What is a podcast?
Podcasts are digital audio files, posted on the Internet. Many podcasts are free and include audio books, news shows, talk shows and lectures as well as self-guided museum tours, job training, story telling, historical fiction, and dramatic reenactments (King & Cox, 2011). Podcasts have been making their way into the classroom since 2002, but have recently gained momentum as high speed bandwidth is more common and therefore downloading or streaming can be instantaneous (Kay, 2013).Pros for Adult Learners: Integrating Audio/Podcast into Lesson Plans
As with the blogs and the wiki pros I've posted this semester, I believe the pros outweigh the cons to integrating podcasts into lesson plans. I believe that one of the greatest benefits to using podcasts is that because they are a digital medium they are therefore portable and can be shared globally. Podcasts have also been found to promote critical thinking as well as benefit people with different learning skills (King & Cox, 2011). When podcasts have been integrated into curriculum, studies have shown that students have also found podcasts to be enjoyable, motivating, interesting, stimulating, easy to use and a great tool to use when preparing for class (Kay, 2013).I also enjoy podcasts for the following reasons:
- They are portable - I can put them on my ipod and listen to them anywhere
- Many podcasts are free
- I can listen a podcast as many times as I want
Cons for Adult Learners: Integrating Audio/Podcast into Lesson Plans
With any new technology in a classroom cons must also be considered, however, there only seem to be a few cons when integrating podcasts into the curriculum. The potential for technical difficulties should always be considered when using any sort of technology in the classroom. Also it has been found that listening to podcasts outside of class requires more self-discipline and therefore students may be more likely to pass over assigned podcasts (Kay 2013).Personally, I enjoy podcasts, but there are a few problems I run into when I am listening:
- Does not work well for complex subjects - When dealing with complex subjects, I need visual support as well.
- Passive medium - Since I am primarily a visual learning, I really have to concentrate when listening to podcasts. I find that with podcasts, I tend to daydream more and have to replay the podcast
- Lacks Feedback - I might have questions
Videos in the Classroom
Videos are also a great tool for the classroom and should be utilized when appropriate. According to King and Cox (2011. p. 69-70) pros for using videos in the classroom include the following:- Easy and quick to create
- Inexpensive to create
- Highly effective learning media
- Available anytime as many times as you want
- Incorporates both visual and audio learning styles
- Consistent delivery of content
Interview with Dr. Cotten:
Below is a Youtube video I created with on of the professors I work with at the University of West Florida. Dr. Cotten works in our social work department and he was tasked with implementing a new technology into his classroom this past year. The technology is called the Tandberg System, which is a video teleconference system that he uses to teach students on Eglin Air Force base and in Pensacola simultaneously. He discusses the challenges he has faced while integrating this technology into his adult education curriculum.My Favorite NPR Podcasts
Another Pro for podcasts is that they can be great tool for learning and they can be fun too! Below are my three favorite podcasts from NPR. Although, I primarily listen to these podcasts for fun, learning just happens to be a great byproduct as well.
This American Life
King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The
Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
Publishing. ISBN: 9781617353338 e-book ISBN: 9781617353352
Kay, R. (2013). Exploring the use of video podcasts in education: A comprehensive review of the literature, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 28, Issue 3, May 2012, Pages 820-831, ISSN 0747-5632,
IMAGES
(September 4, 2013). New logo and identity for wait wait..don't tell me [Web
Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_and_identity_for_wait_wait_dont_tell_me_by_michael_casebolt.php#.UkxVb4Z6adI
(2013). Car Talk [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.kqed.org/radio/programs/index.jsp?pgmid=RD11
(2013). This American life [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from https://www.prettygoodgoods.org/categories/12432-this-american-life
(2013). Human Rights Animation by Amnesty International [Web Graphic]. Retrieved http://brinebooks.com/human-rights-animation-by-amnesty-international/
(2013). Human Rights Animation by Amnesty International [Web Graphic]. Retrieved http://brinebooks.com/human-rights-animation-by-amnesty-international/
(n.d). The business of freelancing podcasts [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://brennandunn.com/category/podcast/
VIDEOS
(April 19, 2013) Podcasting in plain english [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7V-CBgpsmI
(October 07, 2013) Interview with Dr. Cotten [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlY2VpZDaM0&feature=youtu.be
Karen, I really liked your interview video because of the fact that Dr. Cotton explained exactly what can happen when technology does not work correctly which can be any time of the day. I also think that Social Work courses should be face-to-face because students need to be able to interact personally with the professor and other students in order to do role playing and ask pertinent questions. I know that Illinois does not offer many online MSW degree programs online. The better, accredited colleges and universities offer only face-to-face programs with a learning management system for storing class information such as the syllabus, PowerPoint presentations, and possibly exams.
