The MMUBS Podcast Project “Establishing the groundwork for a podosphere”
Nillan Fakira, Information, Communication and Technology Services (ICTS), MMUBS Introduction extend my research and be involved in applying the educational benefits The term podosphere was first of using podcasting in student coined by Gillmore (2008), to learning in both a practical and represent a podcasting social innovative manner. This project network or community. This would also help towards introducing technology, which is relatively new many staff to new technologies such to the education sector, is becoming as Wikis, RSS, blog, etc. and give popular for use as a supportive them a taster and an appreciation and complementary tool in student of the architecture behind web 2.0. learning. This paper reports on The brainstorming by O’Reilly et al the groundwork taking place at the (2005) gave the differences between MMUBS for creating a podosphere Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. A further aim community. The objectives are of the project was to take away for staff to produce podcasts for some of the trepidation surrounding delivery to students, to promote the buzz words associated with the wider use of podcasting, and web 2.0. to build resources that can be incorporated through WebCT into Podcast as a their courses. supplementary tool in I first became interested with the student learning. podcast project after a preliminary talk with Nick Scott, who is a Senior Nillan Fakira The word ‘podcast’ is generalised Learning and Teaching Fellow terminology but in fact the at MMUBS in the Department of supporting staff in a variety understanding of its definition Accounting and Finance (see LTiA of different applications and and how it can be used as an aid volume 7- available on-line at http:// technologies, the extra resources to student learning is much more, www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/ltia/issue15/ needed, and different hardware especially when it is referred to and scott.php). Nick had already written and operating platforms to work used within the context of utilising a proposal for submission for a with. MMUBS is a large faculty and this technology in a student learning Fellowship in Academic Practice is structured around five academic environment. Some of the questions (FAP) on widening the use of divisions and six Research Centres that need to be reflected on are: podcasts and was in the process of which reflect the full range of what are the end results of creating gathering an army of participants business and management studies. a podcast? What will students gain and support team who would be How would I cope? from the podcast? Is the podcast involved in introducing rich media used as a supplementary learning to the Business School. Last year (Fakira, 2007) I used tool or as an extension to the blog technology as a platform lecture? Can it be useful in their My initial thoughts on getting for research in communication, revision? Can a podcast be used as involved in this project were, to collaboration, and reflection in an interactive tool? say the least, frightening: this student learning so without much project appeared to be such a deliberation I decided to take The basic ingredients of educational huge undertaking in introducing the challenge and get on board podcasting involve making available this technology at campus level. with Nick and his vision on ‘The a recording of live/pre-recorded Lots of questions were swirling Industrialisation of Podcasting’. lectures, it can be PowerPoint slides, in my head, around training and This was an opportunity for me to audios, animations and images for
24 Volume 7 | Issue 2 | Summer | 2008 users to view and download onto ‘Youtube’ and ‘MySpace’. Thus, and producing the end result. My different technological devices creating innovative ways for aim is to remove some of these for viewing on demand. This can students to collaborate and obstacles and to help staff produce, involve a series of episodes that are providing communication ‘space’ publish and deliver a final rich made available over a time period. can reach out to a more diverse media product and, in so doing, student body, for example, to assist provide a rewarding experience for The new breed of students are students with special needs, or the user and emphasise the benefits already technologically savvy non-native students whose first of podcasting technology for both and this is dictating the learning language is not English (Kaplan- the staff and students (for example, environments in which they wish Leiserson, 2008). for revision, catching-up on missed to study. This then gives rise to a lectures, learning on demand). ‘peer’ pressure effect, imposed by Operation the students who already possess My research interests are to a high level of IT knowledge and There is a huge scope and introduce some of the other its subsequent use in their daily many potential educational supportive tools available in lives. Prensky (2001) argues that our and commercial benefits for the MMU and show how they can be students are ‘Digital Native’ while university in developing this utilised to produce a true web 2.0 we in the educational system