Educational Podcasting

teacher and expert voices as media interventions

Andrew Middleton, Sheffield Hallam University

Podcasting for Pedagogic Purposes SIG

Glasgow Caledonian University, 7th May 2009

These slides will be shared on:

PPP wiki and slideshare.net

Audio examples

• Apologies - I have removed the audio examples from this presentation as I don't have permission to share them in this way.

• Please contact me directly if you would like to hear examples and I'll see what I can do.

• a.j.middleton AT shu.ac.uk

teachers and experts?

• This presentation accompanies a presentation on learner-generated podcasts

• Caveats:– Beyond iTunes U..? – what can educational podcasting be?

– Educational podcasting: taking a broad view

– and a Social Constructivist view:• Expertise is everywhere• Teachers are everywhere• We are all learners, learners all have expertise, however…

• The focus here is a small selection of podcasting techniques that do not (primarily) feature the student learner’s voice

• Media intervention – orientation, motivation and challenge

A definition

• Educational podcasting is the development of,• Locally shared knowledge through

distributed, digital linear media, accessible to its community through flexible interfaces

(Podcasting in general might be defined as,the serial distribution, through a particular web-based channel, of locally created downloadable digital media episodes, usually audio, to a niche audience of subscribers)

Design Principles of Educational Podcasting

• We need to be able to evaluate the ideas we hear in the next few minutes, so:

• 1 minute activity:• What makes a good podcast?• (see next two slides for my ideas on this - and I'll type up the

responses I received and put them on my blog at: • http://podcasting-for-lta.blogspot.com/)

Effective educational podcasts will usually present (1/2)

• Intention and clarity of purpose• Speakers whose role and level of expertise is properly

introduced• Ideas and discussion that is relevant and well

articulated• An awareness of the learning situation or context• Invitations and challenges, or 'ways in and ways out',

for the listener• References to, or acknowledgement of, related sources

of knowledge• …

Effective educational podcasts will usually present (2/2)

• A hook that engages each listener• Conversational voices rather than formal monologues• Structured and well-signposted information,

punctuated with music or audio transitions where appropriate

• An awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the audio medium

• Information and ideas that are concise, well-paced and straightforward

• Suitable clear production quality as appropriate for the intended audience.

Tutor’s voice

• Recording events (eg recorded lecture, summary audio notes)

• Communicating (eg module announcements)• Motivating (eg tutor conversations, storytelling, etc)• Describing (eg interviews with professionals, clients,

public)• Illustrating (eg testimony, vox pop) • Forming (eg instructional; feedback)• Building (eg key skill development)• Modelling (eg behaviour, techniques)

Other voices: experts and publics• Support services, Broadcasting and Commercial producers,

Educational and Training Organisations, Professional & Other Organisations, teachers elsewhere, and tutors out of class

– Instructing (eg learning objects)– Describing (eg interviews with experts)– Updating (eg current affairs and developments)– Marketing (eg product placement, initiatives)– Reporting (eg findings, proposals)– Conversing (eg criticism, review)– Advocating (eg political)– Various (eg learning objects)

Coursecasting

• Or, pouring knowledge into the empty vessel• e.g. recording lectures• (example not needed! Go to ITunes U)• How does coursecasting measure against our design

principles?• Supplementary and (often) not transformative pedagogy• Some benefits claimed: support revision; reduce note-

taking, so better attention in class; potential reusability; marketing (e.g. iTunes U!); can free up time for more interactivity.

Preview

• Key concepts introduced before class/lecture• Challenge and/or orientation before class/lecture

Module preview

Lecture preview

Summary Conversations(Review)

Tutor (team) post lecture/seminar/topic discussion, challenge, reflection discussion•Highlighting•Arguing or sharing perspectives•Modelling synthesis and reflection•Supplementing•Updating•Connecting/bridging and feeding forward

Lecturer discussion (UoS)

Research methods discussion (Law, SHU)

Module Personalisation (announcements)

• Tutor posts announcements to the VLE• Why?

– the personal touch– Mobile leaners– Remote leaners– Short, easy interventions that add texture to the VLE

Task announcement (June Clark, SHU)

Storytelling(evidence and anecdote)

• Establishing the tutor’s perspective through anecdote and evidence, raising authenticity by connecting theory to the outside world.

• Storytelling may involve other captured voicesBiggs suggests,"[The strengths of the lecture] lie in communicating a) information and(b) the teacher's personal interpretations.”Biggs, J. 1999 'Enriching large-class teaching'in John Biggs (1999) Teaching for quality learningat university. Buckingham: Society for Research intoHigher Education and Open University Press, p.97

A Permanent Holiday'Patent Voices

http://www.patientvoices.org.uk/(cc) nc-nd

The Professional View

• Interviews with professionals• No physical barriers allow us to make strong,

meaningful connections to the outside world – the extended learning environment

Radio producer (Journalism, SHU)

Demos

Audio Feedback

• Many approaches, e.g. (Middleton, A. & Nortcliffe, A. (2009) Audio feedback design: principles and emerging practice. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-long Learning, Special Issue, forthcoming)

• 'Personal tutor monologue' recorded at the PC by the tutor as part of the marking process; 'Personal feedback conversations,' recorded by the tutor or student(s) in the lab or studio to capture project discussions or studio 'crits'; 'Broadcast feedback' targeted at large groups; 'Peer audio feedback,' in which students learn as they assess each other's work; 'Tutor conversations', a 'common room conversation' approach designed to model critical thinking; and 'Personal audio interventions,' targeted at individuals to address emerging issues; ‘Peer Exchange’ corridor constructive crits with tutor support.

• Generic stub + Personal(France, D. & Ribchester, C. (2008) 'Podcasts and feedback' in G. Salmon and P. Edirisingha (2008) Podcasting for learning in universities. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press)

Generic, end of module (SHU)

Peer Exchange model, corridor conversations (SHU)

Personal tutor feedback (SHU)

Concept notes

• Key concepts captured or constructed as reusable digital audio learning objects (DALO)

• Can be captured in lecture• Prepared beforehand

Key skills in Art & Design (SHU)

Audio learning object (Alan Hilliard, UoH)

Audio iIllustration

• Audio tour• Bringing the outside world in• Fly on the wall• Case-based learning• Data

4 Weddings and a funeral

Downes Syndrome (D. Stokes, Coventry University)

Audio tour (Stuart Lee, Oxford University)

Demonstration

• Procedures, e.g.:• Clinical (e.g.

videocast learning object)

• Operational• Techniques (e.g.

screencasting)

Clinical practice series (Pollard &

Jackson SHU)

Blackboard support

series (SHU)

Guidance

• Often made by support services staff, e.g. supporting:– transition,– disability,– key skills,– library,– etc

Access and guidance/transition (SHU)

Summary of Benefits

• Access to voices (e.g. personalisation, empathy, trust)• Efficacy (simple, quick, high impact)• Authentic (real worldness, open-ended )• Currency (e.g. immediate, up-to-date)• Social Constructivist (promoting conversation)• Engaging, varied, perspectives• Varied diet – another learning channel• Orienting, motivating, challenging media interventions