Lessons learnt from podcasting

The process of podcasting had yielded some interesting lessons to be learnt.  Firstly, most events can be made into interesting content for podcasting!  If this is the case, make sure that you have a video camera handy at all times.  The easiest way to go about this is to use a portable device such as your digital camera to video or snap images.  Make sure that you take your digital camera with you at all times as you’ll never know when it might come in handy!  Let’s say you’re attending an interesting session or taking a tutorial.  Do ask permission from the audience and presenter(s) if you can record them presenting or participating.  Similarly, you can get hold of free images via creative commons or free music by googling “podsave music”.  Always check to make sure that you have permissions to use an asset that you’ve not created. When all is cleared, go ahead and record any event that might be of interest.

 

Secondly, categorise all your assets and keep it safe.  Thirdly, think of the script that can bind the assets together, keeping in mind who the audience to the podcast might be.  Scripts require a bit of time to conceive but well worth the time put into planning it.  Now you can decide whether to have an audio or video podcast.  Audio podcasts are much quicker to produce but are less engaging to the user.  Having a blend of media in your podcast ensures that users who are visual or auditory can engage and find use from the podcast.  A cross-platform open source software such as Audacity is useful for producing audio podcast.  Video (and audio) podcasts on the other hand can be easily produced using software such as Windows Movie Maker or Garageband (for Apple Macs) or free ones such as Juice.  So, what are you waiting for?  Start by recording your assets and have fun!

 

Workflows, scenarios and use cases

Other than catching up after the computer crash I have been working on the prototype design, which will be released next week. Just have a few more code tests to do to make some of the more intricate bits are going to work. Focused on a client-side applications to start with which should transfer to web services with a minimal of code generation. The client-side applications will make mass user testing easier, theoretically less technology to go wrong.

 

I have also been doing some more use case diagrams from the workflows and scenarios various project members have written. So far I have diagrammed Meg’s podcasting workflow which is nice and straightforward and the use case model was built fairly quickly. Its interesting to see how it compares to the more specific scenarios/models developed back in September. They are focused on different user groups and specific software. The new one is more general that takes into account all the stages that need to be considered to complete any type of podcast (I have used wordpress’s AnswersLinks here let me know if you think this is a good idea?). I have numbered each so it can be related back to the original workflow and you can see where I have made changes to the logical flow. However order is not necessary a consideration in this type of development, except where there are obvious prerequisites.

 

Stuart’s scenario encompassed both organisational concerns as well as podcast LO development scenario. This also depicts a specific means of presenting podcast material via a student discussion. I have dived this into two diagrams. The first use case presenting the organisation considerations that need to be taken into account when moving a team into the realms of podcasting as a means of teaching. The second use case depicts the podcasting process and considerations for presenting a student discussion.

 

I think the organisational concerns are an interesting issue and could be worked into some form of formal guidelines. The Web2Rights workshop on Monday will add the legal aspects and I will focus my questions around podcasting and repository issues.  I have one more set of use cases to produce, based on the repository workflows from Jill. Once this is complete it might be a good idea to compare all the workflows/scenarios concerning LOs and podcasting. As well as the repository workflows against the repository report to identify issues for further exploration.

 

Evaluation of Plone

Learning objects are designed to be reused and shared. To facilitate this they need to be stored within an environment that enables users to store, search and access them. There are many repositories available offering a variety of services and formats. As part of our second iteration UIDM Stage 2 activities we have looked at an open source content management system called Plone. This system gives users or groups individual space as well as allowing them access to publicly published materials. This report examines some of Plone’s features in the context of providing a repository for learning objects that can be integrated with other applications.

Use case Diagrams of Podcasting and Learning Object Production

Having analysed the data from the podcasting scenarios we have developed initial use case diagrams capturing the processes described by the users. A high-level diagram was developed identifying the overall process and decisions a user is required to consider. Some of the process are specific to our editing application iMovie, but can be applied to other editing processes.

From this, specific scenarios were modelled to show the changes required, for the user, in the decision process:

• How a podcast can be used to deliver material in preparation for a tutorial.
• Recording a lecture for student reference
• Creating persistent materials for instruction and advice, with student input

A second set of scenarios were developed by an eCat tutor. These were more closely focused on the production of learning objects by lecturers and other staff. A high-level diagram was produced showing the processes and decisions of producing a learning object using the eCat system. We then used the scenarios above to examine the differences in requirements between an experienced lecturer and a lecturer at the start of their teaching profession.