Kidcast #62 – Some Thoughts About Video Podcasting

I’ve received lots of emails lately from teachers interested in “vodcasting” – short for video podcasting. I typically don’t use this term because, as people begin learning the concepts around syndicated media, I believe it throws an unnecessary term into the mix.  Whether you use video, audio, enhanced or some variant of all three.  It also sounds nearly indistinguishable from podcasting, which makes me a little crazy.  So, for me, I say take the extra millisecond and give yourself the luxury of all six syllables – say it with me vid-e-o pod-cast-ing.  See how nice that rolls off the tongue?

Okay, now that we have semantics and pronunciation out of the way, I actually have a lot of ideas about video podcasting – - even for someone who is almost completely podcasts in a simple audio format.  Check out this episode to hear me try to dispel some myths about video podcasting, explore some ideas about what makes a good podcast, and give you some ideas about managing the video podcasting process.

To help differentiate between the video podcast and audio podcast it may be helpful to consider some factors that can influence whether you make a move to video.   Here are some indicators that point toward the video podcast format:

• The nonverbal interactions between subjects provide significant information to the audience
• The content requires a visual model to scaffold understanding
• You are providing demonstrations on procedures that include motion
• If your audience is most likely to access your content from in front of their computer, television (Apple TV or Tivo) or on a portable media player (iPod)

What’s the minimal equipment necessary to do a vodcast?

You can record video very easily with a built in web cam and software bundled with your computer.  For example, iMovie on the Macintosh platform provides a very quick and professional recording and production environment complete with titles, transitions, and video effects like picture in picture and green screens.

How do you suggest people get started beyond learning the basics of the equipment? Should it be a series, a blog gig, a specific project covering a single unit of curriculum, or something else?

A video podcast can emerge as a solution when you need it.  Podcasts don’t have to fall squarely into one category of media, the content can dictate when a video might be more appropriate than an enhanced podcast or an audio podcast.

Any advice on divvying up the work among students? And what role should the teacher play?

Think of yourself as an executive producer.  Your job is to pull together the technical resources, guide the research and creative process and help remove barriers. The mistake that many teacher make is to confuse their role and take over the actual production.  That turns the podcast into an synthetic academic exercise, rather than an authentic research and communication experience.

Where should the videos be posted? Is there a problem with putting them on youtube?

I generally encourage podcasters to post their material in the most flexible and widely accepted formats.  This allows the audience to experience them in whatever medium makes sense for them.  For video, I recommend the MPEG-4 (H.264) formats because they provide really great video and much smaller data rates.  These formats are also compatible with the iTunes and iPod ecosystem; where a large segment of podcasting and educational media is distributed and consumed.  Creating your podcast in other formats creates additional work for you when you try to pull your content into the systems and formats your audience will be using.

What about YouTube?  Once considered the wild west of video, it is starting to offer educators more and more reasons to take a second look as a place to store and organize content.  The two big benefits of YouTube are storage and embeddibility.  In terms of storage, the sky is the limit!  YouTube doesn’t limit the amount of content you post.  Their video upload tool does, however limit your files to 1GB in size and 10 minutes in length.

As for embeddibility,  I’m not really sure whether it is actually a word, but I’m going to use it anyway.  For podcasters that want to syndicate their media mostly for web consumption and hope to “go viral” and get their work embedded within the blogs, twitters, wikis, and web pages of other users, YouTube provides the easiest way for others to grab your video and make it part of their own stream of content.

The limitation of YouTube is that downloading the content you post can only be played back within the Flash based player in a web browser.  There isn’t a built in  video download option to allow users to take the content with them on an iPod, iPhone or other media player.  Google has been experimenting with this functionality during the spring of 2009, but has yet to pull it into widespread use.

Part of the challenge that some podcasting teachers and students face is storage and network speed.  Storage should become less and less of an issue as technical improvements continue to push the cost of memory down.   In some districts, arbitrary storage limits are put in place that have little to do with the actual needs of technical realities of users.  My advice is to have a conversation with your campus administrator and your technology director about what your are trying to do academically through your show.  Chart a path that includes the skills you are going to develop, the standards your students are going to be meeting, and the technical needs you are anticipating.   By making the case from an academic point of view, you’ll get farther with your technical arguments.

What’s the most common mistake that newbies make in introducing vodcasting into the classroom – and how can that be prevented?

• Not considering the audience as one of the first steps in developing their show
• Thinking of discrete, individual topics, rather than a larger scholarly exploration of related questions
• Putting too much time and emphasis on the production, and not enough on the quality of content and conversation in the production.
• Letting questions of safety and security derail the process.  Be upfront and communicate with administrators and parents about how you plan to protect identity and personal information.  Be creative with your production.  Talking heads aren’t as interesting and are a less secure approach to student produced video.
• Preview and review EVERYTHING before posting it.  The teacher must remain the gatekeeper for the safety, truth, copyright compliance and integrity.
• Reflect on your work – try to pull new ideas for continual improvement by watching and  listening to your show with a focus on constructive critique.  Also, become a subscriber to other student produced shows.  Compare and contrast your approaches and your strengths.
• Take it easy.  Start small and allow yourself and your students to grow into their scholarly and technical skills.

kidcast62.m4a