Podcasting 101 History & Discussion of Podcasting Jennifer L. Bowie For 8121

Overview Podcasting 101 How Podcasts fit Electronic Writing & Publishing Podcasting in the (Computers & Writing) Classroom Accessibility Concerns

Podcasting 101 Podcast: i Pod + broad cast Digital media files distributed over the internet RSS feeds: subscriptions and delivery Often played on portable media players –Not just for iPods Time-shifted Location-shifted Started as grassroots/independent now with many companies & organizations –Planned Parenthood – ~30% of Fortune 500 companies. Increasing in popularity: From 17 million in 2006 to and estimated 30.8 million US listeners in 2009

Podcasting 101 Audiences –Tend to be younger and busier than traditional channels –Many niche audiences –Audiences as producers as consumers and all as community –Slacker Astronomy listeners: subscribe to 10 podcasts and listen for an hour a week Personal –“One-on-one”: In ears and in head –Deeper levels of communication –Closer relationship than DJ or other media Authentic & real voice –Less polished, real with flaws –Passion comes through –Voice is a vital component (not just speaking voice) –No gatekeepers & no FCC

How Podcasts fit Electronic Writing & Publishing Another form of “writing” and media –Part of technological literacy –Another form we & our students may need to master Old/new form of writing and rhetoric –Traditional form (think Greeks) –Current “popular” from (presentations, speeches, …) –Digital with “universal” access “Better” knowledge distribution model Lessons learned may help other forms “New” way to reach audience and get the message across We are researchers and interested in learning Quick reference for us to point to

Podcasting in the Classroom Previous Research on Podcasting – McKinney, Dyck, and Luber : students who listened to the podcasts with PowerPoint handouts and took notes scored higher on an exam than students who attended a lecture with PowerPoint slides – Tynan and Colbran : students think podcasts are valuable to their studies, assist learning, and provide flexibility – Evans : podcasts were more effective revision tools then textbooks or student notes and that students were more receptive to learning from the podcast than from lectures or textbooks – Kraus: in an online writing class, found students thought podcasts helpful, gave them a classroom-like experience and aided in the study of material, but there were issues with the extra time the podcasts took and learning style

Podcasting in the Computers & Writing Classroom Not talking about replacements or “lectures in a box” Mobile learning: Mobile access & increased learning time Learning through listening (Cebeci & Tekdal) –More attractive and “less tedious” than reading –Primary learning method from beginning –May motivate those who do not like reading –Richer medium and understanding “what one hears through the speaker’s intonation, dictation, and reflection, coveys a richer understanding not only of the content, but of the speaker. Listeners connect to that voice and may feel less isolated” (Manning 2005, pg. 2) “Better” knowledge distribution model –Less info retrieval and searching time –Delivered automatically –Easy to share High levels of student interest –Huntsberger and Stavitsky: optional & supplemental podcasts of reading overviews with connections to history and current affairs 88% of students listened, 35% more than once Enthusiastic responses from students Not “lost in time” –More permanent record –Rewind and replay Community building and development

Podcasting in the Classroom Efficient use of valuable class time –Manage material, time, media richness Professor or “expert” created –Many C&W-related podcasts –“Easy” to create own Various class uses: –Supplemental: Additional resources and references Extra aids to point to –As part of class: “Readings” Individualized curricula Class record Instructor created text Texts to analyze –Grading & assignments Professor response Peer reveiw

AccessibilityConcerns (Dis)Ability & language concerns –Good for people with Vision issues Auditory learners Some learning disabilities ESL students and those who need more time to process spoken word –Problematic for people with Hearing issues Visual learners Some learning disabilities –Solution: Include text transcripts Digital Divide –Requires a certain level of tech (more to produce) access –Some advantages lost without an MP3 player –Costs (textbooks vs podcast) –Solutions: Consider workarounds (CDs) Costs: –Time –Equipment –Bandwidth –Solutions: provide tech or lab time, get grants,…

Example of Student Work e/Slides/samplecast.wavhttp:// e/Slides/samplecast.wav

Resources Gay, P., Price, A. and Searle, T “Astronomy Podcasting: a Low-cost Tool for Effecting Attitude in Diverse Audiences” Astronomy Education Review, 5.1 Price, A., Gay, P. and Searle, T “A History and Assessment of the Slacker Astronomy Podcast” Astronomy Education Review, 5.1 Evans, Chris. “The effectiveness of m-learning in the form of podcast revision lectures in higher education” Computers & Education 50.2: Ractham, P., & Zhang, X. “Podcasting in academia: A new knowledge management paradigm within academic settings.” In Proceedings of the 2006 ACM SIGMIS CPR conference. 314–317 Chan, A., & Lee, M. “An MP3 a day keeps the worries away – Exploring the use of podcasting to address preconceptions and alleviate pre-class anxiety amongst undergraduate information technology students” Student experience conference, Charles Stuart University. Berry, Richard “Will the iPod Kill the Radio Star? Profiling Podcasting as Radio.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 12.2: 143–162. Dangler, et al. "Expanding Composition Audiences with Podcasting" Image: “ Microphone” by sAeroZar's