Integrating Podcasting into the Classroom Experience

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Integrating Podcasting into the Classroom
Experience

• Rick Shelton M.Ed.
• Assistant Coordinator for Academic Services
• Center for Teaching and Learning Northeastern
  State University

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Top 5 Reasons to Podcast

• 5. Your Wollensak cassette recorder finally gave
  out
• 4. Your pet has its own podcast and you dont
• 3. You are not really sure why but ever since
  that nice neighbor left that pod in your laundry
  room you just feel the need to make one yourself
• 2. On vacation, you read a computer manual
  faster than those mortals who are reading John
  Grisham novels
• 1. You already bought a Captain Kirk chair with
  a built-in keyboard, microphone and mouse

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Overview

• How do we make sense of it all?
• Netcasting in a nutshell
• Whats good about it?
• Whats the downside?
• Three Methods
• iPod
• Digital recorder
• Windows Movie Maker
• The Future

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Netcasting in a Nutshell
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What is Netcasting?

• Netcasting, information is automatically
  delivered to users' desktops. 1
• The more generic term for netcasting is
  podcasting
• Podcasts fall into two categories
• Podcasts
• Audio based presentations
• Vodcasts
• Video based presentations

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Content Types

• Educators can use podcasting to provide students
  with course materials useable anytime
• Podcasts deliver course content in audio, video,
  or graphic formats
• Instructor created
• Student created
• Outside resource

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Instructor Created Podcasts

• Lectures
• Notices
• Examples
• Tutorials
• Shows
• Interviews
• News
• Etc.

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Student Created Podcasts

• Class projects
• Philosophies
• News shows
• Capstone projects
• Portfolios
• Interviews
• Reflections
• Discussions/debates

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Outside Resources

• Expert guest lecturers
• Commercial broadcasts
• Amateur broadcasts
• News
• Interviews
• Shows
• Etc.

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Websites

• Focus on established websites
• Beware of dubious websites
• Try to use sites with
• .edu
• .gov
• .org
• .com sites are commercial
• Others are personal in nature

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Podcasts

• Education Podcast Network
• http//epnweb.org/
• Podcasting news
• http//www.podcastingnews.com/
• National Public Radio
• www.npr.org
• iTunes U
• http//www.apple.com/education/solutions/itunes_u/

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Podcasts

• Podcast.net
• http//www.podcast.net/
• PodcastAlly
• http//www.podcastalley.com/
• iPodder.org
• http//www.ipodder.org/
• NASA
• http//feeds.feedburner.com/brainbites/nasa
• Podcast 411
• http//www.podcast411.com/

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Audio Book Podcasts

• LibriVox -- Volunteer Voices, Classic Books
• PodioBooks -- New, Original Science Fiction and
  Fantasy
• Urban Art Adventures -- Classic 'Erotic' Audio
  Books
• Maria Lectrix -- Public Domain Books with
  Catholic Themes
• Dead White Males -- Public

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How do we make sense of it all?
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How do we make sense of it all?

• Technology today can quickly overtake a classroom
  with its complexity and the endless options
  available to the instructor

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How do we make sense of it all?

• Develop a plan
• Stick to your basic plan
• Build in flexibility
• Technology cannot instruct
• Technology is a tool, not a solution

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How do we make sense of it all?

• Use reliable sites for video and audio content
• Use content that fits the lesson
• Be sure you have the software and hardware you
  need
• Ask questions of your support staff

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Whats Good About It?
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Whats Good About It?

• Todays digital kids think of information and
  communications technology (ICT) as something akin
  to oxygen they expect it, its what they
  breathe, and its how they live.1 John Seely
  Brown

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Whats Good About It?

• Emphasis is on content, not the instructor
• Increases instructors resources
• Students are familiar with medium
• Learning is expanded beyond the classroom in real
  time
• Most schools now have the needed infrastructure

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Whats Good About It?

• Interactivity is increased
• Instruction on the Internet accentuates the
  "student as worker" and the "teacher as coach"
  paradigms2
• Cost-to-benefit ratio is excellent

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Whats Good About It?

• Basic equipment is all that is needed
• Computer
• Speakers
• Internet access
• Media players installed
• Quicktime
• Windows media player
• Flash
• A projector depending on classroom or lab
• Digital recorders
• Digital camera
• Microphone

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Whats the Downside?
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Whats the Downside?

• Many instructors fear technology
• Feeling that students are more capable than
  instructor
• You must be able to recognize good materials
• Some work is required to sort the good from the
  bad
• There are a lot of bad sites out there

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Whats the Downside?

• Some sites may be down
• Your network may be down
• Virus threats from files
• Tendency to treat technology as the solution
• Technology choices seem overwhelming
• Information could be dated

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Create Your Content
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Create Your Content

• Content can be anything you like
• Audio books
• Music
• Radio/TV type shows
• Interviews
• There's no formula for creating the content
• The beauty of podcasting is that your shows can
  be anything that you want them to be

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Create Your Audio Content

• It doesn't matter what platform or application
  you use to record the audio
• Audacity - open source, cross-platform, free and
  let's you mix together multiple files
• Windows Movie Maker installed on XP operating
  systems with SP2 or greater
• GarageBand - popular choice for Macintosh based
  computers

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Create Your Audio Content

• Save the finished audio show at maximum quality
  in the native format
• Convert the file to MP3 format
• Increases portability
• Save your MP3 files to your web server
• Test them with any MP3 player
• Files can go anywhere on your site
• However you may want to put all of them into one
  directory

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Create Your Video Content

• Tools needed
• Digital video camera
• Webcam
• Computer
• Editing software
• Speakers
• Microphone

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Create Your Video Content

• Plan it out
• Use a storyboard
• Generalized script
• Develop a theme or focus
• Record your video
• Edit the video
• Produce and compress

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Three Methods
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Three Methods

• iPod
• Digital Recorder
• Windows Movie Maker

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Audio Podcasts iPod

• With adapters you can record directly on your
  iPod
• Stereo and mono
• Variable quality

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Digital Recorder

• Records anywhere
• Uses software to transfer to computer
• iTunes used for compression
• Note WMA files not recognized by iTunes currently

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Windows Movie Maker

• Audio and video are imported
• Placed into storyboard
• Transitions and effects added
• Additional Audio added
• Produce the movie in desired format

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Windows Movie Maker
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Windows Movie Maker
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Lets Make a Podcast

• Break up into groups of 4-5
• Discuss how an audio podcast can help inform your
  fellow faculty about this concept
• As a group come up with a quick discussion to
  record what you would want to tell them
• Record the audio

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The Future

• Interactive podcasts
• Vaestro
• CrowdAbout
• Waxxi

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Vaestro
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CrowdAbout
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Waxxi
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Other Resources

• Podcasting_at_the University of Wisconsin Madison
  Retrieved May 20, 2006 from http//engage.doit.wis
  c.edu/podcasting/deliver/index.html
• Make Your First Podcast. Podcasting News.
  Retrieved April 16, 2006 from http//www.podcastin
  gnews.com/articles/How-to-Podcast.html.

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Questions
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Reference Sources

• Tom Sheldons Linktionary http//www.linktionary.co
  m/n/netcasting.html
• Growing Up Digital How the Web Changes Work,
  Education, and the Ways People Learn, by John
  Seely Brown
• The Effects of Internet-based Instruction on
  Student Learning - Dr. Scott B. Wegner,
  Associate Professor
• Impact of the Internet on Learning and Teaching -
  Hossein Arsham http//www.usdla.org/html/journal/M
  AR02_Issue/article01.html

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