You can jump over to Penn State on iTunes U to get access to the latest ETS Talk Podcast. This week Chris Millet, Brad Kozlek, Allan Gyorke, and I sit down and discuss the idea of designing a course using web 2.0 technologies … I hope you find it enjoyable. BTW, we are fishing for comments, feedback, and just about anything else. If you feel like it leave a comment here, at the ETS Blog, or call the new ETS Talk Skype number (814-806-1855) and leave a message.
Podcast
My New Course Design … Come on In
So I’ve been writing about designing a course in the open over the last few weeks … well, I have actually been designing a new residentcourse that I hope to next Fall. I didn’t do it in a wiki, but did use Drupal 5 to post the initial design. It isn’t 100% complete, but the schedule is well rounded and there are a handful of solid assignments that are both new and from the IST 110 days. I would love to get your feedback on the whole thing … it is over at the Course Design Site. I did a quick podcast today explaining a little of the philosophy behind the whole thing, so that is available to listen to as well. I am still trying to figure out the login and account stuff in Drupal 5, so that may be a little flaky for the moment — I am basically terrified of spam and have it locked down until I have some time in the next few days to really work with that.
The real idea is to expose the course in this format for the community to comment on and help shape … I will then use the same site to teach the course from, give students blogs there, and continue to build on this foundation over time. If you have ideas, thoughts, or anything else just leave a comment here, or there. Thanks!
FTB is Gone
I let the From the Basement (FTB) domain expire last week. FTB was a podcast that Bart Pursel, Chris Millet, and I did on a weekly basis from November 2004 through March 2005. This was back when Google would return the, “did you mean broadcasting?” question when one would attempt to find information on it all. We started FTB really as a research project — I wanted to know about RSS enclosures and I really wanted to understand what it took to create a “podcast show” like Adam Curry had. What happened was a very fun weekly event that ended up gaining some listeners … once we realized people were listening we started to feel both terrified and amazed all at the same time. It was hard to let it go, but at the end of the day we weren’t using it and I have enough podcasting in my life at the moment.
Every week we would gather in my basement to create the show. Over the weeks it got very complicated … we couldn’t just fire up GarageBand, we had to get really creative with the whole thing. By the time we figured out how to really pull it all off we were using three laptops, a 7 band equalizer/mixer, two microphones, and a Kaos sound effects pad — and that was just the hardware side. For software we would routinely bring in “guests” using iChat A/V or Skype, iTunes to mix in music, a web browser to find interesting information and to mix in sounds from websites, and Audio Hijack Pro to record it all. Let’s just say setup took us a while.
At any rate, the shows got better and better, but more outrageous each week. We ended up taking them down in about June 2005 when it was clear they were not safe for office consumption. It was a great time and really laid the groundwork for our understanding of the power of the podcast. In our minds we were radio personalities … we also feel like we were the first vodkasters out there!
Long Live the Limes!
Podcasting on the Rise
Now that the Turkey Coma has worn off, I am back to reading a little bit. In my feeds this morning is a pointer to a new podcasting report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Instead of pulling it apart for you here, I’ll link to it and quote the research brief’s abstract …
Some 12% of internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they can listen to it or view it at a later time. However, few internet users are downloading podcasts with great frequency; just 1% report downloading a podcast on a typical day.
Even though 12% seems low, let’s not forget that it was somewhere around 7% last year. As I am a part of the 12% I think it is a good thing as more and more good content hits the scene. One thing I am curious about is if I am in the 1% or not … I don’t listen to podcasts everyday, but my iTunes Podcast client certainly does. I wonder what that really means. I didn’t see that question answered in the report.
On top of it all, the short report wraps up with a discussion of iPod or other MP3 ownership …
While an iPod or MP3 player is not necessary to listen to or view podcasts, the proliferation of mobile media gadgets has helped fuel the demand for digital content that can be both time-shifted and place-shifted for listening and viewing on-the-go. According to our February-April 2006 survey, 20% of American adults and 26% of internet users report ownership of an iPod or MP3 player. Young adults, those with broadband access and parents are considerably more likely to have an iPod or MP3 player.
That last little bit there suggests to me that we are on the verge of a “perfect podcasting” storm of sorts … with a huge percentage of our students showing up on campus with MP3 playing mobile devices the interest in ways to fill them will continue to rise. I don’t care if it podcasting lecture materials or not, the fact of the matter is that the mobile education market may be one filled with opportunity for growth. The questions I have are around the types of content that will be delivered. When will audio versions of textbooks in chapter versions become common? I am wondering why more foreign language courses aren’t taking advantage of the excellent podcasts that are freely available? I know there are other ways, but what are they and what will they mean to us? Now that the pieces are lining up I am excited to know many of us have built an infrastructure to support it. No idea what “it” will ultimately be, but it is exciting.
