This is Sheila Webber, catching up on the last session I attended yesterday (my laptop battery ran out before the session did - as a sidenote, why do modern university building still not have enough sockets for recharging?)
This presentation was run as a podcast of Chatting Infolit (Bethan Morgan, Josh Rodda & Ella Wharton), with guests Mark Childs, one half of the Pedagodzilla podcast (combining pedagogy and pop culture) and Chris Morrison and Jane Secker who produce Copyright Waffle. Having experienced the event it will be fascinating to hear what makes it through into the actual podcast! It was a really lively session, and these are my impressions of what went on.
Childs said how the idea for Pedagodzilla came up in conversation with Mike Collins about education, and thinking about how to explain theories and models relevant to education in an accessible and engaging way. It also exploited their interest in comics, films etc. Similarly Secker and Morrison wanted to make copyright literacy easier to understand and more interesting, and find out what made it interesting to other people.
They all agreed that you don't have to have expensive kit e.g. you can use the free app Audacity for editing (although they all had good microphones). In terms of inviting people to your podcast, Childs said it was a good idea not to start out by inviting in "big names" but get a structure and format that works for you before inviting people who are going to make you nervous. Finding people who are going to be enthusiastic is going to make the podcast more interesting, and both Copyright Waffle and Pedagodzilla have people offering ideas for podcast episodes.
In terms of challenges - Childs said he didn't really have any, as Collins had the technical expertise, and also, because community engagement was part of the job for them at the Open University, then they could do a lot in work time (though Childs has now moved to Durham University). The podcasters agreed that time (editing etc.) was an issue. Morrison said that they had worried about being too self indulgent, but the point was made that if you don't want to listen, you don't have to.
Childs advised not worrying about an audience for your podcast initially, because it will build exponentially as you create more episodes. However, getting to know how to put the podcast on different platforms (which is a good way of extending your audience) requires some effort. They also talked about things like listing the podcast in your email signature.
There was a question about the connection with pedagogy and information literacy. The podcasters talked about learning through conversation and dialogue, and podcasting seeming perhaps more direct and intimate than a video. Secker felt that podcasting was particularly useful for exploring big issues for example in information literacy. They see Copyright Waffle as not being about giving step by step guides through a topic but, for example, helping people understand that there are people that can give them advice, getting people interested in the topic, getting people motivated to find out more for themselves.
There was a question about how podcasting had affected other parts of their professional lives. Morrison said that he could refer people to specific podcasts and podcast guests - particularly to answer questions that come up again and again. Secker said that it had made her more confident in her teaching. Childs said that he has found it as an outlet for a creative and authentic self. It could also be seen as evidence of your impact, particularly if you have statistics to show that people from many countries are listening to your podcast. Morrison and Secker saw podcasting as part of open educational practice, and have a creative commons license.
There was a question about how long something had to b, to count as e a podcast: the feeling was - 10 minutes, but it had to be conversational with the dialogue element. A follow up question was the difference between an audio file and a podcast. This seems to be an evolving question, as an older definition just mentions the audio file part. There was agreement that it has to be disseminated via rss and have episodes. Then there are additional elements such as brand, marketing, narrative, show notes etc. The element of conversation and dialogue was mentioned again. The podcasters were asked whether their interviews were like research interviews. Morrison said they have a conversation with interviewees beforehand, but they don't have a set list of questions, making it more organic and a conversation rather than an interview. Childs said that over preparation makes it sound stilted, but you had to make some preparation or (speaking from experience) it could go wrong. I blogged recently that I have done two Pedagodzilla podcasts and from my perspective it didn't seem like an interview, but was joining in a fun conversation.
This was a fun and useful session and may well result in more podcasters!
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