Decisions to Make About Podcasting

Initial Considerations

Podcasting is an audio-capture and dissemination mechanism often used to deliver information. Among the reasons for podcasting’s popularity are its simplicity and the fact that students are already familiar with the technology.

When podcasts present course content, they can:

• be a form of distance learning
• allow students to review material at their own pace and convenience
• provide remedial materials
• provide additional content or enrichment material, such as presentations by guest speakers
• provide examples and practice for language learning

Although podcasting may seem like one-way communication, especially since it is often used for recording lectures, it can be used to facilitate greater communication between students and faculty. One of the primary ways it can do that is by shifting the delivery of noninteractive content outside the classroom, freeing up class time for interaction.

A common concern is that podcasting lectures will reduce class attendance. Although this is a possibility, faculty we interviewed suggest that students with a strong interest in the course continue to attend class even if podcasts are available; those in attendance had greater interest in course content, making for greater faculty-student exchange. Assumptions about attendance should be tested. Although students at one institution reported their attendance was not affected by podcasting, faculty perceived that attendance decreased. Data are not available to clarify if there was any change, positive or negative.

Perhaps the best insurance for keeping class attendance high is judicious use of podcasting—not to deliver content but as a tool for active learning. Active learning options include using podcasting:

• as a reporting tool for team-based presentations
• as a living journal for students in international exchange programs
• as an archive for learning experiences that can be built on by other students
• for authentic assessment

If attendance is a concern with the implementation of podcasting, consider some the following options:

• provide supplementary materials via podcast to augment in-class lectures
• develop a different course structure, such as offering lectures via podcast and using class time for discussion or other activities

Before You Begin

Before you advocate podcasting, there are several questions you may want to answer:

• What do you hope to achieve?
• Are your users (students and faculty) receptive?
• Do you have the necessary infrastructure and support?
• What policies may be necessary?
• What options should you consider?

What do you hope to achieve?

Whether you use podcasting to archive lectures or for active learning, it is important to be clear about what you hope to achieve through the use of the technology. Will podcasts be used to enhance or replace existing pedagogical practices? For example, are you using podcasts to reinforce concepts presented elsewhere? To free students from note taking? To allow them to make up for missed classes?

Technology alone will not improve learning. However, it can support the learning process by making access more convenient and enabling new activities. As you consider what you hope to achieve, you may want to ask:

• Is your goal to automate lecture capture so students can listen again to class discussions anyplace and anytime?
• Do you want to augment class sessions with additional audio material?
• Is podcasting a tool that will allow students to collect authentic content (such as interviews) for use in class projects?
• Are you hoping to reach audiences that are less inclined to read than listen?

Are your users receptive?

There are two groups who must be receptive to podcasts for implementation to be successful: students and faculty. Although we often assume that all students have iPods and are comfortable downloading material from the Web, it is important to test this assumption, especially for your user population. For example, while many students have downloaded music or movies from the Web, fewer have downloaded podcasts. Among those students who do use podcasts, many listen to them on their computers rather than on a mobile device.

But it isn’t just students who must be receptive to podcasting; the faculty must share that interest. Faculty are more likely to be interested in podcasting if they have been shown the various ways podcasts can be used to enhance learning, particularly within their discipline. (See the Examples and Case Studies sections for suggestions.) Adequate support must be available, as well.

You may survey potential faculty and students about their interest in podcasting. However, if they have never experienced good educational use of podcasts, their responses may not indicate the potential success of a program.

Do you have the necessary infrastructure and support?

Podcasts are audio files that have been captured and posted to a Web site for downloading. The distinction between a simple audio file and podcasting is that a podcast has an accompanying RSS feed that supports enclosures so that podcatchers can automatically receive them. Getting started may require little more than a microphone, some software, and a computer, but scaling podcasting to dozens—or hundreds—of students requires an infrastructure for uploading, hosting, and downloading institutional resources.

Faculty and students will need support. Faculty workshops on how to develop a podcast are probably essential. Help desk support for students who are unfamiliar with podcasting may be necessary. High-quality productions may require an audio studio.

What policies may be necessary?

Podcasting is unlikely to be part of existing campus policies, so you may want to consider questions such as:

• Are podcasts considered the intellectual property of the institution or of the individual faculty member or student who created them?
• Will all podcasts be made available at no charge to students, or will a fee be assessed?
• Do guidelines for copyright and fair use apply to podcasts as well as other works (e.g., articles)?
• If listening to podcasts is required for a course, must all students own an MP3 player or a computer, or will the institution provide the means for listening?

Just as many policies had to be revisited when face-to-face courses migrated online, the same may be true as lectures and student work moves from print to podcasts.

What options should you consider?

Before you begin podcasting, there are a number of options to consider. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it illustrates some of the choices available.

Access

• Will podcasts be available only to students registered in a course? To any student at the college or university? To anyone (student, faculty, staff, or alumni) at the institution? To anyone, irrespective of whether they are associated with the institution?
• Will podcasts be available before class? After class? Will there be a planned delay before they become available?
• Will the podcasts be available after the end of the term? To whom?

Required or optional

• Is the material in the podcasts required for all students?

