podcasting info sheet

8/8/2019 Podcasting Info Sheet

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Podcasting in Education

1.What is Podcasting?

There are two definitions of the term podcast. One is broad - any digital video oraudio file that is hosted on the internet and can be viewed on a computer or aportable digital media player (such as an iPod). A more accurate definition is adigital file (audio, video or even PDFs) that is automatically pushed out to theend user via software such as iTunes. In this respect we can talk of a series of audioor video podcasts that is similar to a radio series except that the user can controlwhen, where and how they are downloaded and listened to.

There are three types of podcast. An audio podcastcontains sound, spoken-word, music etc. and is usuallycreated as an mp3 file using a computer, microphone andrecording/editing software. A video podcast containsmoving or still images and sound and tend to be output inmuch larger file sizes, usually as an mp4. Video podcastsare often more time-consuming to create and requiremore expensive equipment such as digital video camerasas well as video editing software. An enhanced audiopodcast can contain a mixture of sound, still images, URLsand chapter markers which can be viewed within

Quicktime, iTunes and on an iPod.

2.Podcasting Tools

Podcasting technologies can be relatively low cost and yet add much value to thelearning experience. A basic inexpensive set-up can be as simple as a laptopcomputer with an in-built microphone and some editing software such as the freelyavailable Audacity. A more complex and professional setup may include anexternal microphone and headphones, mixing desk and dedicated podcastingsoftware such as Apples Garagebandor Kudlians Podcaster(Mac and Windows).For video podcasting Apples iMovie or Final Cut Express/Pro, Adobes Premiere orMicrosofts MovieMakercan be used.

3.Eight Benefits of Podcasting in Education

The use of podcasting at school, college and university level is becomingwidespread. Early adopters in the mid-1990s included Stanford, Duke andWashington universities who used the technology to record whole lectures forstudents to access later in their own time. Early concerns that students wouldsimply use podcasting as an excuse to skip lectures were dispelled by research thathas demonstrated a wide range of educational benefits for this emerging

technology:


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1. Flexibility and Learner Control. Podcasts enable learners to have anytime,anywhere access to learning materials provided they have an appropriatemobile device to listen to or watch them on;

2. Student Engagement and Motivation. Studies (including my own as part of theMoleNet/LSN podcasting project) show that students involved in creatingpodcasts in particular have high levels of subject engagement and othermotivational attributes;

3. Personalisation. Given the multimodalnature of podcasts (i.e mixed media suchas sound, still images, moving images,text etc.) they can be used to match thepreferred learning styles of students.Evidence suggests students use podcastsin a number of different ways dependingon their preferred methods of learning(Salmon & Edirisingha, 2008, Chapter 9);

4. Retention and Achievement. Althoughthere is some anecdotal evidence that creating podcasts of whole lecturesmay negatively impact attendance, when used effectively podcasting hasfound to increase the chances of students completing a course and hasincreased performance levels on the course;

5. Widening Participation. Podcasting has the potential to increase the ease ofaccess to further and higher education for those traditionally excluded such assingle parents, the disabled and those who are geographically isolated fromcollege and university campuses;

6. Collaborative Learning. Social Constructivist and socio-cultural learningtheories emphasise the value of collaborative learning as a crucial part of thelearning experience. Evidence shows that when students are involved increating podcasts they enhance their communication and creative skills andcan form a participatory learning community;

7. Student Voice. Getting learners involved in creating podcasts (for examplethrough a student union infocast) can be one way in which students aregiven more of a voice in their formal learning. Student podcasts can becentral to an effective post-16 citizenship strategy;

8. Creativity and the cool factor. The Google

generation expects not to have to power-down interms of the technology they have access to whenthey engage in their formal learning. Podcasting canhelp close the gap between the technologieslearners use in their everyday lives and theirlearning at college. Student feedback suggests theyregard podcasting technologies as both cool andfun which can have a direct and positive impact onformal learning.


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4.Suggested Uses

Listed below are a range of suggested scenarios (actual and imagined) in whichpodcasting can be used to add value to the learning experience at college:

Marketing - video or sound tours of the college for prospective or currentstudents;

Learning Resources - a video or audio walk-through of the library and OpenLearning Centre;

Student Union - a series of infocasts that keep students informed aboutcurrent and upcoming events, issues etc;

Course-specific formative assessment e.g students are required to create adigital portfolio using sound and images in AS Culture & Communications;

Science - laboratory dissections in Biology or experiments in Chemistry;

English - students have to reflect on a book they have read, perhaps in a smallgroup;

General Studies - students create a video or audio podcast in which they givetheir views on current ethical/moral issues;

Work-based training - podcasts used for assessment and feedback as well asinstructional guidance;

Revision material - 10-15 min recaps of a section of the syllabus with bullet-pointed slides, created by lecturer or groups of students as a revisionexercise;

Staff Communication - podcasts could be used as an alternative method ofcommunication between staff and senior management.

5.Important Issues to Consider

Intellectual property/legal issues - you must use copyright-free images, videoand sound in your podcasts (see link to Creative Commons below).

Learning Objectives integration into schemes of work & lesson plans - eventhough podcasting is fun, creative and cool, the learning objectives should beparamount.

Consent of participants - Always make sure those who appear in video

podcasts sign a consent form (available from the eLearning Team) to protectus and them from issues of confidentiality etc.

Audio quality - getting the sound right. Many a good video podcast has beenruined by poor audio quality, for example using the in-built microphone on adigital camera recording from a distance rather than a dedicated microphone.A good quality microphone for audio or video podcasts is essential forproducing a professional or even semi-professional podcast.

Appropriate content - always stress to students the need for content to beappropriate, scholarly and non-offensive, and make sure your podcasts takeaccount of equal opportunities and Every Child Matters guidelines.


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6.Links and References

http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/

http://www.poducateme.com/

iTunes U http://www.apple.com/education/guidedtours/itunesu.html

MyPodcast http://mypodcast.newcollege.ac.uk/

MoleTV http://www.moletv.org.uk

Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/

Using Audacity to create Podcasts http://randym.podagogy.com/digitalmedia.html

Introduction to Garageband http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Introduction_to_GarageBand

MyPodcast: Developing Innovative Approaches to Personalised Learning. Lead Practitionersresearch report by Julian Prior (July 2008).

Podcasting for Learning in Universities by Gilly Salmon and Palitha Edirisingha (2008:McGraw Hill).

Podcasting for Teachers: Using a new technology to revolutionise teaching and learning by

Kathleen King and Mark Gura (2007: Information Age Publishing).
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Introduction_to_GarageBandhttp://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Introduction_to_GarageBandhttp://randym.podagogy.com/digitalmedia.htmlhttp://randym.podagogy.com/digitalmedia.htmlhttp://creativecommons.org/http://creativecommons.org/http://www.moletv.org.uk/http://www.moletv.org.uk/http://mypodcast.newcollege.ac.uk/http://mypodcast.newcollege.ac.uk/http://www.apple.com/education/guidedtours/itunesu.htmlhttp://www.apple.com/education/guidedtours/itunesu.htmlhttp://www.poducateme.com/http://www.poducateme.com/http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/

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