Practical Podcasting

Practical Pod casting

Rich Valenta

University of Illinois
Fire Service Institute
University of Illinois


I. Why Podcast

From an educational perspective, creating audio and video presentations that can be downloaded over the Internet makes more sense now than ever before. I call what I create an Audio and Video presentation because they differ from a true Podcast. A true Podcast is created so presentations can be syndicated and be accessed by the masses. From my perspective, I monitor who has access to many of my presentations by limiting access through a Learning Management System with a login and password. You may wish to do the same through the use of Blackboard or opt to create a blog and post your presentation for anyone.
Over the past six years of delivering online education, I have found that I was limited in what I could teach by the medium the student had available. Keyboard chats were the mainstay of my instructor/student interaction. While these sessions were, and currently are important, it was difficult to present a large amount of class materials via chat.
Recently, I had a phone conversation with one of my students. He was thrilled that we posted audio lectures for each of the twenty-three subject areas of a fire certification program. He stated that as a farmer, he is subject to long hours on the tractor. His time was limited for such things as reading or online presentations. Having lectures in a downloadable format to listen to while working allowed him to participate in our course. He went on to say that if not for this program, he would not be able to meet the state firefighter certification requirement.
The next time you are out and about, concentrate on how many people are listening to an IPod or mp3 player. Then, look at how many handheld portable phones or devices (Palm’s) are in use. It seems to me that there are a great many of people who are already using the technology to facilitate receipt of distance learning materials. Society as a whole is connected to the very medium that you need to deliver your presentation.
With the advent of the file compression and players that can store and play audio and video files, educators in both the classroom and online have a superb way to enhance the student learning.

II. Should I create an Audio or Video Podcast?

Great question and one I find that has three rather simple to ways to make your decision.
1. What is the content you plan to present? For straightforward, non-technical material I would use an audio lecture.
2. Let’s say I was making a presentation for fire behavior. The use of images is an important part of subject delivery, thus I would use a slide show/video presentation.
3. Can your learners access and view video presentations? Here is where a technology issue can come into play. Most can, but not all. If you are adamant about creating a video presentation, it may require the user to view your presentation directly on their PC. This is not as convenient but certainly still doable. With slow connection speeds, audio may be your only option.

III. Type of Presentation
Generally there are four types of presentations you may choose to create, which are:
1. Lecture. The lecture is pretty straightforward. In most cases, you will use a simple audio file for this presentation. If your lecture is somewhat technical and has theories or skills that are difficult for the viewer to conceptualize, you may wish to add images or illustrations.
2. Interview. Again, this is a good place for an audio presentation. Unless you spend a great deal of time importing images and illustrations, a video interview can be very dry. Chances are you will lose your audience in a short amount of time.
3. Slideshow. My favorite. I find that it is easy to storyboard and create content for slideshows. They are very much like creating a PowerPoint, the main difference being that a single slide must be created for each point that you would find in a typical PowerPoint. This is where you have to pare down the size of each presentation. As a rule, your presentation should be only 20-30 minutes long. It does not take a very large presentation for you to use that time constraint. I find that using digital images work best for my slideshows. If you storyboard your project well, you know just what picture to take. Most cameras allow you to reduce image size. This saves image resizing and editing time.
4. Video. The use of a video offers enhanced presentations for the learner. Content development and delivery are much more difficult. Video presentations demand a lot more time and attention to create. If you have some time to invest in content development, you will find that the time you spend on the front side learning the process will pay dividends in the long run. Actually, if you follow a structure development process, you will find that video production can take less time than you imagine. I recommend when learning the video editing software, it is easier to import still images and add sound. The final product turns out like a slide show, but you will learn to use tools such as image sizing and importing, audio importing, transitions, and fade in and out options. After you understand the main ideas, moving on to importing and editing video will be much easier. The real key to producing a quality video presentation is developing a good storyboard. The time and effort of this step of the process will be more than worth your time.

IV. Creating Content for Production
I could spend hours and pages on this segment. Content creation is what makes or breaks your presentation. You may find that this step of the process takes more time than all the others combined. The first thing I have to convince people that wish to make any eLearning content is that you have to create everything that your student would normally hear or see in a classroom setting. For example, let’s say you are presenting a one-hour fire behavior lecture. You plan to use a twenty-slide PowerPoint presentation. If you use the PowerPoint development rule of sixes, there will be no more than six bullets on each slide. That’s 20 x 6 or 120 points. With the thought that you will provide some information on each bullet point, you can see that you have a very lengthy presentation. In addition, if you consider the fact that you have to create some type of content that expresses what you would be verbalizing during that presentation, you will notice that you have a great deal of work to complete before you ever start recording or shooting video.
The true friend of the eLearning instructional designer is a good story board/script. This is one step that you do not want to take a shortcut on. I was recently watching a documentary on how the movie “Man on Fire” was produced. For one three-minute scene, the director used the wall on an entire studio set to post his storyboard. The building was just a bit smaller than the size of a commercial aircraft hanger. This may seem somewhat extreme for a podcast, however, my point is that this step of the process can make or break your presentation. Can you be too specific and detailed when creating your presentation storyboard? The answer is No, quite the contrary. If you shortchange the process, you will find yourself inserting content during the production phase. Doing this just complicates and lengthens the development process. One more point about transforming a classroom presentation into an eLearning media presentation is that you may have to create several segments for one lengthy presentation. If you will recall, your presentations should not last more than 20-30 minutes. Before you even start, your one-hour fire behavior presentation has to be broken into two or more segments.
You can find many ways to develop content or may have a template you follow. Here is a system that I have found that works well for me.
1. Define subject content.
2. Define type of presentation.
3. Identify learning objectives for your presentation.
4. Create a rough outline of your presentation. (The use of bullets for specific points will be very helpful)
5. Storyboard your presentation. Be as specific as possible.
6. Script audio.
7. Dry run your presentation for accuracy and total presentation run time.
8. Conduct a peer review of your project storyboard.
9. Move to production of your presentation.