Level of production

• Is simple recording of audio sufficient, or is a higher production quality needed?
• Is the podcast just recorded ad lib, or is it scripted and professionally produced? Or somewhere in between?
• Is the podcast audio only, or is it augmented with images?
• Are external resources required (e.g., music, images, voice talent)? If so, what are the copyright and budget considerations?

Length

• Are podcasts short (e.g., 10 minutes), or are they full class length (e.g., 50 minutes)? What is the length of podcasts that will most likely be used?

User Support

• What are faculty and student computer skill levels for creating, uploading, and downloading podcasts?
• What types of hardware (for production and playback) and devices (for playback) can be supported?
• If using podcasts is required, do all students have the technology needed to access the podcasts?
• What considerations are in place for accessibility concerns?

What It Takes to Podcast

Creating the audio for a podcast will likely involve recording voices but may also include images, music, or voice-overs. But creating the audio is just part of the process. The audio must be converted to the appropriate file format (e.g., MP3), posted, and made available through RSS. Below are some of the steps involved in podcasting as well as examples of the tools you might use.

Creating a podcast

There are a number of steps to creating a podcast. Table 2 highlights the major steps, as well as the tools needed. Note that you may need some additional hardware, such as a noise-canceling microphone, audio mixer, audio/MP3 recorder, or headphones. In additional, you may want a device such as an instreamer that converts the received analog and digital audio to MP3 format.

Table 2. Creating Podcasts

Step	Description	Software Options
Capture/edit	Collect content through an input device directly to a computer or digital recorder. Make adjustments to the recorded information using editing software.	Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net/> GarageBand <http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/> ProfCast <http://www.profcast.com/public/index.php>
Encode	Encoding software and hardware convert the captured content to MP3 or, if video, MPEG-4 format. Conversion options may be available in some editing software.	LAME <http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php> MediaCoder <http://sourceforge.net/projects/mediacoder>
Post file	The MP3 file can be posted to a Web site or published in a blog.	Drupal <http://drupal.org/> MoveableType <http://www.movabletype.org/> WordPress <http://wordpress.org/>
Distribute file	RSS (Really Simple Syndication) enables the syndication of the podcast file, creating a feed. The feed’s code contains tags for title, description, publication date, and file location on the server.	Easypodcast <http://www.easypodcast.com/> XML editor
Play	Aggregators, RSS newsreader clients, and Web-based readers are used to subscribe to podcast feeds and download podcasts. Aggregators provide a navigable user interface and can be set up for automatic download of feeds.	iPodder <http://www.ipodder.org/directory/4/ipodderSoftware> Juice <http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/> NewsGator <http://www.newsgator.com/Home.aspx> Pluck <http://www.pluck.com/>

Podcasting resources

It isn’t necessary to create your own podcasts; a number of sites provide podcast lectures for public use. You may also want to augment your podcast with music, audio, images, or other resources. And, if your campus does not have a formal solution for hosting podcasts, you might want to take advantage of one of the fee-based Web services that will host material for you. Table 3 highlights some of the many resources available.

Table 3. Podcast Resources

External Resources	Description	Source
Higher education resources	These sites are higher education podcast repositories. Though some podcasts at these sites are freely shareable, thus useable for instruction, review any noted copyright information regarding use.	College and University Feed Directory <http://directory.edufeeds.com/index.php?c=2> ed-cast: The Higher Education Podcast Repository <http://ed-cast.org/>
Music and audio resources	Music and other audio can be used to enhance the presentation of your podcast. The noted sites provide free and copyrighted samples.	Audiobag <http://audiobag.com/> OkayToPlay <http://www.okaytoplay.com/wiki/Legal_Music_Providers> Podcast Alley <http://podcastalley.com/podcast_genres.php> thefreesoundproject <http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/>
Images	Images can be integrated into your podcast to visually enhance the material.	clipart.com <http://www.clipart.com/> (royalty-free) FreeFoto <http://www.freefoto.com/> (review use guidelines) FreeMediaGOO <http://www.freemediagoo.com/> (royalty-free)
Voice-over	As the importance of the content increases, so should the quality of the delivery. Voice-overs can provide lead-ins and introductions within the podcast to improve the professionalism of the production.	PodcastVoiceGuys <http://www.podcastvoiceguys.com/> VoiceOpolis <http://www.voiceopolis.com/>
Hosting services	If you do not have access to a media server, free and fee-based hosting services are available. You can upload your podcasts to these services to make them available.	AudioBlog <http://www.audioblog.com/> iTunes <http://www.apple.com/itunes/> LiberatedSyndication <http://www.libsyn.com/> OurMedia <http://www.ourmedia.org/> PodBus <http://podbus.com/>

Distributing podcasts

Individual podcasts can be uploaded to any course management system as a multimedia file. However, providing students, faculty, and staff access to institutional resources requires a separate infrastructure for uploading, hosting, and authentication. Both external services like Apple’s iTunes U or campus-based systems can easily incorporate your institutional brand and access considerations. However, inviting input from IT, libraries, faculty, and public relations will ensure an interface and technical design appropriate for your institution.