Howdy cowpokes!

BIG MONTH! Read on 🤠 📻

WE’RE LIVE!

Wow, that’s really the headline, isn’t it?

After submitting the application over a year ago, sitting on pins and needles during the judging process, even MORE pins and needles after multiple delays, months of research, coordination, production, and promotion, “The Radio Adventures of Ranger Roscoe!” is out there for you to enjoy. Which I think many of you have already. In case not…

OKAY… HOW DO I LISTEN?

“The Radio Adventures of Ranger Roscoe!” is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, YouTube, and most major podcast services.

In fact here it is! Right here! 🤯

FEEDBACK AND METRICS

There’s some nice qualitative responses, but how about numbers? As it turns out, getting precise analytics on podcasts is kinda tricky. In the world of music, you’d go by streams or purchases. But since podcasts are distributed via RSS feed and to multiple platforms, the data is a little less precise. The main metric for podcasts is downloads.

Thankfully, Transistor is pretty good at providing some of those numbers. As you can see, the podcast got 74 downloads in the first week, primarily through Apple Podcasts and the embed player, followed by Spotify, mobile browsers, and.. Alexa?

This is valuable data to have, so I’m glad to have gone with Transistor, which so far has been pretty seamless.

UPDATE: WE HAVE SURPASSED 100 DOWNLOADS! WOOHOO! 🥳

IN THE CLASSROOM

Yep, those are second graders at Rex Bell Elementary listening to “The Radio Adventures of Ranger Roscoe!” I designed a simple animation to create a podcast “video,” but otherwise it was primarily an auditory experience. I asked the class teacher (we’ll call her “Ms. S”) to provide some feedback/observations about how the students responded:

1. Did the kids seem engaged in the podcast overall? 

Ms. S: “Yes they seemed engaged in the podcast overall. There was some confusion as to why there were not any animations. I had to explain that it was like listening to the radio in the car before we listened and while we listened.” 

2. How did they respond to the voice acting, sound effects, and music? Did anything stand out to them?

Ms. S: “They enjoyed the voice acting, sound effects, and the music. They really liked the Spanish words.” 

3. Were you able to do any reflections on social emotional learning (SEL) as a group during the pause point in the middle or afterwards?

Ms. S: “We did reflect on the social emotional learning before, during the pause, and after we finished listening to the podcast.”

4. Did the students understand the framing device of the show? (Scoundrel as a radio host playing old Ranger Roscoe episodes)

Ms. S. “They did not at first. I tried to explain it the best I could before we listened to prepare them. “

5. Do you think this could be effective as an SEL tool?

Ms. S. “Yes, I do think this storytelling podcast is effective tool for SEL especially if you allow students to pause and think about the connection they can make to their life when they are stressed or overwhelmed.” 

The Scoundrel of the Sage also paid a visit to the kiddos at Cozine Elementary to read a storybook, sing a song about feelings, and lead the kids through an activity about how they can use their five senses to process their emotions, just like Ranger Roscoe!

THE BOTTOM LINE/USE OF GRANT FUNDS

• Advertising: $811
• Podcast Distribution: $19

Grant monies spent: $1858.52 / $2,550.00

I want to thank you (yes YOU!) for following along this project and for all your support through the whole way. It means a lot to me. So happy to have this out in the world.

Okay, that’s my progress report for April. Next month, I’ll be posting a copy of the final grant report that I’ll be submitting to the Nevada Arts Council. Thanks for reading, cowpokes 🤠

’til then, Happy Trails.