FAQ about the Podcasting initiative
From Wiki Podcasting
What's the point?
Recording lectures and making them available on the web gives students a chance to review material that they may have not understood when they heard the lecture in class, and reinforce and deepen understanding of the material they did catch the first time. The main idea is for students to review lectures they have attended, not to substitute for not attending class.
It is possible to package lectures as podcasts to be viewed so you can use class time for something else. There are a variety of methods. Contact Nick Dvoracek or AnnMarie Johnson if you'd like ideas on how to do this.
Do my students have to own iPods to listen my recordings?
No. The term "podcasting" simply implies that the files are compatible with use on an iPod. They can however, be listened to on any computer, or any MP3 player for that matter; it's just a little more convenient with an iPod.
Do I have to record every class?
We realize every class session is not appropriate to recording, but for this initiative, we ask that you podcast at least 10 classes per semester - preferably one per week.
How exactly does the lecture hall "Podcast-in-a-box" option work?
Sean Ruppert has prepared a video demonstrating the use of "Podcast-in-a-box . This link will launch iTunes and take you directly to the video at iTunes U.
Why the difference between the large lecture halls and classrooms?
In order to record audio, you have to get a microphone near to the source of the sound. In the large lecture halls, we already have wireless microphones installed for public address purposes and it's relatively easy to get a feed from that to the podcast-in-a-box computer. In a regular classroom, using an iPod and voice recorder, which easily fits in your pocket, costs less that outfitting a classroom with a wireless mic system. It's also a little better at recording small group discussion.
Do I have to wear a microphone?
Probably the main consideration in sound recording quality is the distance from the source of the sound to the microphone. Although some sound is recorded from a source more than three or four feet from the microphone, the quality drops off pretty quickly, both by the weakness of the signal and from the fact that other sources of sound (air handling, feet shufflng, traffic in the hallway) gets recorded right along with the speaker. We are experimenting with some possibilities, but for now, wearing a microphone, either wireless in a lecture hall or connected to an iPod in your pocket, is the best solution for most lectures.
What about class discussion?
Reviewing a class discussion would probably be as valuable for students as reviewing the lecture, but does introduce some challenges. First see the above question, "Do I have to wear a microphone?" The lavalier microphone may pick up some other speakers in the room, but not really reliably. With the iPod solution, unplugging the lavalier microphone and using the internal microphone in the voice recorder will pick up a group discussion pretty well, but quality will drop off with the distance from the recorder.
Here's an example (MP3). I was speaking from a podium and the recorder was just out of arms reach to my right on a table. I did boost the volume and bass response before I posted the file. If you're wearing headphones you can probably hear the distant speaker, but over your computer's speakers, it might not be audible.
One solution is for the lecturer to repeat questions and repeat or paraphrase student comments to ensure they are picked up by the mic.
Can I pause recording during group activity or other gaps in the lecture?
With the iPod option, it is simple to pause the recording with the push of a button on the iPod. With the lecture hall Podcast-in-a-box option, you would have to unplug the flash drive and plug it back in when you wished to continue recording. This would create multiple files for each class. Students often prefer to have lecture parsed into smaller files anyway. In the event you forgot to pause when there was nothing to record, it is pretty easy for the student to advance past the silent parts with a digital audio file.
I use a lot of visual materials. Can they be included in the Podcast?
There are ways of including visual materials used in a lecture in a Podcast, but they involve additional work to be effective.
If you consistently use Powerpoint, you can use the Record Narration feature. After class this can be converted to a movie or flash animation using tools we have available in the IDEA Lab. If you did this consistantly on your own laptop, Adobe's program Captivate does the job more conveniently (available for departmental purchase from the Wisconsins Integrated Software Catalog for $99.41 and from educational resellers for individual purchase for $179.98).
Another option is to provide the Powerpoint files in D2L for students to download. The students can then click through them manually while listening to the podcast. It would help if you audibly mentioned when you were changing a slide or opening a file or web page during the lecture.
Podcast-in-a-box is capable of capturing video, but a single, unmoving camera is unlikely to effectively capture your visual material. The initiative does not include video capabilities for Spring of 2008, though video recording capabilities may be added in the future.
Is there anything published about the effectiveness of Podcasting?
Yes, see our Bibliography page.
What kind of assessment will you be doing on this project?
We will be surveying the students and seeking comparitive class grade and retention data from Institutional Research. We will also be seeking input from the instructors involved about how much work it was, how it affected the class etc.
Can I use the Flash drive for anything else? (Lecture hall option)
The flash drive which we will provide contains only a very small file that Podcast-in-a-box uses to know where to send the file so your students can access it. Although you could store other files on it, since it has to be plugged into the Podcast-in-a-box computer during class, you probably won't be able to use it for much else. i.e, you should not place your class Powerpoints on this drive.
Do I get to keep the iPod and Flash drive?
As long as you continue to record your classes and make them available to students, you can keep these items, but if you decide to discontinue podcasting we would like to make these resources available to another instructor. We will need the flash drives back for a short while each semester to re-encode them for your next semester's class.