V. Software
Audio
I am going to make this section very short and sweet. I recommend two ways to create your audio content.
1. Use free open source audio recording software. Audacity Audio Recorder and Editor provides a powerful tool to create all your audio presentations. You can download a MAC or PC version at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Don’t be fooled. Free does not mean poor quality. This is a good tool created by many professionals. It will more than meet your needs. (Don’t forget to download the LAME MP3 encoder). http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3
This will allow you to convert your wave files to the mp3 file format.
2. If you feel compelled to give a software company your money, I have had good success with Sony Sound Forge. http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/audiostudio
At about fifty-five dollars you get a quality audio studio and reasonable good tech support.
Which ever product you select, you will be up and running in short order.
Video
Selecting video software is a bit more complex. Both price and ease of use must be considered.
Most PC’s are loaded with Microsoft Movie Maker. I have never used this product, but it is a point and click product that will allow you to capture your video as well as make necessary edits.
Pinnacle Studio 11 is a nice tool and can be purchased for as low as sixty dollars. http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family/
This is an easy product to use. After capturing your video, it provides for voice editing, use of transition, and importing of images. You will be up and running pretty quickly with this software.
On the high end, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 offers all the tools you could possibly need for a very high quality production. Quality equates to dollars. You can expect to spend upwards of four-hundred dollars. The learning curve is considerably greater. Expect to spend some time just learning the software.
Adobe Photo Shop or some paint programs will be an essential tool that you use to resize images and create illustrations. You can find a variety of them at Academic Superstore with an educational discount. http://www.academicsuperstore.com/

Adobe Captivate is an eLearning development product that allows you to create interactive learning content. It is an all-in-one product, in which you can directly import previously made PowerPoint presentations, create interactive learning content with such items as drag and drop, fill in the blank, or the usual multiple choice quizzes. Learners can also interact with onscreen audio or visual commands that enhance the learning experience.
The $250.00 price tag may seem a bit much, but it is a fantast eLearning tool. Look for educational pricing at: http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/education/
As a note, several companies such as Academic SuperStore offer educational discounts for software.
VI. Hardware
As far as hardware goes, here is a list of what you will need for your production.
1. Desktop or laptop computer not more than a few years old. Make sure your machine meets the requirements of the software you plan to run. I have had good success with my laptop. The one issue you may have is hard drive space. Raw unedited video chews up a great deal of your hard drive. Once editing your presentation, you may wish to save it to an external hard drive for future updates or archiving.
2. Microphone. I have a Radio Shack forty-dollar microphone and it works great. I would recommend a microphone stand if you plan on getting serious and making many presentations.
3. Video Camera. Most new video cameras work very well. Make sure the camera you use has a connection point from the camera to the computer. This is most commonly done with a "fire wire" type cable. With an older computer, you may need to purchase a capture card. This is a card that is inserted inside your computer.

VII. Making Your Podcast
I like to keep things as simple as possible when giving direction on creating eLearning content. While some people would like you to think that you have to be a computer expert to create content, hardware and software advancement for the lay person has allowed for the development high quality content with little computer expertise. Here are a few simple steps to follow to create you first podcast after you have scripted and storyboarded your presentation.
(Audio)
1. Plug in your microphone.
2. Open your recording software.
3. Record a test for correct audio levels. You can adjust recording volume on your PC or move closer or farther from the microphone to obtain the correct audio volume. (I have found that placing a sock over the microphone is a cheap fix to eliminate pops and lip smacking noise while you record).
4. Record your audio. Don’t stop if you make a mistake. Pause for a second, count "3-2-1" aloud and continue with your presentation. It is easy to find the spikes that the "3-2-1" sound creates on the audio timeline. You can cut out the incorrect portion of the audio when editing.
5. Save your recording as an mp3 file.
6. Edit your audio. It is now ready for review and uploading of your presentation.

(Video)
1. Film your video following your storyboard.
2. Upload your video to your computer.
3. Using your video editing software, add any transitions, effects and create any video files that you wish to include.
4. Size your videos to fit the format for your viewers. Small files download faster and may be necessary for portable viewing units.
5. Encode your video to a finished format.
6. Your video is ready for review and uploading of your presentation.