ReplyDeleteMany businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies take their time to install and upgrade any type of software and it is true as Dr. Cotton said, it can be outdated before it is ever used.
I think you did a great job of asking questions of your interviewee and waiting for him to answer before you started speaking.
I like your pros about podcasts because I too believe that they can be an effective learning tool because they available any time and whenever needed. It gives the visual and hearing learner a great benefit. It covers two learning styles!
Hi Sonnie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. Many of our instructors dislike the Tandberg system for teaching. I use it a lot for training. It's great for me because I don't have to drive 1 1/2 hours to and from the main campus and am able to save gas and I can still be available for my students if they need me. I chose to ask Dr. Cotten to do the interview, because I thought he was one of the instructors that enjoyed using it. I guess I was wrong! I'm still glad I interviewed him, because it's good to get both perspectives on technology.
Karyn
Karyn said: "I chose to ask Dr. Cotten to do the interview, because I thought he was one of the instructors that enjoyed using it. I guess I was wrong!"
DeleteLOL...LOL!!!! Karyn, you are too funny. At one point in your video, he even refers to himself as a Luddite.
As per Wikipedia: "Luddite" is a term describing those opposed to, or slow to adopt or incorporate into their lifestyle, industrialisation, automation, computerisation or new technologies in general. I am glad you had him as an interviewee. It is good to have alternative perspectives.
~Aja
Hi Karyn:
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic interview with Dr. Christopher Cotten!!! It was very engaging. I loved the closed captioning. I was able to easily follow the interview trajectory and flow.
* The Learning Management System, Elearning/D2L (Desire to learn) University of West Florida seems very user-friendly. Dr. Cotten seemed more comfortable using the UWF LMS than the Encourse LMS at his previous school.
* Dr. Cotten was hilarious when he said: (1) Wiki integration was above his paygrade and (2) Students were puzzled by audio technology because there was nothing to look at (LOL...LOL!!!). As you know, I recently learned how to use audio technology with PDF documents, so may creating a visual grid in alignment with the PDF audio could promote more interest and engagement.
I thought it was so cool that he liked NPR podcasts and have integrated them into his course curriculum.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful interview.
~Aja
Thanks for feedback, Aja! I passed along your comments to Dr. Cotten and he said you are his new BFF. He is quite happy that he isn't using the Tandberg system this semester, but I did inspire him to try out some new technologies. He is going to have his students create youtube video into a course he is teaching next semester!
DeleteHi Karyn:
DeleteLOL...LOL!!! Thanks for passing on my comments to Dr. Cotten. I am so glad that you was inspired by you and is going to branch out to integrating YouTube videos into his curriculum. That is excellent. Good job in helping an instructor to stretch his technological wings.
~Aja
Typo - 3rd sentence, "you" should be "he was inspired by you"
Delete~Aja
HI Karyn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your interview. It was well thought out and put together very well. I liked the way that you also included the closed captioning, I thought that was a great touch to the video presentation.
John
Thanks for the feedback John! The closed captioning took me a long time to do, but I thought that it needed to be done, because I didn't think the sound was that great of quality.
DeleteKaryn
Karyn,
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with your interview project. I think you utilized the technology to it's fullest capacity which made it very engaging and informative. The point that you made concerning how we often use technology more than we would originally guess was spot on. Technology has become a very real part of how we teach classes. As John mentioned above, I thought the captioning was very professionally done and also appropriate to ensure all students have access to the information.
Gary
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. I used moviemaker to create the video and wanted to add pop up key points as well, but I couldn't figure out how or even if that was possible with that particular program. Next time I plan to use imovie from my laptop. I just used my iphone to video the interview and I didn't think the sound quality was very good, so I thought it would be better to add the caption.
Thanks again!
Karyn
Karyn,
ReplyDeleteWhile watching your video, I found it interesting how relaxed your conversation was with your interviewee. It really made me (as the viewer) more comfortable because of its loose conversational-type questions and answers that were explained well. I think that because of the sound quality, adding text to the bottom of the video was a necessity! I think that was a great feature for an accessibility aspect.
It is interesting how your interviewee says he can share a failure story every week about integrating technology! I think this is the largest problem for the integration of technology in an educational setting. On one hand, we have products that are free or cheap, but they may require heavy maintenance, difficulties and downtime. On the other hand, we have expensive programs that will work much better but may be out of the budget for many programs.
Great job on your video and what an interesting interview!