Podcasting at the University

Have you heard of podcasting but are not sure where to begin searching for more information? This is the place!

What is podcasting?

Podcasting—a term coined from "iPod" and "broadcasting"—is an alternative method of syndicating audio and video material, with listeners or viewers using a portable digital device or computer as the receiver. Such broadcasts are described by EDUCAUSE as an appropriate "software and hardware combination that permits automatic downloading of audio files to an MP3 player, or personal computer, for listening at the user's convenience." Recommended reading: 7 Things You Should Know About Podcasting (PDF).

Offering "syndicated" content distributed through Real Simple Syndication (RSS) is effectively a promise from the publisher to the subscriber that they will continue to offer new material on a somewhat regular basis.

Podcasting is part of a larger and growing trend toward quick and easy syndicated distribution of content by means of "narrowcasting" (a play on the word broadcasting) through communication tools like blogs. Recommended reading: Narrowcasting 101: Using Blogs, Podcasts, and Videoblogs in Higher Education.

Why should I want to know about podcasting?

Join other universities that are already exploring podcasting to enhance teaching. Recommended reading: iPods and Academia: The Duke First-Year Experience.
Get timely information or late-breaking developments in your field to your students when outside of class.
Provide a thought-provoking idea or tip of the day that your students can listen to at their convenience.
Share interviews with authors or experts who might otherwise be unavailable as guest lecturers for your class.
Address and elaborate upon thought-provoking or recurring questions posed during office hours, study sections, or other occasions outside of class, before the next class meeting.
Provide anything else you'd like to share with your students. Recommended reading: Podcasting Possibilities, Poducate Me.

How can this Web site help me?

Use this Web site for help in getting started using podcasting to enhance your instruction:

Find out what podcasting is and see definitions of some common terms.
Learn of hardware and software that DIIA has used to create podcasts.
Sample DIIA's Teaching and Learning podcast, a feed created to demonstrate podcasting best practices.
Learn how to use the campus Blackboard installation to distribute your audio recordings as podcasts.