Podcasting for instruction
Podcasting takes advantage of mobile computing and can extend learning
beyond the classroom. Picture a student walking around campus, driving a car or sitting in a coffee shop while listening to your lectures or audio about that week's assignment.
Podcasting has enormous educational uses. It is easy to do, has few costs and can contribute to students' learning experiences in a number of ways. As with any educational technology, it works best as part of your pedagogy.
Faculty Podcasting Tip Sheet
Recording lectures for podcasting
* Place the recorder's microphone close to your mouth.
* If you strap it to your arm, your voice may fade when turning your head away from the microphone.
* The recorder will pick up other close-by noise. If walking on a hard surface while lecturing you may pick up the sound of your shoes.
* Try to repeat student questions or responses.
* Put a reminder in your class notes or in your calendar to periodically change the recorder's batteries.
* Transfer your recorded lectures after no more than two. Students with learning disabilities may find class lectures difficult and will use your podcasts to keep up.
* If you show visuals with your lectures, describe the visuals so students listening to audio only may understand it better.
* If video is captured of your lectures, you can podcast that video if it is converted to MP4, or you can convert the audio portion to MP3 and podcast only the audio.
Recording podcasts that complement your course
* Relate real-world experiences.
* Podcast summaries of the key lecture points.
* Add new material rather than repeating class lectures.
* Summarize points students may have trouble understanding in class.
* Discuss something relevant to the course content. (e.g., a report or journal article; research results; remarks of a conference speaker.)
* Suggest topics your students can Google and share in the class discussion forum or blog.
Content tips
* Work from a script, unless you are comfortable speaking extemporaneously.
* Edit the recording to remove long pauses, mistakes and "ums".
* Provide a script for hearing impaired students or students with learning disabilities.
* Have your students create course-related podcasts.
Distance learning
* Podcasts connect students and instructors in new ways.
* Have students submit assignments and summaries of exercises, readings and activities as podcasts.
Hardware & software tips
* Use a hands-free USB headphone/microphone headset for desktop recording.
* For PCs: Audacity is free, open source software for creating your audio and exporting to an MP3 audio file for use in the podcast: audacity.sourceforge.net. Be sure to download and extract the LAME MP3 encoder, required for exporting to MP3 in Audacity.
* Macs: Use GarageBand and the iLife 2006 suite.
* There are many digital audio recorder/players on the market for recording lectures and presentations. Look for one with an armband or clip, if needed.
Learn more about UA podcasting — podcasting.arizona.edu.
For more information on instructional podcasting, contact Stuart Glogoff, Sr. Consultant for Learning Technologies and Adjunct Professor School of Information Resources and Library Science — stuartg@email.arizona.edu, 626-5347.
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