An enhanced podcast includes still photos to go along with the audio content. The podcast also includes chapter markers that can be used by the viewer to skip around to different segments. Each chapter marker can include a title as well as a hyperlink that can be used to visit a website mentioned on that segment. While the look of an enhanced podcast can be easily simulated on the PC using a program called PhotoStory ( a free download from Microsoft that creates slideshows with narration and background music), there is no simple way to include chapter markers to an enhanced podcast with Windows. I did find this website which shows how to add chapter markers using Windows Media Encoder. Unfortunately, it appears that markers can only be added to audio files saved as .wma, which means that the enhanced podcast created with this method will not include still photos to go along with each chapter. Mac users can use a program called ChapterToolMe to create an enhanced podcasts in a few simple steps, or if they have the latest version of Garageband (version 3) the program has an interface (Podcast Studio) designed specifically to create this type of file.
Enhanced podcasts created on the Mac can only be saved as AAC files. The MP3 format does not currently support enhanced podcasts. .
To view an example of an enhanced podcast, visit this link on the website of the College of Education's Laptop Lounge.
