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Both Students and Instructors Benefit from Educational Podcasting

By Cristina Lopez

Public speaking courses have been a part of the university curriculum since ancient Greece, and in a broad sense technology has always played a role in learning the art of speaking. In the fourth century B.C., the esteemed Greek orator Demosthenes overcame his speech impediment by practicing with pebbles in his mouth. In contemporary speech classes, video recordings of their own presentations help students improve their skills. Now at the University of Minnesota, an emerging technology provides a 21st century twist to teaching public speaking: podcasting. Thanks to the initiative of Laurie McGinley, Web designer, General College, and Vicki Neau, information technology professional, General College, Jill Trites began podcasting lectures for her course Oral Communication in the Public Sphere (GC 1461) earlier this spring. Through this project the three have discovered benefits of podcasting for both students and instructors.

Why podcasting? In part, the project took shape because of Neau's and McGinley's enthusiasm for trying out an emerging technology. Back in November they both attended a presentation on the Purdue University BoilerCast project, cosponsored by the Health Sciences Libraries and the Office of Information Technology. Before this new podcasting service, Purdue students checked out audiotaped lectures from the library; now they can download and listen to lectures virtually anytime and anywhere. Neau says, "Purdue really put it into action. I thought it was really cool, very automated and very easy for professors to use." McGinley recalls, "I remember walking back to the office after the presentation and feeling very hyperactive. One quote I remember most was from a student who said, 'I'm not a native English speaker, and this really helps me study for my class, that I can hear it and rewind it.'" Eager to learn more, the two partnered with Jill Trites on a "barebones podcasting project."

With a repurposed laptop, some inexpensive software, and about $75 worth of accessories, McGinley and Neau began creating podcasts of Trites' lectures on topics such as speaker credibility, types of speeches, and conducting research. The process is fairly straightforward: Neau and McGinley show up to record the lecture portion of the class, using only the laptop and a microphone. After class they take the laptop upstairs, hand-code the XML feed "and it's done." The two report that little editing work is required, especially after they sorted out some minor issues: "We don't touch it at all. We just want to get the audio. We used Audacity software to tinker with it a bit. At first we had some volume issues but that was easily resolved. All in all the process is really cost-effective."

One of Trites' instructional goals for the project has been to use the podcasts as easily-accessible, supplementary course materials, particularly for those students who speak English as a second, third, or fourth language. However, although many of Trites' students own iPods, they are just becoming aware of educational podcasting. In the meantime Trites has discovered that podcasting benefits instructors as well. As a public speaking instructor Trites strives to ensure that she models effective presentational skills for her students. Trites says that listening to her own podcasts helps her monitor and improve her own delivery skills. However, she believes that instructors in any subject would benefit from listening to their own podcasts. "This is a really good evaluation tool for me because I can go back and review and really hear what I've said. There are always ways to improve your teaching. A good teacher is very dynamic and this [podcasting] is part of adapting to the available technologies."

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Last modified Tuesday, 19-Jun-2007 15:34:32 CDT