- To what extent do you think you have achieved each of the learning outcomes for Week 4? If you think there is room for you to achieve these more fully, how could you do that?
I have applied the knowledge gained through this course, and I found excellent results from my students. The choice of software is pivotal in a flipped classroom. I designed my flipped classroom through the software “lectopia”. Mentioned in the YouTube link (Using online lectures to support active learning – Case study/COFAonlineUNSW – YouTube).
“Lectopia” software is suitable for large classrooms. It has many advantages. It enabled me to form even large groups. There is an option for the group’s ethics code. The feedback system was excellent. My student’s feedback on this flipped classroom was very positive. They liked the discussion board very much.
I got excellent feedback from students. It was due to the connectivity with the teacher, peers, and course content. The course contents were joined together in a series, and a student can use the podcasts as many times they wanted. The course was created by course management software. They were able to grasp the interconnectivity between the lectures. They listened to my video lectures according to the availability of time. It increased their understanding amid a busy life. The learning outcomes were more far more clearly stated than face to face teaching methods. I followed the path as suggested by Anderson et al. (2006), who said: “to create a coherent narrative path through the mediated instruction and activity set such that students are aware of the explicit and implicit learning goals and activities in which they participate.”
To say about value addition in this process. The software should accommodate qualitative research as the options of quantitative research cannot grasp the complete feedback of the students, which is the ultimate goal of the students. I know research on software must have been going on, and my input is the value addition in this process.
- What have you learned this week regarding the use of podcasting and online elements of a flipped classroom approach to support student learning?
I used a software named audacity, as mentioned in digital resources (Options for Audio). The podcasts were created in mp3 format. The objective was clearly defined before recording. It is free to use. The podcasts recorded are uploaded on lectopia: the virtual learning environment. There are ten variables mentioned in the project named IMPALA. These variables are the guidelines for creating a podcast. Each variable helped me in giving me direction on the nature, length, format, type of podcasts. They have given the information in the form of a table. I have taken full advantage of it. I devised my podcast keeping view of the aptitude of my students. I tried to keep my podcasts under 10 minutes duration to keep their concentration intact.
- What does all this suggest about the ways you and your colleagues are currently supporting your students learning, in your own practice and teaching context? What does it suggest that is currently good about this, and about how it could be further developed in the future?
Continuous learning is the key to remain relevant in this tech era of flipped classroom/e-learning. We have subscribed to the relevant virtual e-learning platforms. The latest approaches in a flipped classroom can be learned through RSS “Really simple syndication.” This feature adds subscribers to the web platform and disseminates the latest information. The free RSS are i-google and net-vibes.
The blackboard software is giving a one-month free subscription, and I tried it on an experimental basis on my one class and found that they are giving particular focus on RSS through the third party and RSS students get alert of new podcasts. Technology has made recording simple, just go to www.podcastlearning.com (Salmon, G. 2008).
- How has your understanding of the use of podcasting, ‘flipped classroom’ and / or blended learning approaches changed from doing this week’s topic and activities?
My understanding of podcasts has transformed my theory into practice. This is week four and last three weeks of work was about the knowledge of blended e-learning and flipped classroom. Now, this week I practically developed podcasts in my class. The activities were creative, and each, and every step of developing podcast was full of knowledge and avenues of new vistas were opened.
Looking into the podcast as listener is something different than actually creating it. There are multiple revisions of content; the quality of being self-improving and empathizing helped to make a masterpiece acceptable to all is a goal in a flipped classroom. I tried to adopt the following by (Salman, G. 2013).
“The podcast content and production quality must be appropriate. Content quality must be tailored to the fieldwork learning aims and objectives and the intended audience. This will inform the level of complexity required from the podcast and determine whether the podcast will be used as a communication device in an interactive sense, where learning spaces are blended through carefully considered feedback and assessment loops. Production quality must be fit for a purpose: for example, there is no point in a broadcast-quality high-resolution podcast if it is going to be viewed only via MP3 or MP4 players. Lecturers can adapt their podcasts by assessing the students learning achievements and through student feedback from the podcast experiences. 2. Who is being recorded in the field, and who will view the recordings?”
