Many students are already accessing podcasts regularly. According to a December 2010 report conducted by Edison Research:
The percentage of Americans who have ever watched or listened to a podcast is 45%, up from 43% one year
The podcast audience has migrated from being predominantly “early adopters” to more closely resembling mainstream media consumers.
Podcast consumers continue to prefer consuming content at their desktop, not on dedicated media players, but mobile phone media consumption is surging.
Podcast consumers index very highly for social networking behaviors.
Two-thirds of podcast consumers have listened to digital audio files in their vehicles by connecting an iPod or other MP3 player to their car audio system.
Although most statistics available about podcast usage are geared to marketers, it is interesting to notice the trend. The more comfortable people get with using podcasts, the more we will se them being used for educational purposes. (http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006937)
Greater Student Engagement
Current research suggests that podcasting and vodcasting enable students to achieve at higher rates than when such Web 2.0 technology is not offered. "The results of internal evaluations of pilot podcasting programs by universities including Duke* and the University of Washington* (UW) have encouraged these institutions to expand their podcasting programs. Duke faculty reported greater student engagement and interest in class discussions, field research and independent projects incorporating the use of iPods. UW faculty noted that students are less likely to drop podcasted courses because the recordings help them to keep up with the material. Additional observed benefits include increased class enthusiasm (especially when the students are involved in the project) and stronger student evaluations of courses."
A group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin have posited that podcasting could have a transformative affect on teaching. The professors involved in the study came to three conclusions about the use of podcasting in tertiary eduction; 1) the technology is readily available and easy to use; 2) technical support is nonetheless imperative in order for a comprehensive podcasting program to be adopted by an institution; and finally, 3) a rewards program is great incentive for instructors to become long-term podcasters. (http://engage.doit.wisc.edu/edu_podcasting)
Legal Issues
Of course, there are potential legal issues involved with the creation of new media. As a rule of thumb, if you not using or directly referring to someone else's copywrited material, you should be safe. If you have questions about your legal right to share certain information, documents, works of art, etc., please inform yourself. You may refer to the following article from the Journal of Law, Ethics and Intellectual Property as starting point: Podcasting and Vodcasting: Legal Issues and Ethical Dilemmas
To find material you can "share, re-use, or re-mix" in your vodcasts, and to give others the right to do the same with yours, take a look at www.creativecommons.org.
A Growing Trend
Many students are already accessing podcasts regularly. According to a December 2010 report conducted by Edison Research:
- The percentage of Americans who have ever watched or listened to a podcast is 45%, up from 43% one year
- The podcast audience has migrated from being predominantly “early adopters” to more closely resembling mainstream media consumers.
- Podcast consumers continue to prefer consuming content at their desktop, not on dedicated media players, but mobile phone media consumption is surging.
- Podcast consumers index very highly for social networking behaviors.
- Two-thirds of podcast consumers have listened to digital audio files in their vehicles by connecting an iPod or other MP3 player to their car audio system.
(http://www.totalpicture.com/about-sponsorships/about-podcast-listeners.html)Although most statistics available about podcast usage are geared to marketers, it is interesting to notice the trend. The more comfortable people get with using podcasts, the more we will se them being used for educational purposes.
(http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006937)
Greater Student Engagement
Current research suggests that podcasting and vodcasting enable students to achieve at higher rates than when such Web 2.0 technology is not offered. "The results of internal evaluations of pilot podcasting programs by universities including Duke* and the University of Washington* (UW) have encouraged these institutions to expand their podcasting programs. Duke faculty reported greater student engagement and interest in class discussions, field research and independent projects incorporating the use of iPods. UW faculty noted that students are less likely to drop podcasted courses because the recordings help them to keep up with the material. Additional observed benefits include increased class enthusiasm (especially when the students are involved in the project) and stronger student evaluations of courses."- Duke University iPod First-Year Experience (http://cit.duke.edu/pdf/ipod_initiative_04_05.pdf)
- UW Podcasting: Evaluation of Year One (http://catalyst.washington.edu/projects/podcasting_year1.pdf)
(www.poducateme.com)A Stepping Stone to Pedigogical Innovation
A group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin have posited that podcasting could have a transformative affect on teaching. The professors involved in the study came to three conclusions about the use of podcasting in tertiary eduction; 1) the technology is readily available and easy to use; 2) technical support is nonetheless imperative in order for a comprehensive podcasting program to be adopted by an institution; and finally, 3) a rewards program is great incentive for instructors to become long-term podcasters.(http://engage.doit.wisc.edu/edu_podcasting)
Legal Issues
Of course, there are potential legal issues involved with the creation of new media. As a rule of thumb, if you not using or directly referring to someone else's copywrited material, you should be safe. If you have questions about your legal right to share certain information, documents, works of art, etc., please inform yourself. You may refer to the following article from the Journal of Law, Ethics and Intellectual Property as starting point: Podcasting and Vodcasting: Legal Issues and Ethical Dilemmas
To find material you can "share, re-use, or re-mix" in your vodcasts, and to give others the right to do the same with yours, take a look at www.creativecommons.org.