Podcasting and Emerging Technology

1. Emerging Technology: PodcastingCATS 2005 PresentationSteve Sloansteve.sloan@sjsu.eduhttp://sloantech.blogspot.com/

2. Podcasting a topic of great interest • See: • www.mercurynews.com • Itconversations.com • Dangillmor.typepad.com This is a podcast!

3. Agenda • What is podcasting? • Emerging Technology (ET) • Define and understand ET • Where podcasting fits into ET • Define and understand podcasting • Podcasting nuts and bolts • How to create a podcast • Podcasting tools • Summary • Benefits of podcasting • Downside of podcasting • Conclusion, credits and conversation

4. Emerging Technologies of the past • Portable phones once niche players in telecommunications • Hard to use • Cumbersome • Expensive • Now considered one of the three things everybody has • Wallet/purse • Keys • Portable phone • Continuing to change face of society, this tech is still emerging

5. What is Emerging Technology?What are some emerging technologies? • The adjective emerging has 3 meanings • Coming into view • Coming into existence • Coming to maturity • Internet + Weblogging • The read-write web • Dan Gillmor, “We the media” • User enabling software-hardware • Common computers over 1 billion instructions a second (Super Computers, “Lethal Weapons”) • Media creation applications such as iMovie, iPhoto etc. • Portable devices • OQO, Sony devices, Nokia and “Scoble” phones • Always-on broadband in the home • Cable-DSL • Ubiquitous connectivity, “digital dial tone” • 802.11, Cellular, RSS, (wireless plus download) • See: • www.answers.com • www.bushin30seconds.org

6. Emerging Technology Is:Useable, portable & powerful systems capable of accessing and creating dynamic content in the hands of the public.

7. Podcasting and Emerging Technology • Podcasting is a subset of RSS which is a subset of Emerging Technology • Podcasting uses RSS v. 2.0 • Enclosures • Also includes videocasting • XML based • Download based • Not dependent on high bandwidth • Dependant on relatively pervasive connectivity • Technically it is pull technology • Push / pull convergence • Subscription required • Has push characteristics • “Long tail” technology • Infinite number of channels!

8. Podcasting is • Mixing of the words iPod and broadcasting • A web-based broadcast medium • Audio files (most commonly in MP3 format) • Made available online • Software (like iPodder & xPodder) • Automatically detects new files • Based on RSS v 2.0 enclosures • Downloads the files • For listening at the user's convenience • Allows time shifting • See: • www.wikipedia.org

9. Understanding Podcasting • A podcast is like an audio magazine subscription • Subscribe to a feed • Subscriber receives regular audio programs delivered via the Internet • Can listen to them at their leisure • Differ from traditional internet audio in two important ways • They can be listened to at any time because a copy is on the listener's computer or portable music player (hence the "pod" in "podcasting") • Are automatically delivered to subscribers, so no active downloading is required • Podcasting is functionally similar to the use of timeshift-capable digital video recorders (DVRs) • such as TiVo which lets users record and store television programs for later viewing • Push / Pull convergence • See: • www.wikipedia.org

10. Podcasting is not just for iPods • See: • www.edupodder.com • www.itconversations.com • www.engadget.com

11. XML code of a podcast • See: • www.edupodder.com

12. Some uses for podcasting in education • For distance learning • To facilitate self-paced learning • For remediation of slower learners • To allow faculty to offer advanced and or highly motivated learners extra content • For helping students with reading and/or other learning disabilities • For multi-lingual education • To provide the ability for educators to feature guest speakers from remote locations • To allow guest speakers the ability to present once to many sections and classes • To allow educators to escape the tedium of lecturing • To offer a richer learning environment • See: • www.edupodder.com

13. How to do a podcast? • Production can be simple or complex, depending on platform and how polished you want the end product to be • Len Pryor has shown several cookbook methods at Engadget • New WYSIWYG web-based tools promise to streamline podcast production • See: • www.engadget.com • www.odeo.com • www.audioblog.com • www.edupodder.com

14. One easy way to create a podcast • See: • www.audioblog.com

15. Audioblog • See: • www.audioblog.com

16. This is Odeo • See: • www.odeo.com

17. Odeo offers some attractive features • Access Control Lists (ACLs) on the roadmap • Can control who can get access to content • Easy to use user interface • Evan Williams, former co-founder of Pyra Labs • Pyra created “Blogger” • Blogger is now owned by Google • See: • odeo.com • Flickr.com

18. Audioblogger • See: • www.audioblogger.com

19. Feeder • See: • www.reinventedsoftware.com

20. Podcasting kit • See: • www.pwop.com Less than $400!

21. One podcasting kit • High-quality gear that is also compact and affordable • You don't need a computer in order to record your voice • The mic plugs into the preamp. The preamp plugs into the recording device's line input, and the headphones plug into the recording device's headphone jack • Only the preamp requires AC power • Recording device uses a single AA battery which lasts a long time • See: • www.pwop.com

22. Lifeblog • See: • mobile.kaywa.com • www.nokia.com

23. Transparency • By nature RSS is transparent • This can be good or bad • Invites the world into the classroom • Some solutions for this • Use application layer security (SSL/SSH) • Tools like Odeo to feature ACLs • Secure RSS? • Do we adapt to provide more transparency, or do we adapt the tool to provide greater security? • Route around nature of Internet may make it difficult to not be transparent

24. secureRSS? • Does secure RSS exist? • Will secure RSS exist? • If so may enable easy one-to-one podcasting • Digital Rights Management (DRM) an alternative? • Also, application layer security (SSH/SSL) • See: • www.infoage.idg.com.au

25. “When it comes to podcasting, we are all newbies”~Doug Kaye • Tools are making podcasting easier and easier • Podcasting can be done from and to everything from desktop computers to cell phones • The key to podcasting is RSS • Download verses streaming • Low bandwidth tolerant • Podcasts are XML files • Platform and device agnostic • Dependent on capabilities of receiving device • A non-proprietary solution • Extends reach of Internet • Files are local • Works with cell phones • See: • Itconversations.com

26. Downsides of podcasting(and RSS) • Depends on a relatively pervasive connection to the Internet at some point • Can be via telco • By nature it is transparent • Major changes in faculty/student relationship • Value of human interaction cannot be ignored • What about the student peer relationship? • May prove to be a barrier to faculty and/or students who are tech challenged • Lack of searchability • Potential for information overload

27. Credits • Special thanks to • Robert Scoble • The Gillmor brothers • Dan • Steve • Doug Kaye • Lenn Pryor

28. Contact info and conversation • SJSU • Steve.sloan@sjsu.edu • (408) 924-2374 • General • Skype/AIM: ssloansjca • Web: www.edupodder.comMain Geek Blog: sloantech.blogspot.com • (408) 605-0692 • S_sloan@mac.com • Conversation • What do you think of podcasting?

29. www.sjsu.edu/cats/2003/showcase/