iTunes U + Podcast Producer

Dave Olsen, WVU Web ServicesSeptember 29 2008

itunes.wvu.edu

What We’ll Talk About

• A Caveat

• Defining Podcast

• Content Creation Life Cycle

• Podcast Producer Overview

• iTunes U Overview

• Quick Demo

I’m NOT a Classroom Tech Guy

just want to be perfectly clear

A podcast is a series of audio or video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated download, through Web feeds, to portable media players and personal computers. A podcast is distinguished from other digital-media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added.

Defining Podcast

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What is Podcast Producer?an assembly line for encoding & publishing podcasts

can literally be 3 clicks to record & publish a podcast

Podcast Producer Overview• Included in Mac OS X 10.5 Server

• Works with Macs & PCs*

• Web-based Administration

• Customizable Workflows

• Camera Control

• Custom Intro, Outro, Titling & Watermarking

• Email Notifications

• Xgrid-enabled

Podcast Producer Overview• Written in Ruby

• Can Use: Recorded Video, Recorded Audio, Saved Files, Recorded Screencasts (Mac OS X 10.5 only)

• Publish to: iTunes U, Apple TV, Streaming, integrated Blog

• Default formats: MPEG4, H.264, 3GP, AAC, QT Streaming

• Extra formats: WMV, FLV, Real Media

Podcast Producer Apple-centric Example

Podcast Producer Classroom Example

Gotchas When Deploying• NOT a turn key solution. Takes work.

• Macs in every room w/ a camera.

• Credentials

• Timestamps (biggie surprisingly!)

• Default encoding quality too good

• Will take trial & error to time intro and titling properly

Try before you buy!Apple will lend hardware & software for you to test

Notes About Example

• Don’t blink because the recorded video portion is very fast. Podcast Producer is responsible for assembling the rest of the video.

• Business & Economics was simply used as our test.

• I will not win Dancing with the Stars or American Idol anytime soon.

The Final Product

Onto iTunes U...

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What is iTunes U?a publishing platform for podcasts as well as other audio & video

a familiar platform to many people

iTunes U Overview• Uses Apple’s iTunes software and will sync with an iPod

• Part of Apple’s iTunes Store

• Over half of the nation’s top 500 schools use iTunes U

• Examples: Stanford, Duke, MIT and Penn State

• Now accessible for users with disabilities

• WVU on iTunes Launched: August 3 2007

• Average about 2,000 downloads a week. Mainly athletic content.

Common Questions

• Will it work on Windows? Yes.

• Do I need an iPod? No.

• Do I need iTunes? Yes.

• Can content be protected? Yes and no.

• File formats? QuickTime, MP3, PDF

How is WVU using iTunes U?

• Acts as a repository for marketing materials and recordings of special events.

• Examples: TV commercials, unit podcasts, special events

• We will be integrating many new products using Podcast Producer.

• Majority of the content is not academic. Lack of academic content has hurt our chances of inclusion in the iTunes Store.

• Simply put, we’re not using iTunes U to its full potential.

Tips for Using iTunes U• Talk to your classroom tech or instructional technology

folks at the beginning.

• Think through the organization of your current and future content. Understand the limitations.

• Seek out content creators. Student radio stations or Journalism programs are a good place to start.

• Find solutions for capturing & encoding content.

• Don’t become a bottleneck. Provide access for content creators early and often.

• Make it a part of every project.

Demo Timeitunes.wvu.edu

Request iTunes U Account

itunesu-request@apple.com

i think...

Helpful Linkswww.apple.com/itunesu/

www.apple.com/server/macosx/features/podcasts.htmlxserve.centraldemo.com/groups/democentral/weblog/59152/

www.episodepodcast.com/

Questions or Comments?itunes.wvu.edu