- How did you learn this?
The following sources of learning mentioned in digital resources are my base of producing a podcast. To name the most critical are audacity software and YouTube links. They provided me the practical knowledge of podcasts. Book by (Salmon, G. 2008) provided the minute details of almost everything about podcast. Resource articles also broaden my concept. Last but not the least IMPALA work is the yardstick for me to manage my podcast and the most important tool is empathy which enabled me to see my students from their eyes.
- What supported your learning?
All the digital resources provided to me helped me in podcast production. The chronology, of course, is so designed that I learn each week from blended learning to podcast creation. Our course creation scheme helped me in formulating my podcasts.
Audacity provided me free software for podcasts.
The YouTube link helped in understanding the functioning of the software and its significance. The digital book by Salmon, G. (2008) is the source of many treasures of podcasting. The following topics of podcasts were beneficial in podcast production.
- “Podcasts and feedback
- Podcasts and online learning
- Podcasts and distance learning
- Podcasts and resources
- Podcasts and students storytelling
- Podcasts and collaborative learning
- Podcasts for reflective learning
- Students podcasts as learning tools
- Developing pedagogical podcasts
- The future for podcasting.”
- What has challenged you?
My few online students from Asia and Africa complained that the internet is not as fast as to accommodate the graphic features of some software. So, this they have to wait for a while the video is browsing. I suggest an audio podcast as it will enable all the students around the world.
It was my target to maintain the relevancy, objectivity, conciseness in the creation of podcasts because the listeners are away, and the attractiveness of voice and content is the only tool to attract them. I was challenged in implementing the variables mentioned in IMPALA, in creating mu podcast.
So, I researched the topic and selected the most suitable words for podcasts. 360-degree feedback helped me in making my podcasts. Open questions podcast helped to channelizes my lesson for face to face meetings. The choice of audio or video format also depends on the topic to be covered.
I used a unique style of podcasts when the reading assignment is given. There is an option which is first-hand information. Foxit player and acrobat pdf player and read options. It means the pdf files are readable. It is best to read books. So, sharing podcasts has become very easy and innovative nowadays.
- What has surprised you?
The amount of material available for the production of podcast astonished me. This process surprised me. The amount of details available in this field is so much that one needs a lot of time just to read it and a lot of practice to master it. Analyzing my online audiences is an excellent psychological game. The choice of words is a masterwork because words make the world. The whole process requires a bracket of 10 minutes. First of all, one needs to rehearse the words and read it to make sure that it is within the expected time, and the fluency needs to be ideal for slow listeners and non-native English speakers.
The good thing about this method of teaching is that the lectures are editable for further use, and that is a fantastic thing because onsite addresses are perishable, and podcasts are not.
- How does this relate to what has been proposed in different sources of scholarship that you have read? Which specific sources and what claims in those does this relate to?
I learned it through a process known as synthesis. I first made the goal of creating a podcast. I selected the topic. I wrote the lecture, and I read it and noted the time. I listened to it and pointed out errors in it by myself. Thanks to audacity which enabled free editing. The resources provided me with the required knowledge through which I was able to deliver my first podcast successfully. I give credit to all the sources given below who helped with every bit of information. The following sources of data were used in producing a podcast.
Read Essentials for Blended Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9780203075258
IMPALA – Podcasts and Other Project Outputs. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2020, from http://web.archive.org/web/20190107033807/http://www.impala.ac.uk/outputs/index.html
The Audacity User Guide — University of Leicester. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-alliance/projects/impala1/documents/resources-and-tools-for-creating-podcasts/audacity/howtouseaudacity.doc/view
YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVeB1DtOV0w
HEA to Z | Advance HE. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/tags/hea-z-0
Maculan, L. (n.d.). Producing academic-related podcasts – helpful hints. 2–3.
Skills, S. (n.d.). A model of Podcasting A guide how to use this table.