Podcasting Formats
Not all Podcasts are the same. There are three varieties of podcasts currently being produced and consumed – Audio-Only Podcast, Enhanced Podcasts, and Video Podcasts:
- Podcasts – The Original (Audio-Only Podcasts)
- The first of the three, and the simplest to produce, deliver, and consume is the Podcast. The audio-only podcast has several characteristics that makes it both unique and desirable to use. In addition to its small file size, they do not require large storage space. Another advantage of the audio podcast stated by one surveyed student is that “it requires less eye strain.”
- Enhanced Podcasts – Podcasts with Slides
- Second on the list is the Enhanced Cast, which combines still images (most often in the form of PowerPoint, Keynote, or other presentation software) with the audio podcast; enhanced podcasts can be likened to filmstrip projectors of the 1980’s and 90’s.
- Video Podcasts – Vodcast, Video on my iPod
- The Vodcast is the most recent addition to the podcast formats, and the one that might just represent the most promise in the delivery of academic content because it is the closest to life-like lecture playback that can be accomplished with the portable device.
- Vodcasts are video podcasts-or videos that have been modified and compressed for delivery and playback in iTunes, Juice, or any other aggregator, and eventually, on your iPod. Only 5th-Generation iPods and beyond officially support Vodcasts, and there are several other portable devices that can also accommodate the video format. The best example of a Vodcast might be a digital video recording of a lecture or a video vignette or segment on a particular topic that can be reviewed at any time. One side note related to Vodcasts: file size does matter! The longer the video, the larger the file size, the longer the download time–in event of the best connections. Keep it small whenever possible. If you must deliver a full-feature lecture (30 minutes or longer), it is best to break that full length video into smaller segments or chapters so that they are easily downloaded.
Educational Use of Podcasting
Though podcasts can take the form of just about anything related to multimedia – limited only by the imagination of the course developer and or instructor – there are generally-accepted concepts for using podcasts in instructional delivery:
Steve Sloan offers the following ideas:
- for distance learning
- to facilitate self-paced learning
- for re-mediation of slower learners
- to allow faculty to offer advanced and or highly motivated learners extra content
- for helping students with reading and/or other disabilities
- for multi-lingual education
- to provide the ability for educators to feature guest speakers from remote locations
- to allow guest speakers the ability to present once to many sections and classes
- to allow educators to escape the tedium of lecturing
- to offer a richer learning environment
The Regents of the University of Minnesota suggest the following additional uses:
- for news/updates
- student presentations
- student-produced podcasts
- interviews with guest experts
- tours/fieldwork
- internships/residencies
- feedback/evaluation of student work
- supplementary material such as speeches, music, or other audio recordings; and
- short language lessons, or other lessons that help students develop listening and speaking skills.
From the above listed ideas, we can easily see that podcasting is not only used for single-channel information dissemination or just a recap of delivered content, it is also used as an interactive tool to engage students in the process of learning and to establish the learning relationships between instructor and students, as well as between students and students. Another important feature worth mentioning is that it has been utilized as a mechanism for feedback on teaching and learning. The academic value of podcast has been extended as far as one’s creative mind can carry because of the flexible nature of the portable media.
Podcasting Delivery Best Practices
- Always have a back-up plan. No matter how good you think your podcasts are, podcasting should not be the only delivery channel for instruction. You can implement it together with other delivery media, such as streaming, and CD/DVDs.
- Keep your podcast short, especially a video podcast (Vodcast). For an audio podcast, it should be under 30 minutes, for an enhanced podcast, under 20 minutes, and for Vodcast under 15 minutes. Several issues arise when using long podcasts. It takes longer time to download the content; it takes up more space to store it, and some MP3 players have limited battery power.
- Incorporate other learning activities with podcasting content delivery. There are varieties of learning activities that can help recall the information delivered via podcast, such as discussion forums, assessments, projects, etc. Faculty members can also create learner-centered activities to improve students’ ability to apply knowledge application. They may also provide students opportunities to re-construct the information for better understanding, and strive to find out the best teaching pattern favorable to student learning.
- Make the Vodcast complimentary to the information rather than replication of the information. Vodcast is the video format of a podcast. Effective use of the video images can greatly increase the stimuli of the information to the learner’s brain. Instead of showing a “talking head” on the screen, extra visual information related to the content can enhance the learning effect by triggering new focus and attention.
- Use the lowest format to achieve best results. Here, lowest format means an audio only podcast. When you analyze the content, start with the lowest format of delivery. An audio Podcast has a smaller file size and takes less time to download. You should choose enhanced formats only when they can provide additional value to the content; otherwise, the audio Podcast is just as good as (or better than) the others.
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