So you want to make a podcast or: How to be an iTunes educational rock star

I believe that a lot of people have an idea for a podcast.  I also think that 90 percent of those people are hesitant to create a podcast because they think it will be difficult.  In reality all you need is that idea.  Here at College of the Mainland’s Instructional Technology we have the means for you take that idea and run with it.

An Instructional Technology
iPod Nano.

Let’s back up for a second though.  You can’t just check out an iPod Nano and start rambling on about the Spanish Inquisition or Fermat’s Last Theorem. You have to make a plan for that idea.  It isn’t much different from planning a 25 page paper - except you don’t have to write the 25 page paper.

 Of course you could also make plans to record an entire live lecture in class, but more on that later.

Get out a piece of paper and jot down topics relating to your idea.  The planning stage is when you map out all the information that you have in your head that you want to share with the world, or maybe just your students.

Then next thing you have to decide is what kind of tone you want your podcast to have.  Should it be entirely serious and to the point, or more laid back with anecdotes or related stories to connect your listener to the material?  Do you want to be authoritative with your information or personal?  Know what you are doing before you hit the record button.

Also, know how long you want your podcast to be.  You don’t want to lose your listeners by going off on a 30 minute tangent about purple finches when you started out talking about the geographical significance of New Hampshire.

Let’s say that you pick a friendly conversational style and you have five main points to your topic that you want to cover.  Allow yourself two to three minutes per topic.  That is a good target time because you are dealing with a media that is competing with Facebook, Wikipedia and Pandora radio - and student’s short attention spans.

Get comfortable, stay away from noisy things like air conditioners, fans, ringing cell phones etc. and go to town.  Take the time to practice your podcast and be sure to have fun with it - because if you’re not having fun then neither will your listeners.

Once you hit record, be sure that the recording device is close enough to pick you up clearly.  Whether you are using the aforementioned iPod Nano or a more complex set up using an external microphone you will want it to pick up the best sound possible.  Do a test recording, count to 20 or run through a sentence or two, play it back and listen to the results.

This is very important to keep in mind when recording a live class lecture.  There will be a lot of outside noise that needs to be accounted for - students shuffling about, the A/C kicking on or even the hum of the lights in the room - so you need to be certain that you can be heard loud and clear.

Professor of Humanities Brian Anderson's iTunes U page.

Here is the really good news: once you have your podcast recorded and it’s ready for your student’s consumption we will take the file and upload it to the College of the Mainland iTunes U.

If you are interested in checking out an iPod Nano, want to bounce some ideas around, or need pointers on how to drop the pre-recording jitters shoot me an e-mail at bdenison@com.edu or call me at extension 8207.

What’s on the Horizon for Distance Education?

Submitted by: Margaret Cussen

According to the 2011 Horizon Report, the top 6 technology trends affecting higher education are: electronic books, mobile devices, augmented reality, game-based learning, gesture-based computing, and learning analytics. This report- an annual look at emerging technology is produced by the New Media Consortium and Educause.  http://www.nmc.org/ 

The explosion of tablet computing using devices such as iPads has spurred the development of new, less expensive e-book options. Secondary to today’s economically depressed times; more faculty members and students are choosing e-books in lieu of printed textbooks.

At COM, in addition to mobile friendly podcasts available on iTunes, several software products such as Respondus StudyMate and SoftChalk are capable of creating mobile friendly course content.

Within the next 1 to 3 years, expect to see educational adaptations in Augmented Reality (http://elearninfo247.com/2010/10/09/augmented-reality-and-m-learning) and Game-Based Learning.  (http://www.nobelprize.org/educational)  In Augmented Reality, information is layered over whatever the user is viewing independent of the type of device.  Imagine participating in a chemistry experiment or a design project using Gesture-Base Learning with an educational Wii type device.

McGraw Hill Connect currently is available and compatible with Blackboard Learn 9.1. McGraw Hill Connect has built in learning analytics enabling content to be effectively tailored to individual students.

For more information about these emerging technology trends, visit Blackboard 9.1 Faculty Resources. The pathway is: DE Committee/ DE@COM/DE@COM 1 November 2011.

