Sara Gorelick, Newhouse graduate student from Syracuse University in the Magazine, Newspaper and Online Program, recently contacted Classroom Support Services to interview us about podcasting for a project she was working on. I thought the questions and answers might be of interest to people who are interested in podcasting in the university environment:
Sara Gorelick: When did you start the podcasting and why?
David Aldrich: We started podcasting on October 5, 2005 -- Autumn quarter. I'd like to claim that we were some kind of visionaries and took educational technology to new places. the reality is that we started podcasting as a practical response to a problem. The library was devoting equipment and valuable real estate -- you know, space -- for students to come and listen to class lectures recorded on cassette tapes. This was also inconvenient for students because of access issues. The library is not always open, and if you miss classes because you've got the flu, you have a lot of catch up work to do. We thought podcasting would address these issues and give students anywhere anytime access to lecture recordings.
Sara Gorelick: How does it work (for someone who knows nothing about computers..like me!)
David Aldrich: We knew that instructors didn't need to juggle another piece of technology, so we designed the podcasting system to be completely automated. The professor shows up, she lectures and she leaves. Two minutes later her lecture appears on the web and it is available to the students. There is equipment in the room that is scheduled to turn on at the beginning of the class, and it turns off at the end. This is all done with scripting, including the posting of the lectures to the web.
Sara Gorelick: Has it been successful?
David Aldrich: Very much so. We've had more than 50,000 downloads of the lectures since the pilot project began.
Sara Gorelick: Would you reccommend it to other large campuses?
David Aldrich: Absolutely. Students are what I would classify as "digital natives" and I believe we should be providing material to them where they want to consume it -- and that is often on their turf and on their time schedule.
Sara Gorelick: Does it cost the school anything?
David Aldrich: The costs are minimal. Our hardware costs for outfitting ten rooms for the pilot were about $10,000. There is a labor cost associated with this as well, but we made the process very efficient, so that cost is pretty minimal.
Sara Gorelick: Do you see this becoming more common in time?
David Aldrich: Yes. I recently attended the Podcast and Portable Media Exposition in Ontario California -- the various educators present were all very jazzed about podcasting and its application in the educational environment. And surprisingly, corporations are extremely interested in podcasting as a way to develop a one-on-one relationship with their customers, or to reach niche market demographics. Think about it -- Whirlpool is producing an American Family Podcast Series, and Speedo, the swim suit manufacturer, is podcasting about the world of swimming. That is amazing.
Sara Gorelick: When did you start the podcasting and why?
David Aldrich: We started podcasting on October 5, 2005 -- Autumn quarter. I'd like to claim that we were some kind of visionaries and took educational technology to new places. the reality is that we started podcasting as a practical response to a problem. The library was devoting equipment and valuable real estate -- you know, space -- for students to come and listen to class lectures recorded on cassette tapes. This was also inconvenient for students because of access issues. The library is not always open, and if you miss classes because you've got the flu, you have a lot of catch up work to do. We thought podcasting would address these issues and give students anywhere anytime access to lecture recordings.
Sara Gorelick: How does it work (for someone who knows nothing about computers..like me!)
David Aldrich: We knew that instructors didn't need to juggle another piece of technology, so we designed the podcasting system to be completely automated. The professor shows up, she lectures and she leaves. Two minutes later her lecture appears on the web and it is available to the students. There is equipment in the room that is scheduled to turn on at the beginning of the class, and it turns off at the end. This is all done with scripting, including the posting of the lectures to the web.
Sara Gorelick: Has it been successful?
David Aldrich: Very much so. We've had more than 50,000 downloads of the lectures since the pilot project began.
Sara Gorelick: Would you reccommend it to other large campuses?
David Aldrich: Absolutely. Students are what I would classify as "digital natives" and I believe we should be providing material to them where they want to consume it -- and that is often on their turf and on their time schedule.
Sara Gorelick: Does it cost the school anything?
David Aldrich: The costs are minimal. Our hardware costs for outfitting ten rooms for the pilot were about $10,000. There is a labor cost associated with this as well, but we made the process very efficient, so that cost is pretty minimal.
Sara Gorelick: Do you see this becoming more common in time?
David Aldrich: Yes. I recently attended the Podcast and Portable Media Exposition in Ontario California -- the various educators present were all very jazzed about podcasting and its application in the educational environment. And surprisingly, corporations are extremely interested in podcasting as a way to develop a one-on-one relationship with their customers, or to reach niche market demographics. Think about it -- Whirlpool is producing an American Family Podcast Series, and Speedo, the swim suit manufacturer, is podcasting about the world of swimming. That is amazing.