VIII. Content Review
I realize that you have spent many hours creating your script and storyboard, recording audio, video and editing your content. After all that time spent looking at your content, how could it be anything less than perfect? I have the best editor (IFSI Deputy Director David Clark). I am always amazed with the little things that Dave finds or recommends to make my presentations better. Using a person that has not been a part of production offers the most objectivity to your review process. You will be glad you had someone review your work prior to posting it to your viewers.
IX. Distribution
I will offer two methods for distributing your finished podcast. First, consider a Learning Management System that is in place at your College or University. Blackboard seems to be the most popular LMS in use today. As stated earlier, if you would like to limit who has access to your presentations, you’ll want to use of a password protected site.
Blackboard has several options that you can use to post your podcast.
Check with your Blackboard administrator for specific directions on posting your podcast.
A Blog account is a great way to deliver your course content and podcast. Blogger, which was purchased by Google, is free and you can establish an account and blog page within just a few minutes, https://www.blogger.com/start. Blogger has many terrific features such as posting text, pictures, videos, additional links, and surveys. As you can see Blogger offers many options for you to distribute your learning content. By the way, did I mention that it was free!
I find one of the best features of Blogger is that it archives your postings. Users can access past postings by dates, followed by a short description that is the link the archived posting. Viewers to your blog can post comments, thus a dialog is established. There is a feature that only allows registered viewer to comment on your page. This keeps away the undesirables. Posting your podcast is as simple as opening an account, creating a template, and posting your content.
While blogger offers many great free features, there is one catch if you desire to post audio or video. You must have a place to store your content. If you can create a storage area on your University server, you can create FTP, File Transfer Protocol access to the server and upload your audio/ video content directly to the server. Blogger provides directions on how you link to your content. If you do not have access to a school server, FTP sites are available for as little as $7.00 a month at such places as Blue Host.
http://www.bluehost.com/

In conclusion, with a little effort and practice, you can produce high quality presentations for your students. Your imagination is your only limitation on what you can develop.

Developing eLearning for the Fire Service

Developing eLearning for the Fire Service

For the past seven years I have been involved with the development of eLearning at IFSI and the University of Illinois. Early on, while developing the Online Firefighter II Course, a Captain of the Lake in the Hills Fire District asked me if online learning would really work in the fire service. My answer: “I really don’t know.” Now, I have no doubt that
it does really work.
Word is out and training officers of fire departments are more interested in including
eLearning and technology in their training programs. Nearly every day I get a call from a
fire department asking how they can develop and deliver eLearning.
In the next several issues of the IFSI newsletter I will cover “A” process for utilizing
eLearning at your department. I say “A” because there many ways you can use technology in training. I happen to feel that for the cost, my process provides a good place
to start if you choose to introduce eLearning into your department. Since the newsletter
is published only twice a year, I have established a Fire Service eLearning Blog so we
all have a place to meet and I can provide more of what I have learned.

eLearning: Where to Start
First, ask yourself what you want to accomplish with eLearning. Next, what hardware and software do you currently have? I ask those two questions on every call and the answer I typically get to the first question, “I need to conduct training without bringing all companies to one location, and I really want to standardize what our firefighters are taught.”
That answer makes perfect sense to me. In many cases, fire departments have several
fire stations and shifts. Whether the department is volunteer, paid-on-call, or career, it is very difficult to bring all firefighters together with the training officer at one time. So that means you have to have several training sessions on the same topic with an array of instructors. While I am a strong proponent of officers training their companies, I believe that if you want to provide standardized training on a skill it must be taught the same way to all your firefighters. There is little doubt that if you take three people, you will get three different deliveries of the same training. With that thought in mind, I will share my idea for standardization and your introduction into eLearning.

Video and CD / DVD Development
You might think this an odd place to start your eLearning development, but to me it makes perfect sense. As I said, the second question I ask is what hardware and software do you currently have? I find that most fire departments or training officers have a newer computer and a video camera. If they don’t have a video camera, someone on the department does. In essence you have everything you need to get stared.
Let’s dive a little deeper. Most computers purchased in the last three years have CD/ DVD burners. Video editing is very common. Microsoft provides “Windows Movie Maker.” This is a relatively simple point, click and drop video editing system. If you wish, you can purchase a product like Pinnacle Studio for around $100 and have a pretty powerful video editing tool.
So now you have a computer that can burn your CD /DVD’s and a camera and video editing equipment -- all the tools you’ll need. You can create videos of your training; burn them to CD or DVD. Once you distribute them to all fire stations, you as the training officer can be in more than one place teaching standardized training to your entire fire department. The company officer delivers your training, and takes the company out to practice what they have been taught. Just think of it, training on those new air packs for the entire fire department done at minimal of cost.

Why not Develop for the Web?
The answer is short and sweet. You must have more hardware, or access to a server, and software. The learning curve on web-based eLearning is much greater.

Organizing and Starting your Project
While I tried to make this process sound easy, with a little practice you can develop a respectable product. There is much more that goes into development. One of the most important aspects is storyboarding and content development. I will continue the blog with aspects of that topic next.