuity of learning.

“As schools shut down and offer more teaching online, or students are unable to attend, we believe private podcasts will be a key method of informing, educating and engaging students and parents,” Mr Loewenthal said. “We developed this technology with remote workers in mind, but we’re confident it can also be an audio lifeline for schools. That’s why we’re making it free for kindergartens to year 12.”

Previously, podcasts have only been published on public platforms that can be accessed by anyone at any time. Now teachers will be able to easily record class material using the RØDECaster Pro, then send it as a private podcast to students and parents, who can listen to it on a computer or mobile device via any app supported by the platform, such as Apple Podcasts and Pocket Casts. Administrators can simply add or remove users from the distribution group at any time.

“The situation regarding COVID-19 is evolving rapidly,” says Peter Freedman AM. “There is a lot of uncertainty around whether schools will be forced close, and we have already seen many voluntarily so do. I encourage all NSW public high schools to apply for a kit and make the most of the RØDECaster Pro. You don’t have to be an audio expert to use it, and in the case of a school closure it’s an ideal way to give students access to educational content.”

You can watch a short video demonstrating Whooshkaa's private podcasting technology here.

If you are from a recognised New South Wales public high school and would like to register to receive a RØDECaster Pro podcast kit, head to the RØDE website for more information.

Whooshkaa is offering free podcast hosting to K-12 schools anywhere in the World until 31 December 2020. To apply, please visit the Whooshkaa website.