Revelations!

Online casting

Online casting, for the purpose of this project was described as: the distribution of diverse educational resources in the form of multimedia files such as audio, music, video, flash, text (or a combination of these), using syndication technology such as RSS, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.

Production

For online distribution of multimedia files to be described as an “online cast” the production and publishing stage of the process needs to include syndication technology – ie an RSS feed.
Much educational content is distributed via the internet from websites and from within learner management systems such as Blackboard and Janison.  Many of these files can be downloaded for access on a personal computer or, in many cases, a mobile device.  What distinguishes an online cast from this form of content distribution is its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS feeds.
Web sites that offer online casts may also offer direct download or streaming of the files.
‘Podcast’ sites such as podOmatic are evolving as the new blogs and include text, graphics as well as audio.

Receiving

Where an online cast is provided only by syndication (RSS) users will need access to a RSS aggregator (for example iTunes or Juice) with the ability to transfer the files to media player software or hardware.
However, as most web sites that offer online casts also offer direct download or streaming of the files users will have a choice of how they access the files.  Research to date indicates that the majority of educational users (learners) are choosing to download file rather that use an automatic feed.

Understanding the language of online casting

A striking finding from this project is the variety of definitions and understandings around key terms related to ‘online casting’ in adult education and vocational training communities.  If people are not conscious of this, such a diversity of interpretations can lead to misunderstandings or (even) cross purposes. 

For example, the meanings given in everyday use to the word ‘podcast’ could be placed on a spectrum from a very technical definition at one end, stressing the centrality of the ‘rss’ feed, to a popular one at the other end, referring to any mp3 file that can be played on a portable device.  Strictly speaking, audio files are not ‘podcasts’ unless they involve, as podcastdirectory says, “the automatic distribution of mp3s via RSS/XML files”.  In popular speech however, the unique distribution features that characterise ‘podcasts’ are often not known or certainly not foregrounded.

For organisations, then, a top priority is to:         

• Understand that key terms and meanings may be interpreted differently both within your organisation and outside your own environment
• Encourage discussion around the various meanings and the organisational implications of different interpretations
• Decide what the key terms mean in your organisation before making policy and planning decisions
• Foster collectively shared understandings and use.

Diversity of online casting activity in education

Another key finding of the project is the diversity and range of online casting activity currently taking place in education and training organisations.  The range of online casting for educational purposes includes:

• individual teachers experimenting with “podcasts” using free software such as podOmatic and Odeo – often creating support and feedback post to assist learners with assessment
• teachers, usually supported by e-learning units and IT departments, creating resources from scratch - recording audio, creating xml script, hosting on institute websites
• audio lectures – lectures and teachers, supported by e-learning and/or multimedia departments, are recording lectures using portable recording devices.  These are then edited and made available from institute learning management systems.
• fully automated systems – Lectopia software is being used to provide lecture audio, video and dataproject capture via learning management systems
• established broadcasters are partnering with educational organisations to develop and cast learning content for international audiences

It is a significant feature of most online casting sites that files are also available for download or, in some cases, by streaming.

Higher Education and TAFE

Fully automated casting is well embedded in many Higher Education institutes.
In Victoria, some dual sector organisations have introduced automated online casting into their Higher Education lectures and are now providing this technology for their TAFE division as well.

Content

Currently much of the educational content being cast online involves the recording of standard lectures.  As reported in the case studies research this is meeting the needs of many organisations and many students. 

However, if we are to exploit the full educational benefit of online casting it is crucial that content also be developed specifically for this new means of distribution and access.

Pedagogy & PD

There is a growing awareness of a need to develop a “pedagogy for podcasting”.  As with most online teaching and learning, traditional face-to-face methods are not always directly transferable to another medium.

Professional development is always a critical factor in upskilling teaching and technical support staff.  For a new technology and a new methodology to be successfully embedded in an organisation’s systems and practice professional development also needs to be an on-going process, not a one-off event.

Innovation and organisational change

It is important to note the dynamic nature of the development and adoption of online casting, both within educational organisations and in the broader context of public and private communication.
Readiness for organisational change (systems and work processes) and key people who see the opportunities and commercial benefits are both crucial for those wishing benefit from this type of technological development.

Establishing the systems

Some individuals have suggested that the future of online casting does not rest solely with audio pod casting.  These individuals argue that as technology is enhanced online casting will expand to include flash, HTML and video files just to name a few.  If this is true, then there is an argument to suggest that the most critical aspect of embedding online casting is the development of systems and processes which allow online casting to occur.  It may even be true to say, although not popular among e-learning experts, that in the short term the imperative to ensure that these systems (include the ability to develop and host XML documents and castable files) are in place, is greater than the need to ensure that all teachers are able to produce pedagogically sound audio files.

Purpose, process and pedagogy

New markets instead of: pioneering new practices and/or seeking new audiences

Servicing existing clients as well as: expanding, extending the content and reach of existing practices

Online casting has the ability to allow an organisation to increase its existing client base to include new groups of students.  In addition to this, online casting also has the ability to enhance the experience of current clients and students.  However it is unclear if both of these things can be achieved simultaneously.  Where an organisation chooses to supplement an existing student service by recording existing face to face content for distribution, there is no doubt that students are able to benefit from this degree of flexibility.  However, it is naive to suggest that this same content, on its own, will automatically constitute a solely online course.  Thus an organisation must be very clear about its goals in terms of online casting; is the goal to supplement existing services, (this requires a particular pedagogical style) or is the goal to develop a new delivery method to attract a new market, (this requires a different pedagogical approach).   Although we are not suggesting that it is impossible to meet both of these needs using the same online casting content, we would caution organisations considering online casting to clearly define their objective before undertaking any significant investment.

 

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