Creating Audio Podcastsfor Education

                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                             

Podcasting: What is it?

• Podcasting is a way to post and distribute multimedia files online

• Can be audio only, enhanced podcasts, video, or other file types

• Generally a regular series of shows thatcan be “subscribed” to

• Does not require an iPod

How is it relevant to education?

• Can be listened to on many platforms: desktop, laptop, handhelds, MP3 players, cell phones

• Mobile

• Delivers content “just in time”

• Multimedia is highly engaging and addresses a variety of learning styles

• 99% free• Low cost to broadcast = cheap publishing platform and more content

Differentiating Instruction

• We can use podcasts to… – Differentiate!– Extend!– Remediate!– Communicate!– Engage!– Motivate!– Publish!

Differentiating Instruction

• Podcasts can be used– To provide students with choices in

differentiated content(using podcasts that others have created)

– To give students a choice in how they demonstrate mastery(creating your own podcasts)

What does the research say?

• Using multimedia to address different learning styles is a part of DI [Benjamin, Tomlinson]

• Podcasting develops 21st Century literacies [Shamburg; Partnership for 21st Century Skills]

• Podcasting can be “a catalyst for reflection” [Speak Up; Pew Research Center]

• Approximately 80% of teens own an MP3 player [Speak Up; Pew Research Center]

• There are over 150,000 podcasts in iTunes [Apple]

Educational Uses Podcasting

• For administrators and teachers– Professional

development– Audio newsletters– Building learning

communities– Home/school

information– Community

connections

• For students– Tutorials– Remediation– Enrichment– Virtual field trips– Reading fluency– Vocabulary building– ESL– Foreign languages– Book talks– Student projects

The Fastest 5 Minutes in Podcasting

• Albemarle Co. Public Schoolswww.k12albemarle.org

• Los Angeles Co. Office of Ed.ctap.lacoe.edu

• PD to Gowww.pdtogo.com

• Engadgetwww.engadget.com

• T4 Podcast – Jordan School Dist.t4.jordan.k12.ut.us

• Grammar Girlgrammar.qdnow.com

• Books Talkswww.nancykeane.com

• Colonial Williamsburgwww.history.org

• Quirks and Quarkswww.cbc.ca/quirks

• LD Podcastwww.ldpodcast.com

• ColeyCast – Tovashal Elem.www.mrcoley.com

• Jamestown – Jamestown Elem.slapcast.com/users/Jamestown

• WKSN – Kate Sullivan Elem.www.sullivan.leon.k12.fl.us

• CarverCast – GW Carver Elem.salem.k12.va.us/gwc/podcasts/ CarverCast.htm

• Our City – St. Andrew's Priory School www.learninginhand.com/ OurCity

• Radio WillowWeb – Willowdale Elem.www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio

• Room 208 – Wells Elem. bobsprankle.com/blog

Going Deeper: Student Project Ideas

• Book talks

• Character interviews

• Historic interviews

• Language practice

Getting Started

• Podcatching vs. podcasting– Podcatching – “tuning in” to podcasts that

others have created– Podcasting – making your own podcasts

What You Need to Tune In

• A device to listen or view– Desktop or laptop computer– Handheld computer– MP3 player (iPod or other)– MP3-enabled cell phone

• Internet access

• Software to listen or view

What You Need to Tune In (cont.)

• Good tools to get started - Hardware:– Desktop computer– MP3 player

• Good tools to get started - Software:– iTunes

(Windows or Mac)

Audio Formats

• There are a variety of file formats for digital audio:– MP3 – most common; works on all devices,

compressed– AAC – format used by Apple, compressed– WMA – Microsoft format, compressed– OGG – Open Source, compressed– WAV – used on PCs; no compression

Listening in iTunes

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER

Podcast Web Pages

• When you go to web pages with podcasts on them, you may see two types of links:– RSS feed– Links to actual files (MP3)

Downloading Files

• MP3 files– On the desktop, just click to play– To transfer to a mobile device, save as and

copy to device

• RSS feeds– Need podcatching software to “subscribe”

Podcatching Software

• Podcatching software lets you “subscribe” to podcasts and automatically download them to your computer

• Uses RSS feeds

• Good tool to get started– iTunes

RSS

• RSS – Real Simple Syndication

• Lets you “subscribe” to feeds; automatically downloads new shows

• Text, audio, and video

• Aggregates content so you don’t have to visit all the web pages individually

• Example: Colonial Williamsburg

• If you see this, you are looking at XML

• This is the “feed”

Creating Your Own Podcast

• What you need:– Content– Recording hardware and software– Editing software– Hosting server– RSS feed (optional)

• Good tools to get started Audacity – audacity.sourceforge.netGarageBand – www.apple.com/ilife/garagebandBlogger – www.blogger.com WordPress – www.wordpress.org FeedBurner – www.feedburner.com

Audio Podcasts: Audacity

GabCast

• Record a podcast right from your cell phone – what could be easier?

• Free!

• Can be automatically posted to your blog as well

• Audio blog

Conclusion

• Podcasting is quick and easy and has enormous benefits for a variety of audiences:– Students– Teachers and administrators– Parents and the community

• Go try it out!

• Q&A

Karen Fasimpaur

email: karen@k12handhelds.com

Thank you!

Image credits: Slides 1, 2, and 3 – Credit: Jupiter Images