Podcasting Technology Investigation
- Executive Summary - Podcasting is a mode of media delivery, rapidly gaining in popularity, where a viewer is able to subscribe to a feed describing various audio and video files. When new files become available, they are automatically “pushed” out to the viewer. This method of delivery is especially attractive for content providers (like academic institutions) which have a steady stream of new material while also having a large user base - users which no longer have to be informed of new material, but instead receive that material automatically. The podcasting exploration began in Spring, 2006 as a way to gauge interest in podcasting around the UI campus. It soon became apparent there was strong interest and two groups were created to begin investigating possible solutions: the Podcast Advisory Group and the Podcast Working Group. The primary goal of the two groups was to determine whether a centrally supported service was necessary and feasible. Secondary goals were to determine various cross-platform solutions for creating podcasting content and to identify what tools would be best suited to subscribing to these podcasts. Members of the Podcast Working group have begun a variety of pilot projects involving podcasting for academic and research purposes. The feedback and knowledge gained from these projects will be incorporated into the projects findings. In addition, the Working Group has met with various vendors and has begun exploring enterprise podcasting solutions. |
Technical Overview
Podcasting is a way of delivering multimedia content, where a user is “pushed” new material once it becomes available. To do so, they use a podcast management program (like iTunes or Juice) to subscribe to an RSS feed - a specially formatted XML file containing metadata about the available files (type - audio or video? Size? Creation data? etc.) The RSS feed and its associated media files are stored and delivered by a standard HTTP server.
Podcast media files can be either audio or video in the following formats:
Video: MPEG-4 or H.264 (usually 320x240 pixels dimensions)
Podcasting is often associated with the iPod media player, but since it supports the open-standard MPEG-4 codecs, there are many supported devices (e.g., Microsoft Zune and Sony PSP). While portable use often receives much of the attention, desktop viewing (including full-screen playback) is possible through any of the podcasting management programs, e.g., iTunes or Juice.
iTunes vs. iTunes U
Apple’s iTunes is a popular searchable repository of podcast feeds. As a free service, a podcast can be registered with iTunes and added to that repository. iTunes only links to a previously existing RSS feed, which is stored on the server of the podcast owner. The podcast owner is responsible for hosting their own files, as well as maintaining their RSS feed. iTunes does not directly host any user content.
iTunes U is the education-centric counterpart to iTunes. Unlike iTunes, iTunes U does not point at an existing RSS feed, but instead allows users to upload files which are archived and stored on Apple owned servers. iTunes U provides a central “front-end” for an institution, which can be further navigated by school, course or instructor. Unlike iTunes, iTunes U is customizable with school colors or graphics.
Example (iTunes required): http://itunes.stanford.edu/
The Podcasting Working group has explored an iTunes U contract but due to certain limitations (i.e. 500 GB institutional storage limit), they are currently looking at an internally supported solution.
Podcasting Community
Two groups have been established to explore and evaluate the educational value of podcasting.
Podcast Advisory Group - the advisory group is open to all individuals with an interest in podcasting and its uses on campus.
Podcast Working Group - the working group is open to all individuals who would like to contribute to the evaluation process and devote time to exploring issues as they emerge. Work includes technical testing of various products, working with interested faculty and helping to perform various podcasting pilot projects.
Some of the key factors the groups are looking at are:
- is a centrally supported podcasting service feasible?
- would it be cost-effective?
- would it able to integrate with existing classroom infrastructure (camera, microphones, etc.)?
- would it be easily schedulable?
- can classes be recorded without any interruptions or additional staffing?
- would students and faculty find value in podcasting?
All interested parties are welcome to join either group. Please contact Les Finken or Greyson Purcell for more information.
Podcast Case Study
The first pilot project undertaken for exploring podcast was generated by a request to Academic Technologies from Dept. of Emergency Medicine faculty Chris Russi, DO, and Hans House, MD. They had wanted to record various procedures (taken from UIHC emergency rooms) and then post them in a way students could access them. Their request to create a podcast for this project was based on three factors:
1) Podcasting would provide the viewer with a management tool for what they saw as a potentially large collection. They felt the ability to automatically receive updates and manage those clips was preferable to providing links on a website.
2) By making a publicly accessible podcast, they could make the information easily accessible to all students, as well as their colleagues and students at other universities. Traditionally, a website would be password protected and it would make dissemination of these files difficult.
3) Podcasting files are compatible with a variety of portable devices; so one goal was to design episodes that could be helpful in situations where a student was away from a computer. A future possibility is to provide a library of these procedures for incoming students who use these portable devices.
A podcast was developed and was made public in Feb. 2006. It contains a variety of material including audio/slide lectures and video shot from UIHC emergency rooms. Video footage is shot in DV format and edited on a MacbookPro (in iMovie) and delivered via H.264.
Direct address (requires iTunes):
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=123429715
Or for non-iTunes users, the feed is available at:
http://podcast.uiowa.edu/content/com/emerg_med/podcast.xml