The Podcast About My Zune
Now that I have had the Zune for a whole day the true nature of it is starting to become apparent. Not that I don’t like it … I’m not a huge fan, but it isn’t bad. I haven’t had a chance to test what I feel is the most compelling aspect of it, the social networking capabilities. The device itself is an MP3 player that, to me, doesn’t evoke an emotional response on any level. It is a device that is a utility … no statements or anything, just a device.
I do like the hardware, it is the software that is a real pain for me. Maybe it is because I am so comfortable with the iTunes and iPod integration, but it just doesn’t speak to me. Having to log into all those damn Microsoft accounts just to purchase Zune Points is really something that I am not interested in. It is so clear to me now just how much of an advantage Apple has when it comes to the user experience related to the software/hardware integration. I wonder how someone who doesn’t like Apple feels? I am sure the Zune is so much better for so many people, but this is my space and that is my impression. At the end of the day it is a good device and honestly only the second non-Apple MP3 player I have owned. Before my iPod I had a Rio … I felt the same about that as I do the Zune. It works, but nothing else. At least the Rio connected to iTunes.
So I sat down and recorded some thoughts about the device yesterday and tried to give a balanced report — a lot like Fox News 😉 … I also sat down with a few ETS people and got their reactions. Keep in mind this is the first time I have ever tried to create a podcast like this — just me editing a lot of stuff together. It may be annoying, but I am trying to get better at this. At any rate, here is a link to the ETS Special Edition Zune podcast at Penn State on iTunes U. Thoughts?
Weekly Podcast
I have really been trying to stay true to the one podcast per week ideal … the last time I did this was for the original From the Basement podcast (that turns two years old in a few days). For two weeks in a row we’ve done an ETS Talk Podcast show … that isn’t all that impressive, two weeks in a row but it feels good. Creating time and opportunity has been the difference maker. I have noticed that in the last few weeks more and more of my colleagues have been interested in creating content … that shows me we are on the right track. At any rate, the latest ETS Talk Podcast is available.
I have gone way too long without any comments and it is starting to make me feel pathetic … any thoughts on staying regular with a podcast schedule, on how higher education can tap the space, or anything of interest … don’t make me beg.
iTunes U Tuesdays – Live from ETS
Chris Millet is managing the Podcast at Penn State project for us and is doing a great job! Last week he decided that he would create a new podcast show that would highlight new and interesting content going on in the Penn State on iTunes U space. So with that in mind he took a little time and cranked out the first of the weekly series. Now into its second week it seems Chris is getting the model down. If you are interested, go on and click the link. You will be taken into the open part of Penn State on iTunes U. Let me know what you think.
Brian Smith at the TLT Innovators Speaker Series
I started asking faculty to present interesting things they are doing to integrate technology into their teaching after last April’s TLT Symposium. Yesterday the second presentation from the TLT Innovators Speaker Series took place on the University Park campus. The talk featured Brian Smith, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology and Instructional Systems entitled “Live and Learn: Supporting Everyday Cognition with Computation.†Brian spends a great deal of time envisioning ways to effectively use the things we do when we are outside of formal learning spaces to create learning opportunities. Brian’s talk focused heavily on those informal learning spaces and ways he has found to tap into them.
Brian and I are good friends, although he may not talk with me after I made him bring his GameBike into the talk … actually he brought it on stage and we couldn’t get the PlayStation hooked to the screen in the Auditorium, but … at any rate the talk was great and the demo was very cool. You see Brian has done a bunch of research into how you can take the mundane of playing video games and turn it into a healthy activity … we showed that off by asking a member of the audience to play a game sitting in a comfy chair eating chips and then on the GameBike doing the same (without the chips). Very effective.
Brian followed Kyle Peck’s talk by doing something a little different — he focused a lot of energy on technology and how it is used to transform everyday opportunities for learning. I thought it was really well done. He even held court at Whiskers afterwards (picking up the bill) talking to us all about some really cool things. Engaging the community in these ways has been both very stressful and very worth while! I can’t thank Brian enough! Some pictures from the event. Here is the direct link to the podcast as an MP3.
Photo by Dave Stong.Â