Technoloy Podcast Interview

Today I completed my first podcast. This was a difficult assignment for me since I really wasn’t exactly sure what a podcast was before I did the readings and assignments for Module 4! I didn’t realize that podcasts are primarily audio and had never even heard of the term vodcast for video! I was unsure if I had the proper software available to complete my assignment. Therefore I did a lot of preparation for this assignment. I am so grateful that I did. For me this was a true active learning experience. Not only did I learn quite a bit from my discussion with Dr. Eileen Roark, Biology Professor at Lincoln College of New England,  whom I chose to interview for my podcast, but also by experimenting with new software which I downloaded and discussions with fellow classmates as well. Thank you to Shandi and Lynn who highly recommended Camtasia. It was fun to experiment with new software. I didn’t end up using it, but I want to experiment with Camtasia and hopefully create a future project utilizing it.

When I first met with Dr. Roark we quickly discovered some of the pitfalls of technology integration. We met at the college library. We found that the server was down and neither of our laptops was able to connect. Since the internet wasn’t necessary for the interview, we decided to move on to the interview part of the project.  Dr. Roark wanted to demonstrate some of the technology she uses but we found since she uses a Mac and I have a PC that some of what she wanted to share with me was more difficult than anticipated.  Frustrating though some of this was, I’m actually quite grateful for the experience and the knowledge that I obtained from hands on learning.

I also learned a lot from the interview portion of the assignment as well.  I found myself at first needing to erase and record again constantly because I didn’t like the way I sounded, -funny how that works. I was self-conscience about what I would sound like, yet when in a classroom setting I trip over my words all the time and don’t think anything of it! Hmm? I found that to be an interesting observation. I think I let my nerves get to me and ended the interview too abruptly. Next time I would try to find a better way to gently glide into the end. I think the whole thing sounds a little too scripted. Over all I am so glad that I had this experience and am excited to find ways to make it better and hopefully implement podcasting into the courses that I teach.

King, K. P. (2011). In The professor's guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Click below to listen to my very first podcast:

TechInterview.podomatic.com

  

Podcasting Pros and Cons

As I toy with creating my own podcast for the first time this week, I am inspired to see that this type of media offers many benefits to adult learners. There are a wide variety of free or affordable options that can help one develop an audio/video podcast with limited if any difficulty. I downloaded Camtasia at the suggestion of classmates and am looking forward to trying this editing software. It came as a 30 day free trial with full use of the product. Not bad!

Students today are comfortable working in a digital world. They have done it most of their lives! This type of media is a part of their day to day life. Podcasting provides an opportunity for students to use media they already know and are comfortable with to think critically and create new knowledge.  They may download the podcast to their smartphones, mp 3 players, Ipods and more devices. This creates a convenient opportunity for one to learn when and where ever they choose.

One can create a podcast on almost any topic imaginable. This provides students an alternative to passive book learning. Through podcasting, students gain opportunities to use other strategies to learn. Statistics show us that the most popular form of podcasts are those created for educational purposes. Lecture podcasts, though popular, are just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately these seem to be the most widely used form of podcasting in education. The drawback to Lecture podcasts is that they remain passive and do not provide learners with an opportunity to create. Educators need to be careful not to provide too much material using this format. Keeping ppts brief forces students to not just read everything they need to know.

Educators may find podcasting assignments useful in obtaining valuable information as to how well students are mastering the content. By allowing students to create their own podcast, instructors can evaluate learning from their peers.

Unfortunately, since podcasting is still fairly new and growing rapidly, patent laws are still being created to cover publishing rights of individual creators. Therefore instructors must be aware of what is permissible and what is not in the classroom.  Though podcasting can provide so many new and innovating ways to teach and learn, one must remember to search for reputable resources.

King, K. & Cox T. (2011). The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Felix, I., Stolarz, D. (2006). Hands-on guide to video blogging and podcasting. NY: Elsevier.