A world in your ear: Podcasting in the classroom

Author: Stephen Fessey

CLC Manager: Mohammed Ishaq

1

Podcasting in the Classroom
Stephen Fessey
FOREWARD
Central Birmingham City
Learning Centre is proud of the
work it does with its network
schools and wider partners. We
are constantly testing new
technologies and their potential
use in education and using
established technologies in new
and innovative ways.
We have been at the forefront of
researching technologies and
passing that research on to
schools and partners since we
opened in 2002. Our aim is to
provide clear guidance on
practical classroom use with an
understanding of the issues
involved in school.
CONTENTS
FOREWARD 2
ABSTRACT 3
INTRODUCTION 4
BACKGROUND 5
MAIN REPORT 6
CONCLUSION 11
REFERENCES 12
Technology, by its very nature, is
a constantly changing force and
the pace of change today is as
fast as ever. Emerging web
technologies and online learning
will shape education in the future
and it is essential that these
developments are used for sound
pedagogical reasons.
The research undertaken by
Central Birmingham City
Learning Centre is designed to
help teachers and to directly
influence their practise. It is
hoped that this report will inspire
you and create exciting learning
opportunities for pupils.
Mohammed Ishaq
Central Birmingham CLC Manager
“Podcasting ABSTRACT
This research looks at the use of
is best kept podcasting in the classroom. It
simple” results from numerous sessions at
CBCLC where staff taught pupils
and teachers to podcast. This
document brings together and
shares the best practice that was
generated.

Podcasting became a focus for

CBCLC because:

- It is an engaging tool for

learners
- It can be used with all ability
levels
- It is particularly suitable for
EAL learners
- It is an ideal tool to be used in
cross-curricular projects as
recommended in the Secondary
National Strategy

CBCLC ran approximately 12

sessions with pupils and 4
sessions with teachers where
podcasting was taught and then
used by the pupils/teachers. In
these sessions different software
and hardware was evaluated.
“Podcasting is 1 INTRODUCTION Teachers looking to use podcasts
can:

another tool for Central Birmingham City Learning

Centre (CBCLC) is increasingly 1. Download existing podcasts
asked to run podcasting sessions for
classroom classes or training for teachers. 2. Edit existing podcasts

engagement During the course of the academic 3. Create new podcasts

year 2007/8 Central Birmingham
and is CLC ran several sessions using 4. Have pupils create new podcasts.
various packages (on PC and Mac)
until we settled on a format that was
extremely It is hoped this report might inspire
workable, easy to use and versatile
teachers to experiment with podcasts
for all the schools we work with.
and to create their own.
versatile.”
This report outlines the key findings
of our research into podcasts and
presents it in a practical way for the
classroom teacher. It is hoped that
the report will help teachers to use
podcasts in their own classroom and
to create their own.

Podcasting is another tool for

classroom engagement and is
extremely versatile. They are
particularly useful in “enlivening”
dry topics and are a natural fit into
primary schools, the new Key Stage
3 strategy [DCFS, 2008] and the
trends of 14-19 education.
 “Because 2. BACKGROUND
podcasts are so Despite fears of the demise of radio,
listening figures have actually increased
much a part of in recent years, the main reason being the
boom in podcasts and online radio
[Plunkett, 2007]
children’s lives
Podcasts are part of many children’s lives
they tend to who subscribe to regular podcasts or
download occasional episodes.
respond
A podcast can best be thought of as a
positively to radio programme and it can take the form
of anything radio can achieve: a music
them.” show, a play, a talk show, discussion etc.
The reason they are called podcasts is that
the programme (or broadcast) can be
downloaded as an MP3 file and put onto
your MP3 player to listen back to later.
The market leader in MP3 players is the
Ipod - hence “pod cast”.
It is this “anytime anywhere” feature
which makes podcasts so popular [Deal
2007]. Most BBC radio programmes end
with words similar to: “ and if you missed
that programme visit our website to
download the latest episode.”
5
Podcasts are becoming increasingly used
in education as revision aids and
innovative presentations. Because
podcasts are so much a part of children’s
lives they tend to respond positively to
them.
There are several internet services that
host podcasts, some for free and some
charge a fee.
KEYWORDS:
PODCAST: An audio broadcast that has
been converted to an MP3 file or other
audio file format for playback in a digital
music player or computer.
HOST: A Web host is in the business of
providing server space, Web services and
file maintenance for Web sites controlled
by individuals or companies that do not
have their own Web servers.
MP3: (MPEG Audio Layer 3) An audio
compression technology that compresses
CD-quality sound by a factor of roughly
10, while retaining most of the original
fidelity; for example, a 40 MB CD track
is turned into a 4 MB MP3 file.
3. PODCASTING IN THE Suggested websites to sample
CLASSROOM podcasts:

3.1: Existing resources http://www.podbean.com/

Perhaps the most useful way of http://www.podcast.net/

starting with podcasts is to explore http://podcast.com/
what is already published on the
internet. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/
podcasts/directory/
For the most part podcasts are an
“amateur” affair produced at home
by enthusiasts and covering their
favourite music, hobbies or interests.

