Urbi et Orbi – How
Podcasting is Changing
Education
Alex Gibson
Acting Head of Department of Tourism
DIT
Up for discussion…
1.
What is podcasting - how does it work?
2.
Why use podcasting in education?
3.
How is podcasting currently being used?
1.
Teacher-created podcasts
2.
Student-created podcasts
4.
My Own Experience
5.
Issues to consider before incorporating podcasting
What’s in a Name?
Pod
Derived from
iPod
Cast
Derived from
broadcast
Radio
= broadcasts
Podcasts = narrowcasts
What is Podcasting?

A podcast is basically an mp3 audio file

Podcasting is the automatic distribution of these audio
files to subscribers

The podcast is downloaded to your computer and
attached media player automatically
How does it work - casting
Email
Podcasting
Email
RSS 2.0 feed
text
mp3
Email Server
Web Page
How does it work - receiving
Email
Email Server
Podcasting
RSS 2.0 feed
on a webpage
Email Application
Podcast Aggregator
Media Player
Portable Media Player
Why is it popular?

Multi-media

99% Free

Can be listened to on many platforms; desktop, laptop,
handhelds,MP3 players and iPods, mobile phones

Mobile – time-shifting capability

Low cost to broadcast – cheap publishing platform and
more content
An extension to the definition…

Not limited to audio mp3s
 Podcast = audio mp3
 Screencast = audio mp3 + data capture ( e.g. with Excel,
Powerpoint)
 Vodcast = audio + video

All work in the same way as a podcast. Once you have
subscribed, they are automatically downloaded by your
aggregator
How do you find Podcasts?

Stumbling upon them on a website . http://www.emarketer.com

Audio Searching e.g. Podzinger

e.gUsing a Podcast listing website
 there are over 70 general sites to choose from!
 e.g. http://www.podcastalley.com/index.php

There are also specialised sites
 e.g. http://epnweb.org/

Usually aggregators also act as search engines
 e.g. iTunes
Who is creating podcasts?

Radio/TV stations
 Now turn their popular programs into podcasts (e.g. The
Weekly Ryan )

Universities*
 Recorded lectures, admissions advertising and information

High schools and Primary schools*in US
 What’s happening at school, student assignments/field trips

Anyone with some freely available software, a website
and something to say!
What sort of numbers are we talking?

# podcasts:
 24,972 podcasts comprising 938,481 episodes (podcastalley)
 68,465 podcasts (feedburner)

# podcast listeners (by Diffusion group):
 In 2005: ~ 840,000 podcast listeners in the US
 In 2010: ~ 56 million podcast listeners in the US
 Feedburner has almost 5.1 million subscribers
 9.2 million web-users in the US have recently downloaded a
podcast (Nielsen)
Why might we podcast
in education?
Consider this…
Mick misses a class due to a bad case of the flu!*!*&&*
Instead of copying Mary’s (probably dodgy) notes, he simply
listens to the class podcast that he has subscribed to and
makes his own notes as he goes through the lecture.
Typical for Universities:
Podcasts Provided by the Lecturer
Podcasting Lectures – The Theory

Lectopia ( Australian system) outputs podcasts
automatically
 Upload PPT presentation to lectopia

Disadvantaged students
 ESL/Hearing impaired/dyslexic
 Missed lectures due to illness or other commitment

Students have different rates of learning
 Students can go over the lecture several times if required

No! to note-taking
 If students are taking notes, they are only 1/2 listening

Improving listening skills
Will my students turn up to lectures?
Yes!

~80% of Lectopia users at Swinburne report no
significant decrease in student attendance.

~20% reported a decrease of more than 25% in
attendance

Only a few reported drop offs of more than 50%
Considerations for Lecture Podcasting

Audio quality
 Need a well-positioned, good quality microphone

Questions from the audience must be repeated!

What will you provide?
 Podcast only
 What if you refer to something on your slides?
 Podcast + PPT presentation
 Need to indicate when to “turn the page”
 Vodcast/Screencast
 Increased file size - will your students be able to download it?
Potential for Timeshifting

Provide the podcast of the lecture before class
 You will have to record it in advance

Students listen to the lecture as their homework

Face-to-face classes used for active learning where the
bigger picture is also highlighted

Allows material to be covered more thoroughly

Promotes deep learning approaches in students
Think outside the box!
Podcasts Created by Students
Podcasts created by students

Students are drawn to the technology, they are
comfortable with it

Potential to reach a wide audience is a motivator

Promotes understanding rather than rote-learning

Allows students to take ownership of the course
material

Allows students to contribute to the course

Students become the teachers

Allows for creativity/originality

Multi-disciplinary
Issues to consider
Issues

Who are your students?
 1st year students fresh out of secondary school will be
engaged
 Mature aged students may find it threatening
 Will they be able to access the technology?

Will it enhance student learning?
 Fit the technology to the learning objective, not the learning
objective to the technology
 List the benefits that students will derive
Issues - Teacher Workload
 Teacher produced podcasts
Learning how to create podcasts
Developing ideas for podcasts
Producing podcasts
 Student produced podcasts
Devising and justifying student learning activities which
utilise podcasts
Instructing and helping students on the creation of their
podcasts
New grading rubrics that fit the submission of a podcast
for assessment
Issues

Is there sufficient technical support?
 Who do you go to if it refuses to work?
 Who do you go to if you want to learn how to do something
different?

Is the necessary equipment/software available?
 Staff and students may use Lectopia
 How will a large class of students create podcasts?
Issues

Copyright/plagiarism
 Already a problem with written work (unfortunately)
 Staff and students must also be educated about:
Podcast copyright
Music copyright
Image/Video copyright
Fair use, creative commons, public domain…
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide
Potential for Podcasting in Education

Engage the students with “their” technology

Learning: anywhere, anytime

Cater for the different learning styles of students

Timeshifting - allowing lectures to become more active

Allow for student creativity in assignments

Empower students with ownership of course material

Motivate students by reaching out to a larger audience

Promote the University, its courses and its students
My Own Experience

Persuaders Marketing Podcast launched May 2006 (
radio show since 2000).

6500 subscribers – avg. downloads 5-600

Background material for students on marketing
communication elective

In future considering course specific podcasts

Students do find it valuable extra resource, especially in
modular system which mitigates against guest lectures
Interested in pursuing podcasting?