Using Podcasting for Teaching: Part 1 - Find & Use Online Content

Podcasting DefinedA combination of the words iPod and

broadcasting.

In its most popular form, it is a way for people to selectively subscribe to audio content over the Internet. This audio content can then be automatically added to a mobile device, like an iPod.

It can also be used to distribute video or other media-rich content for iPod (aka vodcasting, enhanced podcasts).

A little more detail

A Podcast is RSS content that you’ve subscribed to and is

delivered via the Internet; then captured by a program

known as a “podcatcher” or a content aggregator

such as iTunes..

It’s like TiVoPodcasting has been likened to TiVo

because it empowers the learner to listen or view their selected podcasts whenever they like, and on the go with a mobile device, like an iPod or other MP3 player.

Google hits on “Podcasts”•Aug. 1, 2006 379,000,000•Nov. 7, 2005 101,000,000•Sept. 20, 2005 60,200,000•June 28, 2005 10,000,000•Oct. 18, 2004 100,000•Oct. 3, 2004 2,750•Sept. 30, 2004 526•Sept. 28, 2004 28

What Podcasting Isn’tNOT Web based downloads.

Websites that have links to download media sometimes labeled as “download podcast” on a web page. There is no “casting” or automated delivery when the user manually downloads media. It doesn’t make the content less useful, just less convenient without the automated delivery.

Enabling New Ways to Learn

• Lectures and other audio content are easily made available• Portable access to course material• Guest lectures, speaker or concert series• Include rich media material to complement written text• Review for midterms, finals, missed classes

Enabling New Ways to Learn

• Assists auditory learners• Eases learner anxiety about “missing” key information• Assists non-native speakers of English• Great to immerse foreign language learners• Provide feedback to learners• Enables instructors to review their own teaching

Case Study - Duke UniversityPilot program for iPods in theclassroom - and now podcasting.

• Content dissemination • Classroom recording • Field recording • Study aid

Duke UniversityMusic Students:

listen to professional performances of Bach chorales, then remove one vocal line from MIDI files, sang the missing part and re-recorded the chorales with their voice.

Duke University

Education Students: recorded tutoring sessions to review and evaluate strategies they used.

Duke University

Economics Professor: made course lectures available to students for review before exams.

Duke University

German Literature:Students record interviews with Americans to see how key events in Berlin’s history are perceived in U.S. and included audio clips in presentations.

Duke UniversityElectrical Engineering:

Students studied digital signal processing concepts by recording pulse rates during physical activities as well as environmental sounds.

Duke University

Spanish: Instructors recorded Spanish novellas and vocabulary for student download. Students submitted their recorded audioexercises to instructor.

Duke UniversityTheatre:

Students analyzed digital recordings of early radio shows then shared radio plays they created through course podcast.

Duke UniversityScience & Information Studies:

Students transfer multimedia files from assignments. They also discussed intellectual property policies and the ethics of new forms of information gathering, processing and transmission.

Duke UniversityEngineering:

Students brought MP3 files to the lab to analyze waveforms, compression, sample rate and other parameters.

Designing Podcasts that Teach• Select appropriate content

narrow focus, not lots of facts and figures• Determine your instructional goal

provide motivation, integrate concepts, overviews, etc.• Design your content

case studies, personal stories, dialogs with opposing views, etc.• Produce your podcast

be yourself, talk naturally, express your passion• Incorporate your podcast into your course

is it required, optional, value-added or review, etc.

Use on campus• Admissions/Departments

Self Guided TourIntroductions to a departmentInterviews with faculty and current students throughout semester

• Marketing/CommunitySpeaker seriesConcert seriesCollege newspapers and radio stations

iTunes U• Rather than each faculty member at a campus creating their own

podcasting presence, a college can sign up to be an iTunesU campus and create a unified environment for their students.

• Scalable• Easy - to - use and administer• You can host the content or have Apple host your files• You control who can access what content• It’s FREE

Using Podcasting for Teaching: Part 2 - Creating & Syndicating

Overview of the Production Process

•Planning, Preproduction, Storyboards•Write Script/Outline•Test Recording Equipment and setup•Record Audio•Edit Audio•Compress Audio•Generate XML RSS feed•Upload to web server

Step 1 - Planning• Select appropriate content

narrow focus, not lots of facts and figures

• Determine your instructional goalprovide motivation, integrate concepts, overviews, etc.

• Design your contentcase studies, personal stories, dialogs with opposing views, etc.

Step 2 - Recording & Editing• Produce your podcast

be yourself, talk naturally, express your passion• Incorporate your podcast into your course

is it required, optional, value-added or review, etc.• A USB headset mic works great for recording spoken word.

can use internal mic on laptops if needed. Compact flash recording devices for higher quality. Can even use the audio from a DV video camera.

• Use Audacity (or other) audio editing application to record• If desired, edit your audio file to remove mistakes or long pauses.

Can add extra audio here for stings, intros, background music.

Step 3 - Compress Audio• Use the LAME MP3 encoder to export your .WAV or .AIFF file from

Audacity as an MP3 file.

• MP3 provides excellent audio quality at low file sizes.

• Can also use iTunes to convert files to MP3 format.

Step 4 - Create RSS feed• You can either write your own XML (start from a template) or use

an online RSS feed generator.

• You have one channel, and each new MP3 file is a new episode. You just add a new <ITEM> to your one .xml file each show.

Step 5 - Upload files• Using a FTP program, like Fetch or WS_FTP upload your .MP3 and

.XML files to a regular-ole webserver. You do not need a streaming server to make a podcast. Any computer server that is connected to the Internet and capable of serving up web pages is capable of being your podcasting server.

• The MP3 files you create can be used both as a subscription-based podcast and individually downloadable from your CMS.

Step 5.5 - ADA Compliance• Provide a transcript of your audio in PDF format• You can either put a link to the PDF on a website, or as its own

podcast episode• You can type it yourself after the fact, or use your script• Use an online service and pay for transcription• Try out a “speech - to - text” application, like Dragon Naturally

Speaking• Seek assistance for ideas and resources from your college

Step 6 - Subscribe• Once your files are on a web server, try out your channel by

subscribing to your feed using a content aggregator, such as iTunes.

• If you want, you can “register” your feed with iTunes (or others) so it’s “findable” by others.

• You can use links (URLs) that send people right from your web page (course) to iTunes and your specific podcast.

Step 7 - Repeat• Make your channel have consistency - release new episodes

regularly so that listeners don’t forget about you!

• Try to make episodes fairly consistent - in length, in tone of voice, in scope.

• Usually better to release 5 mins weekly than 60 mins bi-monthly.

Using Podcasting for Teaching