There are lots of sites that host these

podcasts and you can easily search or
browse through them. It’s worth
pointing out though that because
these sites are open to all the content
cannot be fully checked for use in the
classroom.

Usually content that is overly

offensive is cut after complaints but
teachers are advised to check out
podcasts before using them in the
classroom and to use discretion when
allowing pupils to browse through
them individually.

6
 “Podcasting 3.2: Creating a podcast
3.2.1: Technology used
is all about
There are numerous ways to
simplicity and create a podcast. CBCLC has
trialled a number of different
lo-tech
methods, outlined below.
solutions.”
To begin with, CBCLC invested
in “radio kits” which were
distributed to partner schools.
These consisted of a mobile desk,
computer, mixer, music keyboard,
MP3 player, headphones and
microphones.
This kit could then be set up in a There are two which have proved
quiet area to be used to record
“live” discussions with the
microphones or to edit recordings. PC.
Whilst the kit was effective,
particularly at creating a
“professional air” which engaged
pupils quickly, it was relatively
costly. Podcasting is all about
simplicity and lo-tech solutions.
7
As a result we moved towards
podcasts, created using low cost
headphones with a microphone
attachment. These have proved
highly successful. They focus
pupil attention and allow real
independent work. A drawback is
that only one pupil can hear the
audio at a time. Headphone
splitters would help solve this
problem.
3.2.2: Software used
CBCLC have used a variety of
software to record podcasts.
most effective: Garageband on
Mac computers and Audacity on
Garageband is a Mac-only
program that is graphically
attractive, easy to use and creates
a professional product. Users are
able to include music loops and
sound effects from a vast number
available with the program.
 Garageband also allows the
freedom to add video content if
users want to take a plunge into
vod casting (like pod casting but
with images/video). More
information can be found on
Apple’s site at:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garage
band/
Audacity is a free, open source
sound editor and is the software
we use when podcasting on the
PC. It is simple to use and
recordings can be easily trimmed
and edited. Projects can then be
exported as an MP3 - the standard
for podcasting. More information
can be found at:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Footnotes
8
The screen shot on this page gives
an idea of how Audacity works -
when sound is recorded it shows
as a wave form which can then be
trimmed easily. When the user
records another piece of sound it
appears as a new wave form
underneath the existing one.
Recordings can then be shifted
around to make a time line.
As Audacity is free CBCLC
recommends that schools
download and install it across
their network. As a learning tool
it is versatile and can be used
creatively by teachers.
With both pieces of software and
with podcasting in general
CBCLC recommends using
Soundsnap to find sound effects.
This is a free online sound library
that allows people to share and
download samples in the most
common audio formats.
http://www.soundsnap.com/
“Publishing a 3.3: Publishing a podcast 3.4: Subscribing to a podcast

podcast Publishing a podcast should be Once uploaded to a hosting

easy. Like recording it should be service podcasts can be accessed
should be quick and users should be able to and downloaded by anyone (or
share content straight away. restricted users if it is a private
easy.” podcast). As long as the person
Published podcasts need to be knows the web address of the
hosted by a hosting service. podcast they can listen
CBCLC trialled the use of several to/download the MP3.
hosting services including:
Increasingly though users are
http://www.jellycast.com subscribing to podcasts. This
http://www.podcastfm.co.uk means that users do not need to
keep checking a website to see if
CBCLC now uses podbean.com to a new podcast has been updated.
host podcasts and to train staff. It
is a flexible and free service that To do this, a user needs to use an
also allows for blogging and the RSS Reader. All podcasts contain
addition of video. It also allows RSS data which contains
for podcasts to be made private if information on the podcast. The
necessary. RSS Reader will show that data.

http://www.podbean.com/ There are two types of RSS

reader:web-based and programme
based.

In terms of web-based RSS

Reader CBCLC recommends
Google Reader. For a programme
based RSS Reader CBCLC
recommends the built in features
of either Firefox internet browser
or Internet Explorer 7.

