Expanding the Classroom:Learning Opportunities Beyond

the Walls

A Cross Curriculum Examination of Podcasts and Vodcasts for the Classroom

Dr. Donna SHELTON Associate Professor

Northeastern State University - Foreign Language

Dr. Pamela CHRISTOLAssistant Professor

Northeastern State University - Natural Sciences

Rick Shelton M.Ed.Assistant Coordinator for Academic Services

Center for Teaching and Learning - Northeastern State University

To Infinity and Beyond

“To succeed in our struggle to build technology and new media to support learning, we must move far beyond the traditional view of teaching as delivery of information.” 1 John Seely Brown

Overview

How do we make sense of it all? What’s good about it? What’s the downside? Podcasts Vodcasts Foreign Language Science

How do we make sense of it all?

How do we make sense of it all?

Technology today can quickly overtake a classroom with its complexity and the endless options available to the instructor

How do we make sense of it all?

Develop a plan Stick to your plan Build in flexibility Technology cannot instruct Technology is a tool, not a solution

How do we make sense of it all?

Use reliable sites for video and audio content

Use content that fits the lesson Be sure you have the software and

hardware you need Ask questions of your support staff

What’s Good About It?

What’s Good About It?

“Today’s digital kids think of information and communications technology (ICT) as something akin to oxygen: they expect it, it’s what they breathe, and it’s how they live.”1 John Seely Brown

What’s Good About It?

Emphasis is on content, not the instructor Increases instructor’s resources Students are familiar with medium Learning is expanded beyond the

classroom in real time Most schools now have the needed

infrastructure

What’s Good About It?

Interactivity is increased Instruction on the Internet accentuates

the "student as worker" and the "teacher as coach" paradigms2

Cost-to-benefit ratio is excellent

What’s Good About It?

Basic equipment is all that is needed Computer Speakers Internet access Media players installed

Quicktime Windows media player Flash

A projector depending on classroom or lab

What’s the Downside?

What’s the Downside?

Many instructors fear technology Feeling that students are more capable than

instructor You must be able to recognize good

materials Some work is required to sort the good

from the bad There are a lot of bad sites out there

What’s the Downside?

Some sites may be down Your network may be down Virus threats from files Tendency to treat technology as the

solution Technology choices seem overwhelming Information could be dated

Websites

Websites

Focus on established websites Beware of dubious websites Try to use sites with

.edu .gov .org

.com sites are commercial Others are personal in nature

Websites

National Science Research Center http://www.nsrconline.org/index.html

Smithsonian http://www.smithsonian.tv/

Amazing Space http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/

Podcasts

Podcast is an emerging term used for the online delivery of audio-on-demand content

Podcasts

Education Podcast Network http://epnweb.org/

Podcasting news http://www.podcastingnews.com/

National Public Radio www.npr.org

iTunes U http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/

itunes_u/

Podcasts

Podcast.net http://www.podcast.net/

PodcastAlly http://www.podcastalley.com/

iPodder.org http://www.ipodder.org/

NASA http://feeds.feedburner.com/brainbites/nasa

Audio Book Podcasts

LibriVox -- Volunteer Voices, Classic Books

PodioBooks -- New, Original Science Fiction and Fantasy

Urban Art Adventures -- Classic 'Erotic' Audio Books

Maria Lectrix -- Public Domain Books with Catholic Themes

Dead White Males -- Public

Create Your Audio Content

Content can be anything you like Audio books Music “Radio" type shows Interviews

There's no formula for creating the content The beauty of podcasting is that your shows

can be anything that you want them to be

Create Your Audio Content

It doesn't matter what platform or application you use to record the audio Audacity - open source, cross-platform, free

and let's you mix together multiple files GarageBand - popular choice for Macintosh

based computers

Create Your Audio Content

Save the finished audio show at maximum quality in the native format

Convert the file to MP3 format Use the minimum bit rate that provides good

results Some suggested settings:

48 - 56k Mono - sermons, audio books, talk radio 64k+ Stereo - music, music & talk combinations 128k Stereo - good quality music

Publish your MP3

Save your MP3 files to your web server Test them with any MP3 player

The files can go anywhere on your site However you may want to put all of them into

one directory

Create Your Podcast Newsfeed

Podcasts feeds are RSS files that describe your podcast, along with information for each show

RSS files are just text files that link to your MP3 file http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/

How-to-Podcast.html

Vodcast

Vodcast is an emerging term used for the online delivery of video-on-demand content

Vodcasts

Vodstock http://www.vodstock.com

Vodcasts.tv http://www.vodcasts.tv/

Questions

Reference Sources

1. Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn, by John Seely Brown

2. “The Effects of Internet-based Instruction on Student Learning” - Dr. Scott B. Wegner, Associate Professor

Impact of the Internet on Learning and Teaching - Hossein Arsham http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/article01.html