We are working with EMS and a University-wide committee to bring podcasting to the surface as a piece to the overall disaster planning process for Penn State. Administrators are beginning to see podcasting as a first step towards engaging students quickly and easily if there is a University closure.

This Spring we will be working with Dr. Kathlyn Brown, Assistant Professor of  Communications at Penn State McKeesport to help redesign Communications 260W: News Paper Writing and Reporting.

The goal of this project is to provide students with the the skills sets, technology and real world experiences needed to become a “real-time street reporter.”  Curriculum content will include supplementing and enhancing student driven content generated through journalistic participation including employing video and audio podcasting. 

Additionally, students will be asked to articulate and evolve their understanding of how media shapes perceptions, and how the use of technology impacts socialization of the emerging ethical standards that will shape their professional practice as media participants in online communities. Finally, 260W students will have an opportunity to participate in the continuation of the McKeesport High School Civic and Community Engagement  after school program.

This picture obtained from SusanNYC on Flickr under a CC license.

Faculty and staff are invited to use the new ETS Podcasting Studio to quickly and easily create podcasts. We decided to put a podcasting space into the FMC Studio so anyone could engage in podcasting.

The weekly ETS Talk Podcast has been the number one podcast at Penn State for the last 2 months. Produced every Friday the ETS Talk Podcast focuses on projects and the thinking going on in and around ETS.

Something else surprising has been happening … Colleges and other units have been creating a lot of Podcast Shows. These are either in support of academic activities or informational shows designed to extend the message of the unit. The Berks podcast, from Dean Brady, and Center for the Performing Arts all have popular podcasts available.

Over the last year, we have captured audio from ITS events and have made them available to the general public… essentially extending the reach of our organization in the process. By capturing events and the conversations around them we have been able to increase our visibility and explore how podcasting can be used to support a greater number of our audiences.

Sitting down with guests of the University to discuss their thoughts has opened doors to new thinking and opportunities. We are working hard to make this a larger part of our interactions.