Podcasting FAQ - Staff

The ANU will soon begin Podcasting lecture audio recordings made through the Digital Lecture Delivery (DLD) service.

These answers are written for ANU teaching staff using or considering using the new podcasting feature in DLD.

What is Podcasting?

See the Wikipedia article about Podcasting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

Why should I podcast my lectures?

Students value systems that make accessing teaching and learning materials easy and podcasting makes accessing lecture recordings very easy.

What about the security of my lecture recordings? Can people copy them?

If your lecture recordings are already available for downloading as mp3s they can be copied and distributed relatively easily. Podcasting is just a notification that the recording is available and still relies on the mp3 downloads being enabled. Redistribution of your recording can be made harder by not using podcasting or mp3 downloads. Just use Real streams for delivering the recordings. However this is still not 100% safe. Methods such as mp3 recorders or software designed to record streamed content can be used to make copies of the recordings.

What will I need to do to podcast my lectures?

First you will need to record your lectures using the ANU’s Digital Lecture Recording (DLD) System. Information on how to do this is available here. You will also need to enable the service in your WebCT course by following these steps:

1. Log in to your course, click on the ‘View’ tab
2. Click on the DLD Admin tool
3. Switch on the ‘Podcast’ option.

Your students will need a software program called a podcatcher or an aggregator to manage the downloading of recordings. Look here for more information.

What's the difference between podcasting and delivering the lecture recordings for my course through the normal DLD service in WebCT?

In short, not a lot. Most podcasts are really just announcements that let your podcatcher know that new material is available for your listening pleasure. The content is normally managed by a podcatcher.

Will students need an iPod to listen to DLD lectures now?

No. If you are using the DLD service to make your lecture audio recordings available through the WebCT site for your course, recordings are still available in the usual ways for students enrolled in that course – either as Real streams or mp3 downloads. If you choose to also make the recordings publicly available as podcasts, students can also access the recordings automatically through this page, using a podcatcher like iTunes.

Is help available for setting up a podcatcher?

THE DIVISION OF INFORMATION CANNOT PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THESE PROGRAMS.

For an iTunes tutorial, see http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/tutorial/

Information on configuring other podcatchers may be available on their home web site.

Why doesn't the ANU put these lecture recordings on iTunesU like Berkeley and Stanford?

Interesting question. What additional value would iTunes U provide to you? Please tell us.

What is the difference between podcasting and downloading?

Downloading mp3s allows students to keep the recordings indefinitely. They can listen via computer or transfer them to any compatible device, such as a portable mp3 player. Podcasting is simply an automated form of mp3 downloading. By subscribing to podcasts, the podcasting software downloads new files as soon as they become available.