Podcasting In Education By: Gerryanne Schwanke, Rachel Larson, Caitlyn Huonder, and Karli Beissel

1. Podcasting In Education By: Gerryanne Schwanke, Rachel Larson, Caitlyn Huonder, and Karli Beissel Introduction: Podcasting is basically a radio show online. Audio is recorded and uploaded on the web, so people can download it to a certain device or hear it through their computer. Vodcasting, on the other hand, is the same idea as podcasting except with additional video footage. In order for something to be considered a podcast or vodcast, the recording must have a place where people can go and subscribe to it, much like a magazine subscription. Creating a podcast only takes a couple steps. The first thing that should be done is to record the content. The best way to record the content is by using software that is designed for recording. The second step is to create the podcast feed. The best way to do this would be to get the appropriate software, such as FeedForAll. The very last step in creating a podcast is to publish the feed. Users can publish the feed by using a FTP program built right into the podcast software. There are a couple steps to follow when creating a vodcast as well. The first thing that needs to be done is to record the video using a digital video camera.  Once the video is recorded, it can be processed in a program specific for videos.  For example, this could be done in iMovie. Once the video has been processed, the video can then be uploaded to a blog.  The maker can then obtain the RSS feed address for the blog that they used and subscribe to it.  After subscribing to it, the video will be downloaded. Method: Since podcasting and vodcasting are on the rise, we conducted a survey to answer our research question: “What are teacher’s opinions on podcasts/vodcasts in education?” In order to answer this question we sent out a ten question survey to several high school, middle school, and elementary school teachers. The survey was conducted over a period of one week and we received 49 responses in regards to our following multiple choice, yes/no, and open ended questions. • Survey Questions: • 1. What is the difference between a podcast and a vodcast? • 2. How did you first hear about podcasts/vodcasts? • 3. How often do you listen to or watch podcasts? • a. Frequently • b. Occasionally • c. Never • 4. In general, do you prefer video or audio podcasts? • a. Video • b. Audio • 5. Have you ever used podcasts or vodcasts in your classroom? • a. Yes • b. No • 6. Do you believe that podcasts and vodcasts allows for more hands-on activities during each class period? • a. Yes • b. No • 7. In which subject do you feel podcasts and vodcasts would be most useful? • 8. What are some of the benefits students would receive from the ability to use podcasts and vodcasts? • 9. How beneficial do you think podcasts and vodcasts would be for people with special needs? • a. Very beneficial • b. Somewhat beneficial • c. Not beneficial • 10. What are some of the disadvantages of podcasts and vodcasts in education? Findings: This table shows that 76.7% of teachers that took our survey preferred video podcasts over audio. The other 23.3% would much rather use audio podcasts. This question was taken from number 4 of our survey. This graph shows that only 38.8% of teachers have used podcasts or vodcasts in their classroom. 61.2% of teachers haven’t used them while they’re teaching. This question was taken from number 5 of our survey. This table shows that 53.5% of teachers don’t believe that podcasts allow students to be more involved in hands on activities during class time. On the other hand, 46.5% believe that it would allow for students to be more actively engaged. Through these ten survey items, we have found that many teachers rarely utilize this fabulous teaching tool in the classroom or even on their own time for that matter. Although almost 90% of the 49 teachers believe podcasts and vodcasts to be beneficial, many teachers that would like to use them in their classroom state that they don’t have “enough time or equipment to make wide use of them.” Conclusion: Throughout our research of podcasts and vodcasts, the main thing we have learned from this experience is that although good technology is out there and can benefit students learning, sometimes it can be hard to incorporate it into the classroom. Many of the teachers that took our survey said they would like to know more about podcasts and vodcasts and would like to try to incorporate them into the classroom, but their school just doesn’t have the proper technology to do so. Many teachers also said the problem with podcasts is that they don’t have the proper knowledge about them in order to use them correctly within a school setting. If teachers were able to get past the technology barrier, many teachers would use them more in classes such as Social Studies, Foreign Language, and Science. A number of teachers stated that podcasts would help the students explore more things that aren’t stated in textbooks and they would allow the students to obtain a deeper knowledge of the content. In order to get more in-depth information about teachers usage of podcasts and vodcasts in the classroom, it may be important next time to give the survey to teachers who understand the components of podcasts and who actually utilize them in their classroom. We could then understand if those teachers believe that podcasts and vodcasts are actually beneficial or not to their students. References: Ovadia, M. (2007). Podcasting guide. Retrieved from http://poducateme.com/guide/ "How to Podcast." Podcasting Tools. 2005. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://www.podcasting-tools.com/how-to-podcast.htm>.   76.7%