Podcasting and Vodcasting by: Kate Ziegler, Heather Pierce, Nicole Kruesel, Jenna Govier

1. Podcasting and Vodcasting by: Kate Ziegler, Heather Pierce, Nicole Kruesel, Jenna Govier Introduction: A podcast, as defined by Illinois State University, is a media file that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.  It uses audio content in .mp3 format to give listeners information from websites of a specific content they choose.  A podcast should be uploaded along with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file to a website. Like a podcast, a vodcast gives specific content to a consumer however a vodcast includes video.  Adam Curry, a VJ from MTV, created the podcast.  The term podcasting came from rhyming with broadcasting, and it begins with “pod” because of the iPod in which people usually use for listening to the podcasts.  According to Chris McIntyre from Podcast Alley, podcasting is special “because it allows individuals to publish (podcast) radio shows that interested learners can subscribe to.”  Before podcasting you could still record a radio show and put it on your website, but now they can automatically be received without having to go to a specific site. With this new technology evolving it is important to know how much our focus group knows about the topic and how it is beneficial in the classrooms. Method: We created a ten-question survey to answer the following questions. 1. How much do most people know about podcasts and vodcasts? 2. How is podcasting/vodcasting beneficial in the classroom? Our survey was created on the Survey Monkey website. It was made up of two True/False questions, two Yes/No questions, two open-ended questions, and four multiple choice questions. The survey was taken by twenty two people, mostly educators in the elementary or high school field. The educators are from all over the Midwest, including the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The survey was given based on what people already knew about the topic, so no prior information was provided. Survey Questions: True or False: There is a large variety of software available for downloading podcasts for both Windows and Mac computers. True or False: You don’t need an Internet connection to access pod and vodcasts. Findings: Through our research and feedback we have come across some important findings. These findings include but are not limited to the fact that all but two of our questioned subjects knew that podcasting comes from the molding of the words iPod and broadcasting. This shows us that we had asked a correctly chosen group of subjects for our survey. When asked if prior to the survey, how many of them knew what a pod/vodcast was, we received a close response of 54.5% have heard of them and 45.5% have not. These numbers lead us to believe that throughout our survey, the people who had not known anything about them, had in fact learned something from responding to our survey and the people who had heard of them had hopefully added to their knowledge of pod and vodcasting. Majority of the subjects at question are in the education field and after our survey, 90.9% of them have decided that as teachers, they will incorporate the use of the pod/vodcast. Although the feedback we received held both positive and negative connotations, our overall numbers demonstrate that our subjects both learned something as well as hold a high chance of implementing this new technology into their classrooms. Conclusion: Very few educators know what pod and vodcasting is and what all entails. However, their lack of knowledge did not affect their opinion on the subject. Our results show that although educators may not fully understand the topic, they believe it would be beneficial to their classroom. Lack of technological resources seems to be the culprit in the lack of overall knowledge on pod and vodcasting.   Our research could be continued to include an extended amount of educators. By doing so, we may receive input from educators who are familiar with pod and vodcasts and have implemented them within the classroom. This may also allow us to compile a list of benefits of pod and vodcasting in the classroom. Resources: McIntyre, C. (2009). What is a Podcast? Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.podcastalley.com/what_is_a_podcast.php Milner Library, Illinois State University. (2007, April 23). How Does Podcasting Work? Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.library.ilstu.edu/page/1102 • 3. Yes or No: A podcast is a media file using sound that can be played on mobile devices, personal computers, and other technological devices. Would you, as a teacher, consider using podcasts in your classroom? • 4. What is one positive and one negative to using podcasting and vodcasting in the classroom? • How would you use podcasting and vodcasting in your classroom? • 6. What does “vod” stand for? • a. Video on display • b. Video or download • c. Video on demand • d. Video oriented data • 7. What piece of technology must you have in order to use a podcast? • a. Calculator • b. Radio • c. TV • d. MP3 device • 8. What is the differencebetween podcasts and vodcasts? • a. Podcasts require Internet access but vodcasts do not. • b. Vodcasts include video but podcasts do not. • c. Podcasts cost money but vodcasts do not. • d. There is no difference between podcasts and vodcasts. • 9. Yes or No: Prior to this survey, did you know what a podcast/vodcast was? • 10. The term “podcasting” comes from two words: • a. iPod and Blogging • b. iPod and Broadcasting • c. iPod and Distributing • d. iPod and Downloading This graph shows that 55% of the teachers taking this survey did know what a pod/vodcast was before taking the survey. 45% of the educators did not. This information was gathered from question 4 of the survey. This chart shows that 91% of the educators would consider using a podcast in the classroom. This comes from question 5 of the survey. This chart shows that 86% of educators know that an MP3 device is required for accessing podcasts. This information comes from question 9 of the survey.