Pod- and Vod -casting in the Classroom By: Jenni Dergantz , Megan Smith, and Faith Gibbs

1. Pod- and Vod-casting in the Classroom By: JenniDergantz, Megan Smith, and Faith Gibbs • Introduction • What is Pod-casting? • Pod-casting is the process of capturing an audio event, song, speech, or mix of sounds and then posting the digital sound object to a web site or “blog”. • Technology Resources • Personal computer with sound card • Microphone (may be built in to computer) • Sound editing free ware • Internet connection • What is Vod-casting? • Vod-casting, or video podcasting, is very similar to pod-casting. It is also known as video blogging and is similar to video on demand. • Technology Resources • Digital camera • High end lap top or desk top computer • Due to the increase in the use of Pod- and Vod-casting, we conducted a survey to see if teachers would find the use of incorporating these technologies into their classrooms beneficial. • To answer our questions about pod- and vod-casting in the classroom, we created a ten question survey on survey monkey and asked professors at Winona State University to complete the survey. • Research Questions • 1). Is pod- and vod-casting beneficial in the classroom? • 2). How do teachers incorporate pod- and vod-casting into the classroom? 1). Please provide the experience you have had with computers. 2). How many students, on average, are absent at least one day during the week? none - 1 1-3 3-5 6+ 3). How many hours a week do you spend tutoring students outside of the class? None 1-3 hours 3-4 hours 4 + hours 4). True or False You often find that you do not have enough time to complete in class labs and activities. Podcasting is the process of capturing an audio event, song, speech, or mix of sounds and then posting that digital sound object to a web site or “blog” in a data structure called an RSS 2.0 envelope ( or “feed”)” (Meng). Podcasts can be used in a variety of ways. Some common uses for the technology are: self-guided walking tours, music, talk shows, training, story telling and in the classroom. In addition to the podcast trend there is vodcasting. “VODcasting (also called “vlogging”) - the “VOD” stands for “video-on-demand” Podcasting and Vodcasting are very similar to each other. The major difference between the two technologies is the content is video verses audio. 5). True or False Before reading the above description, is there a basic understanding of what pod- and vod-casting are? 6). Would pod- and vod-casting make online classes more appealing and accessible to students? 7). Do you have the resources required to create a pod-cast? yes No 8). Do you have the resources required to create a vod-cast? yes No 9). What benefits do you see from incorporating pod- and vod-casting into your lessons? 10). Do you see any disadvantages of incorporating vod- and pod-casting into your lesson? Findings This graph shows that 73% of Professors at WSU have a basic knowledge of what pod- and vod-casting are. Results from question 5 on survey. This represents whether or not a teacher has the resources to make a pod- or vod-cast. Answers come from questions 7 and 8 from survey. Through our research, we found disadvantages as well as advantages in incorporating it into the classroom. Advantages: More ways to reach diverse learners, beneficial for students who missed class, teachers spend less time re-teaching lessons, can help substitutes, audio recordings of textbooks could be made more available for students, teach in pajamas Disadvantages: Time intensive, students will miss the class dialogue that is so crucial to critical thinking, students might feel they can skip class more often, requires higher level technical expertise from teachers Conclusion After looking over our research we are able to conclude that pod and vod-casts would be beneficial to incorporate into the classroom. The teachers surveyed had a lot of experience working with computers and many of them thought it would be beneficial for online courses. Furthermore, after reviewing the number of students that miss school each week and the number of hours teachers spend tutoring students after school the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Resources Jerry, Overmyer. "Educational Vodcasting." MAST - Math and Science Teaching Institute. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http:// mast.unco.edu/vodcasting//>. Meng, Peter. "Podcasting and Vodcasting: a White Paper." IAT Services. University of Missouri, Mar. 2005. Web. 8 Sept. 2010. "Podcasting Tools." Podcasting Tools. 2005. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://www.podcasting-tools.com/>.