An exciting new tool, podcasting, is being embraced by educators to provide students with a new avenue of learning. A podcast is a series of digital media, audio and/or video, which is released intermittently and downloaded through web syndication. Before podcasting, media was streamed out, but this mode of delivery is what differentiates podcasts from other ways of accessing media files over the Internet, like downloading or simple broadcasting.
A recent Learning Technology Institute workshop, Podcasting Basics, revealed to educators the ease of podcasting while highlighting the value educational podcasting holds in the classroom. After reviewing key terms and the history of podcasting, workshop facilitators Emily Renoe from the Office of Learning Technology and Duncan McHugh, from the Learning Centre in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems dove into the need-to-know facts of podcasting and its uses. By supplementing the information with numerous examples, participants witnessed firsthand the power of podcasting.
As McHugh nicely summed up, “podcasts are on demand, user driven, and user created. You don’t need access to a radio station to be heard around the world anymore. Podcasting has levelled the playing field for being heard.” This emerging technology is now being transformed and used for many different purposes, one of which is education. A website called Profcast can be used by educators to integrate PowerPoint slides with a recording of a lecture; it synchs the timing of the slides with the audio recording so that the slides transition as you proceed throughout the lecture. Another option is to use websites like YouTube, BlipTV, and Ustream, in order to capture video live and stream it on the Internet. A benefit of a website like Ustream is that it also archives all the clips that you record. The 2009 Open Education Conference utilized this technology by streaming every presentation that was given and now has it archived for your viewing pleasure.
UBC has embraced the educational potential of podcasting by joining up with Apple Computers to create iTunes U to broadcast lectures, enabling students to review lectures at a later time. Another podcasting tool at UBC is Wimba Live Classroom, in which can be used in conjunction with WebCT Vista. Of interest, is that instructors and students can collaborate on the creation of a podcast on with Live Classroom. An example on campus is when Land and Food Systems students learned a different way to communicate when they created an audio documentary.
Podcasting as a tool is useful for students but also in a broader sense, for the university as a whole. Podcasting is a different way to get information out about what is happening at the university; you no longer need to go to a newspaper or radio station to stay informed. Podcasting is a way of making the research on campus more palpable to people and more accessible. In terms of teaching students, this is a technology that many students are comfortable with and provides a new way for students to take interest in their studies. Similarly, as McHugh pointed out, creative endeavours are becoming more important in the workforce and knowledge of digital tools is an asset. Providing students with this experience before graduation is important and will equip them with the skill set to excel in their careers.
The workshop finished off with a hands-on demonstration of Audacity, a free, open source audio editing tool available on the Internet. Using Audacity’s tools, McHugh walked the group through basic audio editing, revealing just how easy it is to edit a piece of audio and be on your way to create a podcast. Employing tools to amplify the sound, cut and paste, and delete, participants extracted distracting ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ from their podcast and created eloquent snippets of audio.
The workshop was attended by a range of participants, from individuals who have created their own podcasts and are looking to refine their skills, to participants who are brand new to the concept of podcasting. No matter their background, all participants left with a deeper understanding of podcasting and audio editing.
Check out great links and basic information from the workshop:
http://podcastseminar.notlong.com/
Commoncraft provides a short introduction video podcasting:
http://www.commoncraft.com/podcasting
7 things you should know about podcasting:
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7003.pdf