Podcasting Made Easy Andy Williams Edmonds Community College

Podcasting Made Easy Andy Williams - Edmonds Community College andy. williams@edcc. edu http: //faculty. edcc. edu/andy. williams/

Art Arfons Wolfman Jack

Communication with Students • “Why don’t they get it? ” • “If they would just follow the instructions…. ” • “Can’t they read? ” • “Why are they taking an online class, anyway? ”

Communication with Students

Who are our students? � 71% intend to transfer to university. 58% are employed. 26% of accounting students have children or other dependents. 18% do not have a High School Diploma. 14% International Students.

Who are our students? § They have other responsibilities and interests. § My class is not their top priority. § They don’t have enough time. § They are ‘underprepared. ’ § They need flexible learning opportunities.

They use technology • 75% of online teens use Instant Messenger. • 51% of online teens download music. • 91% of all adults online use email. • 73% of all adults online use internet to get news. Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project Surveys

Why are they enrolled in online classes? • Flexibility of online delivery format. • Schedule didn’t allow me to attend oncampus. • Can’t get to campus. Source: Ed. CC & BCC survey of online course non-completers

Reasons for Withdrawing • I could not handle the combined study plus work or family responsibilities. • I had personal problems. • The online course was too unstructured for me. Source: Ed. CC & BCC survey of online course non-completers

What has the lowest student satisfaction level for those who withdrew from online classes? Interaction with faculty Source: Ed. CC & BCC survey of online course non-completers

A Solution - Use Technology to Talk to Students

What’s a Podcast? • “Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or music videos, over the Internet for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. “ • “Podcasting's essence is about creating content (audio or video) for an audience that wants to listen or watch when they want, where they want, and how they want. ” Wikipedia

Sample Podcasts • AW Web Pages • Mr. Excel Video Podcast • University of Washington • CPA Podcasts • i. Tunes University • UC Berkeley on i. Tunes • Podcast Alley • Podzinger • Education Podcast Network

Berkeley i. Tunes Site

UC Berkeley - Intro to Computers

Ed. CC i. Tunes Site

Podcast Strategy • Quick, easy and low (no) cost • Use. mp 3 files • Short audio clips • Link to textbook

Podcast Strategy • Consider attention span and downloading time. Keep it short! • 5 minutes of MP 3 file is about 5 MB! • Too long----> Students tune out. • Too short ----> Not worth it.

What you need to Podcast • Audacity - Free software from Source Forge – http: //audacity. sourceforge. net/ – Cross Platform (Mac or Windows) – Easy to Use • Garage Band (Mac OSX) - with i. Life suite • Web space - a place to upload your audio files • Microphone/Speakers on your computer • Script or notes!

Audacity Play Record Pause Stop Mic Level Playback Level Recording Level

Podcasting to Your Class, and the World! • Save completed audio file to desktop • Load to web server • Link to Blackboard classroom & web page • Load into i. Tunes or other source (Need XML) • Get students to listen, learn and give feedback!

Garage Band Media Files Tracks Controls Timer

Publish Your Podcast with Garage Band Sample Pod Cast

Podcasts with a Phone! • www. gcast. com • Sample gcast!

Student Comments • “It was a pleasant surprise to be greeted with a podcast welcoming me to the class at the beginning of the course. ” • “Now with the podcast I feel that I have even more of an opportunity to be successful in this course. ” • “I like having your lecture notes and the podcast, it makes it seem like it's more class room like. ”

Why add Podcasts to Course Materials? • Audio connection with students • Easier heard than read? • Time shifting - Convenient and flexible • Technology comfort level

Podcasting Resources for Educators & Students http: //www. stager. org/podcasting. html Beginner’s Guide to Podcast Creation http: //www. ilounge. com/index. php/articles/comments/beginners-guide-topodcast-creation/ e-Learning Centre http: //www. e-learningcentre. co. uk/eclipse/Resources/podcasting. htm Educause Resource Center http: //www. educause. edu/ Apple Education Resources – Podcasting in Education http: //www. apple. com/education/solutions/podcasting/ Apple Education Resources – Podcasting Videos http: //www. apple. com/education/resources/podcastingvideos/ Apple i. Tunes http: //www. apple. com/itunes/

The Future? Or Now?