MeetMeAtTheCorner.org - Video Podcasts as Virtual Field Trips
From LIS5313
by Amanda Hopkins
Contents |
[edit] What is a Podcast?
Wikipedia defines a podcast as a “series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers (Wikipedia,Podcast,2008)”. In more simple terms, a podcast is an audio file, typically saved in mp3 format, that is uploaded to the Internet so that it can be downloaded by others usually to be played back on an iPod. In fact the terms podcast and podcasting (both of which can refer to either the content itself or the syndication method) is derived from two sources: Apples’ iPod and the term “broadcasting”.
Syndication of podcasts allow them to be subscribed to and automatically downloaded whenever new content is made available. Some refer to those who subscribe to podcasts as podcatchers and the act of subscribing as podcatching. (Wikipedia, Podcast, 2008)
There are many types of podcasts, such as musecasts (audio tours of museums), blogcasts (a blog that is podcasted), mobilecasts (content sent to a mobile phone instead of an iPod), and vodcasts (video podcasts).
In 2006, the idea of podcasting was just getting started (Jowitt, 2008). Now, podcasting is probably the most quickly rising of the various “Web 2.0” technologies, which include blogging, creating wikis, online social networking, tagging, and digital storytelling, among other technologies. Bob Doyle in his article “YouTube and iTV” explains it as waves—the first wave was blogging, the second wave was podcasting, and the third wave is vodcasting. Podcasting has two advantages leading to its popularity—the ease with which a podcast can be created and the low cost of spreading them. Cybele Werts states that “In addition to the lower cost, participants can review the material when it suits them, watching it repeatedly and learning at their own pace.” (Werts, 2007)
There are 4 basic steps to creating a podcast.
- Create an audio/video file.
- Post the audio/video file to a web server in mp3 format.
- Publish an RSS [1] feed that links to the URL where your audio/video file is.
- Publicize your podcast.
Common Craft Show - Podcasting is a link to the Common Craft Show's entertaining and informational video on podcasting.
Podcasts are usually short in length, typically serial in nature, and always portable. Podcasts can be used directly from a website, saved to a disk for later viewing, or received via an RSS feed subscription. (Hines, 2007) In her article for Information Outlook (2007), Cybele Elaine Werts asserts that “technology is a critical tool in our arsenal of ways to share information” and that it “offers options that can often be more effective than in-person training”.
Peter Meng (2005), in his white paper for the University of Missouri, gives these potential uses for podcasts.
- Museum tours
- Radio-style entertainment shows
- School lessons
- Meetings/Conferences
- Public safety messages
- Tutorials
- City Tours
- Television-style shows
- Walking Tours
- News broadcasts
- Book reviews
- Novels as episodes
- Promotion/Marketing
- Special or sporting events
- Interviews
- Foreign language lessons
- Teacher’s notes
- Oral history archiving
- Musical résumés
Angela Jowitt (2008) indicates that the most common uses tend to be entertainment, promotional, reviews, news, and events.
[edit] What is a Vodcast?
Vodcasts or Video Podcasts are considered a type of podcast that uses video instead of audio content (Meng, 2005). The creators of Vodstock.com, a great web site directory for vodcasts, state that “a vodcast itself is not a video – it is a glorified list of links to videos that is formatted so it can be read by special software.” (Vodstock, 2006-2008) The term “vodcast” can be either a combination of “video-on-demand” and “podcast” or a combination of “video” and “podcast”.
Here is a list of the types of tools and software one needs in order to create his/her own vodcast.
- Video capture tool(s)
- Video editing software
- File transfer software
- RSS enclosures
Here is a list of the types of tools and software one needs in order to subscribe to and watch vodcasts.
- RSS news reader (such as Google Reader)
- Content management software (such as iTunes)
Here are some good suggestions from Wired.com and MacWorld on how to create your very own vodcast.
- For best results use a miniDV camera (digital cameras and camcorders work but do not always produce the best video and audio quality).
- Use a separate microphone to record audio for better quality.
- Find a way to keep the camera as steady as possible.
- Don’t forget the lighting (try lighting the scene with lamps positioned at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock).
- Multiple takes (rehearse your lines, make sure you look presentable, etc.)
