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
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