Generating Open Courseware using
Podcasting,
Screencasting,
Blogs
and Games
Jean-Claude Bradley
E-Learning Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
Drexel University
September 30, 2005
Open Education Conference, Utah State
Barriers to Open Courseware in Higher Education
•Time Risk
•Failure Risk
•Intellectual Property Risk
•Institutional Recognition
Approaches to Open Courseware in Higher Education
•Top-Down (CMS, formal peer-review,
institutional oversight)
•Bottom-Up (blogs, wikis, podcasts and other
RSS technologies)
Does a Podcast Make a Sound if it Lives Behind a Firewall?
•Anyone Can do it so Someone Will do it
•Either be First or be Forgotten
•High Quality Open Courseware is Inevitable
Content
Assessment
Interaction
Discussion Board
Components of E-Learning
Chat
E-mail
Surveys
Tests
Quizzes
Multimedia
Images
Text
WebCT
Lecture Recording
Metrics
Peer review
Content
Assessment
Interaction
Blogs
WebCT
Games
E-Learning is multi-dimensional
Risk Minimization in
An E-Learning Migration Strategy
chalkboard
overheads
laptop
Tablet PC
recording
Voluntary
Online quizzes
Tests/exams
Student feedback
Student behavior
procrastination
OFFLINE
laptop
HYBRID
FULLY ONLINE
Paperquizzes/tests
No quizzes
screencast
archive
podcast
archive
CONTENT
ASSESSMENT
Email or survey
Podcasting: the automatic distribution ofaudio files to computers or portable audiodevices through a subscription system
Screencasting: the delivery of audio andscreen capture recordings via download orstreaming media links
Platform: blog
Component: Content
Channel: podcasting
Platform: WebCT/ blog
Component: Content
Channel: screencasting
Lecture Recording Process
Start Camtasia Recording
Teach on laptop or tablet PC as usual
Stop Camtasia Recording
Convert avi to Flash or Real Media
Upload to Server (screencast)
Modularize
Podcast
CORE
OPTIONAL
Platform: blog
Component: content
Channel: screencast, podcast, lecture notes
Platform: blog
Component: interaction
Channel: comments
Using Blogger and Feedburner to create podcasts
Podcasting MP3s and PDFs through iTunes
Replication of the Bottom-Up Model: Michelle Francl at Bryn Mawr
CHEM 241
89 students
CHEM 243
64 students
Natural migration from F2F to screencast/podcast channels
CHEM 241
89 students
CHEM 243
64 students
Midterm Feedburner stats
CHEM 241 130 students this term
CHEM 243 2 students this term
Long term trends for Open Courseware RSS feeds
Archived Lectures change the role of the teacher
Platform: blog
Component: interaction
Channel: FAQ, comments
Platform: blog
Component: assessment
Channel: post assignments
Platform: blog
Component: assessment
Channel: peer-reviewed reference citation
Platform: blog
Component: interaction (student-student)
Channel: advice in blog post
Feedback-Intensive Teaching Strategy using WebCT
Voluntary Quizzes
Test
Automatic Make-up
In-class review based onhistograms of test results
Platform: WebCT
Component: Assessment
Channel: Quiz
Correlation of procrastination with performance
One day procrastinated = 5% drop in score
Platform: WebCT
Component: Assessment
Channel: Quiz
The Game Platform: The EduFrag Project
Assessment
Content
Interaction
Quizzes in a 3-D world
The Study
Room
Student-Student
Collaboration or
Competition
Instructor Guided
Tours
First Person Shooter Modding
(Unreal Tournament)
EduFrag Design
•Modularity
•Simplicity
•Quiz-Based – Not Simulation
•Portability of textures
•Flexible gameplay modes: non-competitive maze, race,deathmatch, capture the flag, king of the hill, etc.
•Even in competitive play gore level can be adjusted foreach player
Platform: game (Unreal Tournament)
Component: content, assessment
Channel: quiz questions on walls
Platform: game (Unreal Tournament)
Channel: chat, body gestures
Component: interaction
The EduFrag Wiki and Blog: Open Source Collaboration
Platform: game (Wheel of Orgo), blog
Component: interaction, content, assessment
Channel: Tablet PC, F2F
MakeGames: The Class that Didn’t Run
Don’t Underestimate the Impact of Open Courseware and RSS
Take-home message
Think in terms of multiple channels and platforms tomeet your teaching objectives
Bottom-up open courseware strategies have animportant role to play in global education