Podcasting in the Classroom

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Instructor:  Rae Spradley


Podcasting

Podcasting is the hottest new medium, the wave of the future.  A podcast is a new name for an audio or video file. The iPod has become so popular and has gained lots of followers in the world.  The term podcast was coined in 2004 combining the word iPod with broadcasting.  Wikipedia says that a Podcast is a way of distributing multimedia files over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on mobile devices or personal computers.  Podcast can mean both content and delivery method.  In 2005, the New Oxford American Dictionary  awarded “podcasting” the word of the year.  You can find a podcast on just about any topic that you can think of.  A podcast can be listened to through a personal computer or a MP3 player

Pedagogy or Podagogy:  What is the difference?  Pedagogy is the art or science of teaching and learning.  Podagogy refers to teaching and learning with ipods and podcasting.  We as educators are discovering this new technology to implement into our classroom that changes instruction.  Publisihing your podcast and adding the feed to directories such as iTunes will create great motivation for your students. .  A podcast can be started with virtually no cost or investment. In most cases, there is no need to be tech savvy to be a podcast creator. It can be as simple as using a phone to record your podcast through a service like Odeo, blogger, and podomatic. There are, of course, more complicated set-ups, but to begin you truly just need a topic, a phone and a quiet spot to record.

In Rob Reynolds’ article on Pedagogy for Podcasting he has revealed several important requirements for a successful podcast.   Read through this list and start planning your podcast project.

  • Appropriate Length -- Educational podcasts should be between 2-4 minutes in length for maximum effectiveness. Obviously, his means chunking content appropriately. Podcasts that are too short often leave students feeling that it wasn't worth their time, while those that are too long are abandoned midstream;
  • Informal Tone and High Energy -- Students respond best to information or media that connects with them. They prefer a friendly, informal tone and like high energy that keeps them engaged. There is a big difference between the informal tone I use in tutoring or classroom interaction with students and the more formal presentation style of a lecture. Podcasts have to make students feel that they are part of something rather than merely the recipients of a boring presentation;
  • Importance of Context and Review -- Educational podcasts should always begin with a clear context for the information being presented, and should end with a review of the most important things to remember;
  • Options for Different Learning Style Preferences -- Effective podcasts should offer optional transcripts and/or images to address different learning styles as well as accessibility issues. Podcasts reviewed on the Web can make use of all these media types;
  • Flexible Delivery Options -- It is important to provide multiple delivery options for students and preferences for subscribing and downloading will vary.
  • For additional tips on designing podcast read Teaching and Learning with podcasting.

Before you begin podcasting I would like for you to listen to a podcast.

Now that you know what a podcast is and how to create a successful podcast lets begin creating...
Heart of Georgia RESA ETTC, Rae Spradley, Instructional Technology