Podcasting made simple

Abstract

The University of Southern California started a Technology Enhanced Learning initiative in the 2005-06 academic year. In response, two faculty teaching two different courses in the School of Social Work experimented with podcasting as a way of supplementing classroom lectures. In the Spring 2006 semester they used digital recorders to capture their lectures. The recording device -- which connected to a computer via a built-in USB connector -- produced ".WMA" files. The files were edited and converted to ".MP3" files and then posted in two places -- into the respective courses' Blackboard section and on a school web server. Students used the podcasts and other materials for review. This paper will outline the experiences of the faculty and what the School's IT organization did to support the experiment. The presentation will include a live demonstration, including posting to a server if a network connection is available.