Just Getting Started with Podcasting

Cleo D’Arcy and Darin Eastburn

Department of Crop Sciences

cdarcy@uiuc.edu, eastburn@uiuc.edu

Why get started?

Extra time?

Extra funds for teaching?

Seriously, we have been studying students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of different instructional formats and media.

iPods are “in”, so how can we use them effectively for instruction?

(USA Today article)

Plants, Pathogens, and People(PLPA 200)

uses plant disease epidemics to introduce issues in agriculture

fulfills general education requirements: natural science, advanced composition

capped at 75 students

PLPA 200 Students

sophomores, juniors, seniors

from 6 to 8 different UIUC colleges

some have lots of college biology; some have one course in high school

most are taking the class to fulfill General Education requirements

PLPA 200 Formats and Media

lecture handouts visual aids: chalkboard, overheads, color slides,

PowerPoint slides, videotapes i>clickers discussion: small group, whole class review grids writing: in class, out of class textbook PPP web site: text, images, interactive exercises Compass site: on-line quizzes, PowerPoint notes

What do podcasts add?

appeal for auditory learners

repetition and reinforcement of material

enthusiasm and emphasis from the instructor’s voice

anytime, anyplace learning - “m-learning”

PLPA 200 Podcasts:PPPodcasts

one each week

5-7 minutes

three parts key concept or issue point of confusion study hints

music

What do our students think?(some very preliminary findings)

45% use the podcast every week45% use it some weeks10% never use it

>90% access the podcast from their home computer

What do our students think?(some very preliminary findings)

the most useful feature is the point of confusion

the podcasts are a good length

the music doesn’t really add to or detract from them

65% never listen to other podcasts

The technical stuff…

“A podcast is a multimedia file distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.”

The technical stuff…

“Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital audio formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom.” (Wikipedia)

In other words:

a podcast is an mp3 (or other) audio file

it can be distributed directly through a web site, such as a course Compass site

and/or through subscription to an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed

How to Hints: What you Need

computer (PC or Mac)

computer compatible microphone or microphone and digital converter

sound recording program

Audacity for PC, iLife for Mac

music files (mp3 files) [optional]

How to Hints: The Process

compose the material for the podcast(write a script)

record the sound file (voice) edit the sound file add music clips (if desired) save the edited sound file export the edited recording as an mp3 post the podcast

Audacity Audio Recording Software

DEMO Time

How to Hints

The UIUC Podcast Server:

http:podcast.ics.uiuc.edu