are project. Even at the initial stages environment. This environment, the ‘Digital immigrants’ such that of the project, there appears to be consisting of blogging, discussion a considerable amount of interest boards, wiki pages, document and “today’s students are shown from the Business School content management can be seen in no longer the people our staff. Several MMUBS staff are Figure 1. educational system was currently active in using these The final part of the podcast project designed to teach”. technologies effectively and I hope to involve these staff in consultation is centred on web-based application and the use of web feeds such as MMU has a profusion of technology and produce a workflow which would assist in their teaching. RSS (Really Simple Syndication). and IT systems in place for An RSS feed is created to inform a managed learning environment Technology sometimes is hard users of updates on your site. The (MLE) to meet and satisfy the RSS feed can be read using a feed needs of our fast-paced technology to master, get to know, use in the correct way and to deliver in the reader or also referred to as an savvy students. From an early aggregator. This software can be age students are exposed to Web most efficient, and effective manner. Above all there is the time factor web-based or it can be installed 2.0 social networking architecture on the client desktop. The user can environments such as ‘Facebook’, involved in learning the technology
Figure 1. Operation: Educational use of podcast in student learning
Volume 7 | Issue 2 | Summer | 2008 25 Figure 2. Infrastructure also use software such as iTunes Apple Mac user. You can use has been purchased which and subscribe to the feed. These various technological peripherals would give a greater flexibility aggregator softwares periodically such as webcam and microphones for compatibility with different check for sites you subscribe to and towards producing your podcast. operating systems and the ability to will automatically download the There are many other software and create and publish in many other file updates you have requested, such hardware products available to formats. as. news, blogs, mp3 files, podcasts assist in producing a professional etc. podcast. These podcasts can A further 90 Licences has been contain video, audio, animations, purchased for Camtasia Studio for The podcast can be viewed online or text and images. An example can staff. This software would give staff downloaded to the user’s desktop, be found at: http://oedb.org/blogs/ more control to produce customised laptop or handheld devices such as ilibrarian/2008/podcasting-in-plain- podcasts. ipod for later viewing. Depending on english/ what it was created for and the type MMUBS has also made available of targeted audience, the podcast Infrastructure a dedicated recording room for can be used as a supplementary staff and students. This recording material, for revision or even as room has a PC desktop computer MMUBS has invested for this simple as a ‘catch-up’ for a missed with Camtasia software installed project in an Apple Server, Mac OS lecture. on it. It also has a webcam and X Leopard 10.5 server. The Apple other necessary software to server comes with its own Apple To manage student learning, create a podcast away from the Podcast Producer software that a podcast can be used to pull office environment and its many has an automated workflow for the students and allow them to distractions. Figure 2 represents deployment of a user’s podcast. The contribute to the content of the the infrastructure and the resources podcast (for apple Mac users) can podcast, engaging the students by available for use. be created using podcast capture use of discussion boards, blogging software. This software offers a and wikis for collaboration. choice of creating an audio and Echo 360 System video, recording screen activity Figure 2 explains some of the or submitting a QuickTime movie. MMUBS has installed in one of its logistics involved in production, The server software, the Podcast main lecture theatres an Echo360 publication and delivery. The Producer will produce a workflow System which offers a complete podcast production is created and publish it onto the server in a lecture capture solution. Staff using application software such predefined group. will have the option of recording as Camtasia studio for computers their lectures by a simple press with Microsoft XP operating system For the Microsoft XP platform of a button. The lecture will be installed or by using Podcast software called ‘Episode podcast’ processed and published and Capture software if you are an
26 Volume 7 | Issue 2 | Summer | 2008 delivered by means of client to users to upload their podcast. In Marc Prensky (2001) Digital native, software such as iTunes, web the meantime recommendation for Digital Immigrants, On the Horizon portals and RSS feeds. any hardware requirements will be (NCB University Press). 9(5). highlighted and any short fall in its Conclusion ability to deliver podcast will be Nillan Fakira, (2007) Blog researched into. Technology at MMUBS [cited 12th The FAP bid was successful and the May 2008].
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