9
3.4 Podcasting in the curriculum Because of the ease of podcasting
many pupils are now creating
Podcasting is a relatively new tool them [Ishizuka, 2005]. With
for education and research on its both software titles highlighted in
benefit is sparse but emerging section 3.2.2 it is an easy process
[e.g: Abtl and Barry, 2007]. to create a discussion, talk show,
radio play, soundscape or any
Podcasts are being used in two other type of podcast.
main ways: teacher created
content and pupil created content. Ideas for podcasts include:
- a local survey
Teachers are beginning to use - an audio tour of the school
podcasts for revision purposes - an interview with their family
and to help students who are - create an audio resource for
absent. These podcasts work very visually impaired users
well when the lesson is in a - foreign language podcasts
“lecture” style format [Seattle - storytelling
Times, 2005]. - music shows

Podcasts can - and should - be Of course, Podcasts are an ideal

more creative though. Teachers way to work collaboratively and
are beginning to use podcasts as to use higher order skills of
lesson starters and discussion evaluation.
points.

10
“Teachers and 4. CONCLUSION
pupils can use CBCLC has seen a steady increase in the
number of teachers coming to the centre
podcasting to for podcasting training. Teachers in our
network are following the global trend
create [New York Times, 2005] by making
podcasts that are innovative and
genuinely educational.
innovative
There are countless ways to create
and and publish podcasts but CBCLC
has found that it is best to choose
educational one method and use that across all
curriculum areas; the software and
content” hardware recommended in this
report would be suitable across all
subject areas.
Although there are numerous
tools and site available, CBCLC
is able to recommend Garageband
and Audacity as software to
create podcasts and Podbean to
host them.
11
In general it was found that
podcasting is best kept simple
with podcasts working well when
they are short and precise. A
clear purpose (revision,
discussion etc) is needed.
Podcasts were seen by teachers as
a valuable educational tool and
by pupils as engaging and fun. It
is clear that as online learning
takes a bigger role in education
[Downes, 2007] that educational
tools such as podcasts, blogs and
wikis will become increasingly
important.
Teachers and pupils can use
podcasting to create genuinely
innovative and educational
content. Combined with a sound
pedagogical purpose they have
the ability to transform lessons
and learning.
 REFERENCES

Abt1, Grant and Barry, Tim “The Quantitative Effect of Students Using
Podcasts in a First Year Undergraduate Exercise Physiology Module”
http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/journal/vol10/beej-10-8.htm
December 2007
DCFS, “Secondary National Strategy”
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/secondary/keystage3/ April 2008
Deal, Ashley “Podcasting: A Teaching with Technology White Paper”
http://connect.educause.edu/files/CMU_Podcasting_Jun07.pdf April
2007
Downes, Stephen “Learning Objects, Metadata, Blogs And RSS: The
Future Of Online Education”
http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2004/12/12/learning_objects_me
tadata_blogs_and.htm 2007
Ishizuka, Kathy “Tell Me a Story A media specialist promotes reading
with podcasts”
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6253062.html
2005
New York Times, “New Tools: Blogs, podcasts and virtual clssrooms”
http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~magps/boylit/New%20York%20Times%20podca
st%20article.pdf 2005
Plunkett, John “People listen more and more via mobiles, digital TV
and the net”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/apr/30/mondaymediasectio
n.radio April 2007
Seattle Times, “Teachers see iPods as educational tool”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2002571859_pods
chool20.html 2005
About the Author

Stephen Fessey has taught for eight years and has used ICT in his lessons and
planning across many curriculum areas. His work at Central Birmingham City
Learning Centre has allowed him to expand and develop this interest by using
state-of-the-art equipment and sofware. This work is then shared with teachers
and educators across the centre’s network. Stephen is currently pursuing a
Masters in Education focusing on Elearning.

About Central Birmingham City Learning Centre

CLCs were set up to be innovative practitioners of ICT and therefore most of what we provide
has an ICT focus. Central Birmingham City Learning Centre is a state-of-the-art technology
centre set up for the benefit of central Birmingham schools. Our key work is with pupils and
staff. We offer sessions and work with departments on most curriculum areas and to most
Key Stages. We also offer a varied CPD programme.

Central Birmingham City Learning Centre

Naseby Road
Alum Rock
Birmingham
B8 3HG
tel: +44 (0)121 464 8106
fax: +44 (0)121 464 8107
e-mail: admin@parkviewclc.bham.org.uk
www.parkviewclc.bham.org.uk
Creative Commons
All rights reserved; Central Birmingham CLC has an open access policy which encourages circulation of our
work, including this report, under certain copyright conditions - however, please ensure that Central Birmingham
CLC is acknowledged.