Classroom Podcasting Equipment

Podcasting is one of the cheapest ways to get students speaking with purpose. They script it, record it, listen back, and hear themselves, which does more for oracy than almost anything else you can set up in a classroom. The gear needed is modest.

Start with headsets, not microphones

• A headset with a boom or noise-cancelling mic is the practical choice for a class. It keeps the mic a fixed distance from the mouth, which is most of what makes a recording sound good, and students can hear themselves as they speak.
• The Shintaro Noise-Cancelling Mic Headset is the value pick, and the noise-cancelling mic earns its place in a room with thirty other people in it
• USB and USB-C headsets avoid the 3.5mm socket problem on newer laptops and Chromebooks entirely
• The SchoolTech class sets equip a whole room at once, for schools running podcasting as a unit rather than a one-off

Then a desk microphone, if you want better sound

• The TTS Easi-Mic is a plug-in USB desk microphone, a step up in quality for a recording that will be published or shared beyond the classroom
• Worth it for a school podcast or radio project; a headset is fine for everyday classroom recording

Add a camera if it is going to be video

• A clip-on or flexible-neck webcam turns an audio project into a video one without much extra work
• See the full range in Cameras & Webcams

What you probably do not need. Studio mixers, boom arms and pop filters look the part but rarely survive contact with a primary classroom, and they are not what makes a student recording sound better. Mic position and a quiet corner matter far more than equipment.

Buying for a school? Purchase orders are accepted on school accounts and we can quote on class quantities. If you are setting up a podcasting unit and want a sense of what a workable kit looks like for your year level, ask us. We would rather help you spend less on the right things.