podcasting

=Podcasting=

Podcasting is a method of broadcasting audio or other recording content across the internet via digital audio files. Although the word podcasting originates from the words iPod and broadcasting, listeners do not need to actually own an iPod to listen to a podcast. Any type of digital music player may be used. Podcasts are usually coded in mp3 format and may be downloaded or streamed and even subscribed. Podcasts are designed with a RSS feed inside which allows new information to be downloaded to the listener as it becomes available.

History
Back in 2001, the “pioneers” of podcasting, [|Adam Curry], [|Tristan Louis] and [|Dave Winer], collaborated in using RSS technology and their media content to provide the first, albeit, prototype podcasts.

By the late 2004, detailed articles on podcasts became available online. In less than a year, the podcasting phenomenon exploded with more than 2 million hits generated for a “podcasting” Google search. Podcasts originating not only from the US, but also from Canada, Sweden and Australia were reported. These podcasts even dealt with a disparate number of topics like veganism, politics and entertainment news.

By 2005, the popularity of podcasts has spilled over to the mainstream. Apple Computers, Inc. integrated podcasts in its iTunes software. Even President George W. Bush became a podcaster when his weekly radio addresses became downloadable audio files at the White House website.

Impact on Teaching and Learning
General media has recognized that podcasting is taking off, greatly influencing educational institutions. It has become more and more popular in schools around the world. “The ability to time-shift content versus traditional broadcast distribution models expands student teaching and learning opportunities significantly,” explains an ITGS student through an audio file. It also allows educators to create a tool for their lesson that can incorporate the different learning styles of each student. Administrators have begun implementing podcasting in their schools to create a better connection between themselves, the students, their parents, and the community. By creating this connection, schools are able to showcase their student’s accomplishments to the student’s family and community. Many instructors develop podcasts to allow their students to have the freedom to learn “when we want to learn,” [1] allowing students to review lecture before and after class is over. The most important impact that podcasting has to offer is improving interaction with their educator and their peers.

Practical Applications
Schools such as [|Mabry Middle School] in Marietta, Georgia showcase student work through podcasts along with messages from the Principal to the parents and their community. On Mabry Middle School’s Podcast Central homepage, their navigation menu on the right has a place for everyone associated with their school: parents, friends, family, students, teachers, and the community. Everyone is a contributor from faculty to students to the parents. [|Dr. Tim Tyson] principal at Mabry Middle School utilizes podcasting to keep everyone involve and up to date with what is going on. Open House meetings are recorded and posted as a podcast for parents whose schedules may conflict with the meeting times. Band concerts are recorded for family members who may be unable to attend, or it allows parents to burn their child’s concerts to cd for a scrapbook. Educators teaching foreign languages at Mabry Middle School create podcasts of dialogues learned in class for students to put on their iPod where they can repeatedly listen to it back and forth.

At [|St. Mary’s Episcopal School] in Memphis, Tennessee librarians work with the history department to incorporate student involvement in the required reading material. Library staff assigns one publication to a student and asks them to create on Gabcast a two minute “commercial” promoting the assigned reading. Students at St. Mary’s Episcopal School are required to listen to their classmates’ podcast and to comment on them online.

Other schools use [|Gabcast] to create podcasts about their fieldtrips. This allows students who were unable to go to learn and experience the same things that their class gained from the fieldtrip. It also allows for in-depth participation of the learning experience. This can be given as an individual task or a group task. Individually a single student can be assigned as the “reporter” who will create a special section of “this week’s lecture” while on a fieldtrip. Or a fieldtrip podcast could be constructed in groups where each group is responsible for creating their own report. This would help to showcase different perspectives of the fieldtrip thus encouraging student growth and participation. For example, a group of three would have the following roles:
 * Reporter – a person who reports the experience and required facts that they may need to include from the fieldtrip
 * Photographer – take pictures of the experience and or record important images from the fieldtrip
 * Note Taker – take notes of important facts that can aid in the reporters script

Other educational institutions use podcasting to enhance their foreign language programs. Instructors create podcasts for students to listen to repeatedly like at Mabry Middle School. Typically homework for a foreign language class includes essays, grammar practice, vocabulary practice, and transcription. With the creation of podcasts instructors can now include the verbal aspect of learning a language as homework. Students can create their own podcast of their written content which would aid in providing more feedback from the instructor about their verbal production. The instructor and the student would be able to hear and go over piece by piece the student’s pace and verbal mechanics of the language.

The University of Hawaii, Manoa’s [|Information & Computer Science (ICS) 101] course uses iTunes to create lectures for students to listen to after lecture. These audio lectures are accompanied by PowerPoint pdfs for students to follow and take notes. It allows students to listen to parts that they need to relisten to making it easier for them to create notes. Their notetaking and listening skills are reinforced through weekly quizzes through WebCT to test what they have learned. If they are not satisfied with their score they are allowed to relisten the lecture and try one more time in half an hour or at their convenience by the respective due date. By providing these pre- lectures it “clears up classroom time to interact with them and not feel that ‘I’ve gotta cover this.’ We’re really able to explore a topic. I can bring in more content and add depth," [2] said Professor David Nickles, Information & Computer Science instructor at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Getting Started
There are different ways to create a podcast at your own convenience. Below are commonly used programs with a brief description of how to use the program as well as additional programs that can be used in creating a podcast:

[|Odeo Studio] is a web recorder program that is a free easy way to record podcasts from the classroom. Just follow the site’s directions to create your account and then press a button to record your content. Give your podcast a title and Odeo Studio will create a URL that you can share with your audience. This process takes less than five minutes.

[|Gabcast] is a phone recorder website that allows a person to record their podcast away from their computer. For example while on a fieldtrip or creating a podcast at home for a student that does not have a computer to do so. After creating an account with Gabcast you will be provided with a toll-free number to access anywhere to record your content. Upon creating an account with Gabcast you will create what Gabcast calls “channels” or groups of podcasts. After completion you can send your audience to Gabcast’s site to listen to and comment on your production.

[|Windows Sound Recorder (WSR)] can be used by schools who have their own website. WSR allows a person to record audio and it will be saved in mp3 format. Once uploaded, the files can be played by the audience using Windows Media Player, iTunes for PC or Mac, or other sound players. If you want to edit tracts that have already been created, incorporating [|Audacity], a simple open source audio recorder and editor can be used. After editing your file you should also download [|LAME] to reconfigure the file into mp3 format.

[|iTunes] and [|Yahoo! Podcasts] are commonly used program that allows PC and Mac users to create, edit, and publish a podcast.

Author
Tiffany Akiyama, student in University of Hawaii, Manoa's Educational Technology Master's Program. E-mail: twjsakiy@hawaii.edu