- Use a reputable digital movie making program to edit the content like iMovie or Windows Media Maker.
- Export the video file in mp4 format (try to keep the size as small as you can, some suggest under 30-40 megabytes—MacWorld suggests an image size of 240x180 and a frame rate of 15fps).
- Upload to a host server that can host XML files and allow iTunes access.
- Create an XML file (discussed in the MacWorld article) then place it in the same directory as your video file.
- Sign up for some type of RSS distribution.
- Broadcast on YouTube or another well-traveled site.
- Add to RSS feeds on vodcast directory sites like PodNova or Yahoo! Podcasts.
- Submit the video to web site directories like Google Video or Video Bomb.
- Others can then subscribe to your vodcast via a program such as iTunes.
(Feeley, 2006) & (Breen, 2005)
[edit] An Aside About Virtual Field Trips
One might reasonably assume that most people know what a field trip is, but what about a virtual field trip? Wikipedia defines a virtual field trip as “a guided exploration through the Web that organizes a collection of pre-screened, thematically based web pages into a structured online learning experience." (Foley, 2003),(Wikipedia, 2008). A quick Google search brings up a variety of virtual field trip web pages and virtual field trip web page directories. Some of these field trips are photo galleries with a written component, some have audio and video files, others have interactive components, and still others had a combination of the preceding media. However, I did not find any that claimed to be podcasts or vodcasts, except one.
According to Internet4Classrooms.com there are 4 types of virtual field trips.
- Post-fieldtrip activity—involves the children taking digital or other photos of previously-assigned topics related to the field trip, then making some type of digital display.
- Pre-fieldtrip activity—involves visiting websites prior to the field trip.
- Virtual field trips created by others—which many times the school has to register for well in advance and which are not always free.
- Teacher created field trips—wherein a teacher, either when on a vacation or some other trip, records places of interest and creates his/her own digital display.(Wikipedia, Virtual field trips, 2008)
[edit] MeetMeAtTheCorner.Org
Meet Me At The Corner.org (MMATC) is a wonderful new website dedicated to the enrichment of middle school aged children and, according to their mission statement, “to the people, events and history of urban locations.” The truly unique part of their site is that it uses vodcasts as virtual field trips. AND these vodcasts are created by kids for kids.
The vodcasts are referred to as episodes and are videos that a child films about something or someone interesting in his/her local area. The episode could be about a hot pepper festival, a local writer, an artists’ community, museums, probably even a former circus performer who lives in your basement! The idea is for kids from any corner of the world (eventually, they are starting with New York City) to submit videos from their “own special corner of the world” allowing others to experience life in a place they may never be able to visit. Basically, a virtual field trip.
Donna W. Guthrie, a children’s author, former elementary and middle school teacher, and self-proclaimed “producer of big ideas”, is the creator of MMATC. In a recent interview I had with Ms. Guthrie by email, she stated that “about two years ago, I began thinking about storytelling for the 21st Century. I love books, I read books and I write books. But as the Internet has evolved and with the popularity of websites like YouTube, I began to think that a video podcast could be this generation’s new way to tell a story.” (Guthrie, 2008)
MMATC was created for kids from the age of 7 through the age of 12. Ms. Guthrie chose this age group because she believes it is “an underserved population on the web.” Due to her background, she also feels “most comfortable with the middle grade reader and creating content that will appeal to them” (Guthrie, 2008). Because these are younger ages, it is expected that parents, teachers, other kids, etc. will be involved in helping the children video tape their segments. However, Ms. Guthrie points out that she would rather the children themselves come up with their own ideas and interview questions.
The website itself is colorful with eye-catching illustrations and laid out in a standard web page format with pages for Home, Episodes, Video Contest, About Us, Advertise with Us, Link to Us, Send Your Comments, MMATC in the Press, Contact US, and an updated list of recent shows. The episodes are all approximately 4 minutes long. At this time, they do not appear to be listed in any specific order. One really nice feature is that every episode has its own page that contains links for more information, fun activities, and books which are all related to the episode’s subject matter.
Ms. Guthrie and her team first started the site in October 2007 and advertised it to parents who were homeschooling their children and to homeschooling organizations. The website continues to thrive with its homeschooled audience and Ms. Guthrie remains sensitive to their needs and sensibilities.