Menu Overhaul

After a few course migrations, your Course Menu might be in need of an overhaul. Don’t be afraid to Delete buttons you don’t use. You can always add a link or Tool (Messages, Journals, Discussions, etc.) back using the + Add Menu Item if you make a mistake. Any Tool content, such as postings and messages, will still be there when you create back to it - yes believe!)

Also, your course material, Learning Modules, .pdfs, videos, etc. reside in your Files area, so you won’t delete your content when you remove a button, just the links to them. Exceptions are folders with content created dynamically -
on the fly - such as a web links URL collection or an Assignments folder.  These items are not stored in a Tool or linked from the Files area.

To arrange your menu logically – add Subheader categories, for example, Course Material or Communications, and drag your buttons to their respective areas.

Submitted by:  Chandra Iwasaki

Best Practice - Use Tests as a Teaching Tool

Submitted by: Janet Wortman

I won't take credit for writing this blog entry.  I found this information while creating an online faculty training workshop on how to create and manage assessments.  This is an excerpt from the Assessments Part 1 training manual we have licensed from Blackboard.  We all know the role of assessment in education and the unique role that it plays in online classes.  It is worth a quick read.

Best Practice: Use Tests as a Teaching Tool

In online teaching, the role of the instructor often shifts toward guide and mentor. By using online assessments, you have the opportunity to use a test as a teaching tool, rather than purely as an evaluation mechanism.

Looking at Tests in a New Way

Traditionally, assessments measure knowledge at a specific point in time. However, assessments can be used as tools to improve subsequent learning.

              ·       Pre-tests provide a snapshot of students’ current understanding of a topic and prime them for receiving new knowledge. Students can derive personal satisfaction by comparing their pre-test scores with a post-test score.

              ·       Tests that allow students more than one attempt provide opportunities for relearning and reassessment. Instructions can improve retention and comprehension by providing students with answer feedback and special assignments between test attempts.

Frequent Testing and Motivation

Frequent tests not only assess what students know, but also enhance later retention, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. In an experiment, students either took repeated quizzes or were permitted to study the material repeatedly. Students in the former group performed better on a delayed test of their knowledge. The study-only group had read the passage about 14 times, but recalled less than the repeated testing group, which had read the passage only 3.4 times.

“Clearly, testing enhances long-term retention through some mechanism that both different from and more effective than restudy alone.”[1]

Many studies show similar results, including one that shows frequent testing resulted in higher examination grades, especially for students with low GPAs and high levels of procrastination behavior.[2] Frequent tests give students the motivation to study at regular intervals during the semester, which results in better long-term retention than cramming.

Frequent opportunities for students to test their knowledge can be especially effective in an online course. Inform students they will be tested often with less emphasis placed on the grades obtained and more emphasis on the learning process.

Feedback

Students often state they need timely and high-quality interaction with their instructors. In “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” Chickering and Gamson (1987) identify prompt feedback as one of the principles. One efficient way to accomplish this interaction is by creating feedback for online test questions. While the score itself is feedback, students will find your comments valuable. In Blackboard Learn, you can provide automatic feedback for each answer, such as:

              ·       Praise for correct answers

              ·       Reasons why an answer is incorrect—a teachable moment

              ·       References to textbook pages or online course content to help students learn the material for incorrect answers

              ·       Appropriate humor

By developing a testing strategy that uses frequent opportunities for students to test themselves, feedback for learning, and an emphasis on long-term retention, you may see improved student outcomes.

Sources:

Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association of Higher Education Bulletin, 3-7.

Roediger, H. L. & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17, issue 3.

Runyon, D. & Von Holzen, R. (2003). Effective assessment techniques for online courses. Educause Conference Presentation. Retrieved November 2, 2006 from http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=EDU03150.

Tuckman, B. (2000). Using frequent testing to increase students’ motivation to achieve. Paper presented at the 7th biannual International Conference on Motivation, Leuven, Belgium. Retrieved November 2, 2006 from http://dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/belgium-paper/BWT-belgium-paper.htm.

[1]Roediger, H. L. & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17, issue 3.

[2]Tuckman, B. (2000). Using frequent testing to increase students’ motivation to achieve. Paper presented at the 7th biannual International Conference on Motivation, Leuven, Belgium. Retrieved November 2, 2006 from http://dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/belgium-paper/BWT-belgium-paper.htm.

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