[edit] Submission Process
One of the episodes on the site explains how to create a video submission. The tools that are required are: a digital video camera, a mini-dv tape, and a microphone. The child is advised about zooming in and out, wide and narrow shots, backdrops, lighting and keeping the camera steady. Also, the child should state his/her first name, age and state in which he/she lives at the beginning of the recording. The address to which to mail the video tape is also given. In our interview, Ms. Guthrie indicated that “as the site grows we are adding more detailed storyboards and instructions to help children with their video submissions” (Guthrie, 2008).
Once the MMATC staff receives a submission, it is edited by video editors as a first cut then uploaded to an ftp site where Ms. Guthrie reviews it, making suggestions for further edits, still, and content. The actual subject content is edited down to a length of about 1 to 1 ½ minutes in length. However, the editors add on an introduction and credits which usually brings the length of an entire episode to around 4 minutes. There are two reasons for the short length: ease of download and “epidsodes of this length appeal to this media generation” (Guthrie, 2008). Once the video is complete, Ms. Guthrie adds related links to the webpage for the episode, and the process is complete.
Unfortunately, information regarding the technologies used in the creation and management of the website and the creation of the episodes could not be obtained within time for the publication of this article. However, MMATC uses a variety of writers, videographers, editors, sound engineers, web page designers and web masters to bring together a new, innovative technology and new, innovative people—children.
Check out this review of MMATC by 3 cute kids!
[edit] Final Note
When asked whether being a part of MMATC has changed her outlook on children and technology, Ms. Guthrie responded that her outlook on children as curious and inventive has not changed. However, “as far as my feelings about technology and video podcasting as a new tool for communication…they border on awe” (Guthrie, 2008).
For more information about Donna W. Guthrie visit her website.
[edit] Notes
- ↑ RSS is an XML format used to define the format and paths of information that made up of certain elements, for example digital stories or blog entries. Another way of putting it is that RSS is used as a publishing standard, or set of rules, that contains meta information regarding content. Podcasts just apply RSS enclosures to audio files so that they can be read by a particular type of program so the podcast can be recognized and downloaded. (Podcasting News, 2004-2006)
[edit] References
Breen, C. (2005, 7 26). How to Create a Vodcast. Retrieved 4 16, 2008, from MacWorld: http://www.macworld.com/article/46066/2005/07/howtovodcast.html
Feeley, J. (2006, May). Lights! Camera! Vodcast!: How to make your own viral hit. Retrieved 4 16, 2008, from Wired.com: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/howto.html
Guthrie, D. W. (2008, 4 18). Interview by Email (A. Hopkins, Interviewer)
Hines, S. S. (2007, Winter). Wikis, Blogs and Other Collaborative Tools in Library Services: A Workbook and Reference. PNLA Quarterly , 71 (2), pp. 27-31.
Jowitt, A. L. (2008, April). Creating Communities with Podcasting. Computers in Libraries , 28 (4), pp. 14-15, 54-56.
Meng, P. (2005). Podcasting & Vodcasting: A White Paper. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri, IAT Services.
Podcasting News. (2004-2006). What is Podcasting? Retrieved 4 20, 2008, from Podcasting News: http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/What_is_Podcasting.html
Vodstock. (2006-2008). How to View Vodcasts: A Basic Introduction. Retrieved 4 15, 2008, from Vodstock.com: http://www.vodstock.com/view/how-to-view.php
Werts, C. E. (2007, October). Invastion of the Podcasts. Information Outlook , 11 (10), p. 28(6).
Wikipedia. (2008, 4 20). Podcast. Retrieved 4 20, 2008, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast
Wikipedia. (2008, 3 30). Virtual field trip. Retrieved 4 16, 2008, from Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_field_trip
[edit] Resources
Links About Vodcasting
Vodstock.com Great resource all about vodcasting, with a vodcast directory
Podcast Alley Vodcast directory with links to helpful information
Podcasting News Podcast news and other information
Wired.com Link to instructions on how to make your own vodcast
Links to Virtual Field Trips
Internet 4 Classrooms Virtual field trip resource
Virtual Field Trips Virtual field trip resource
American Museum of Natural History Very Fun virtual tour of deep sea vents
Central Park Nice audio walking tours with pictures and text
