iPods at WAAPA - An Experiment with Engagement

Staff involved: Cat Hope, Dr Malcolm Riddoch

Composition and music technology students at WAAPA are experimenting with video iPods with a focus on music sharing and creation, the following activities are taking place, with view to the students devising more uses:

• The creation of an ‘iPod podcast orchestra’ (name TBA!) - featuring music compositions made up of podcasts only.
• Recording music projects, compositions, rehearsals for exchange, presentation and analysis.
• Use of video facility to playback music notation with audio in realtime.
• Engagement with podcasting
• Facilities for film soundtrack composition processes.

This project is running.

Podcast Server

Staff involved: Yam Tan, Trevor Bennett, Rivka Niesten

A server has been set up to deliver weblogs and podcasts developed by staff and students at the university. This server is open to all staff both academic and general who would like to try podcasting and to student podcasts that have been vetted by staff.

The front end to the server is can be accessed at here and current weblogs/podcasts can be viewed directly here.

This project is running.

University Preparation Course (UPC)

Staff involved: Trevor Bennett, Shirley Bode, Tricia Popov, Ailsa West, Murray Swain, Robyn Robertson, Justine Freeman, Carol Reid, Raelene Carr

A recent report commissioned by LDS “The Professor is in your pocket!” (December 2005) noted that UPC students tend to contain a cross section of students with access or equity issues. The report strongly suggested that iPods could have pedagogical uses for this group of students. UPC applied for and recieved a HEESP grant to purchase 110 iPods to use with their students.

Students in the following units will receive iPods and staff will have access to TLD. A report is expected in February 2007.

UPC0001 Learning at University

UPC0002 Research and Writing Processes

UPC0003 Numeracy Tools

UPC0004 Accessing Information

This project is in development.

Broadcasting

Staff involved: Peter Holland, Jo McManus, Trevor Bennett

When setting up the new Graduate Certificate in Broadcasting (Radio), ECU staff looked into getting a cheap portable digital recording device. The iPod with microphone attachment was ideally suited to their needs. Currently, most digital recording devices are very expensive, so using iPods has also resulted in considerable cost savings.

The iPod enabled students to record interviews on location from day one of their course. It is small, portable and easy to use.

Having the iPod on hand has allowed staff to see other possibilities for the device. There are plans to:

• move into podcasting with the planned development of a virtual radio station;
• develop a program to allow for the installation of audio and text files onto the iPod, bypassing the need to go through iTunes; and
• develop linked text and audio files to allow students to use some teaching materials on their iPod.

This project is operational

Recently the group received a teaching and learning grant to develop a virtual radio station at the university.

The broadcasting students are now podcasting a weekly wrap-up of all the West Australian Football League action - including interviews with the big names, commentary on issues and highlights of the games. The podcast can be accesssed through their website here

Visitor Information System - Maritime Museum/Art Gallery of Western Australia

Staff involved: Mark Brogan, Leisa Armstrong and Gurpreet Kohli.

The aim of this project is to develop a visitor information system that utilizes iPod technology to deliver language specific information to visitors about display objects. The system has been conceived as an extranet DBMS system that will provide large and small cultural institutions with the capability of maintaining a document library of media objects that describe display items, including MP3 language specific objects. An export utility enables MP3s in a selected language format to be downloaded from the server to the client in a format intelligible to an iPod.

This project is in development.

Language on the Go

Staff involved: David Elder, Junko Iwasaki, Annalisa Orselli-Dickson, Rivka Niesten

In 2004 the Language Department decided to switch from using the language laboratory to a total computer environment. The language laboratory was used extensively by students, to listen to language and make responses on tape for collection by the lecturers. At exam time, lecturers could randomly check the language responses of students and their pronunciation by listening to any particular student at any particular time. When the department went over solely to computers, there was a gap in these functions. It was thought that the iPod would fill this gap as it could be used for:

• Notetaking (using special guidelines (depending on level) for abbreviations;
• Dictations (on relevant grammar points studied in class);
• Comprehension Exercises (understanding different accents/male/female voices/speed of texts being read);
• Recording notes and lectures;
• Uploading recordings of their oral work for assessment purposes; and
• Interviewing or producing oral group work.

The iPod would allow for a degree of interactivity, which is currently not possible. With the iPod, students could learn language on the go - while travelling to uni, sitting in cafes or walking in the sun.

This project is in development.

Educating teaching voices

Staff involved: Lynette Moss

The use of the iTalk microphone will allow students to record their voices during group and other activities so they can hear their 'teaching voice'. Do they emphasise key points, are they expressive, use projection, pleasant tone, and have good vocal flexibility. It is hoped that they may be able record themselves in a teaching situation (after the usual clearances).

It is also intend to use the iTalk with the iPod for research purposes.

This project is in the investigation phase.

CSaLT: Hundred Schools Project Evaluation

Staff involved: Paul Newhouse, Jan Gray, Jeremy Pagram, Chris Brook

The aim of this study is to evaluate the extent to which the 100 Schools Project, being implemented from 2003-2007 by the WA Department of Education and Training, has contributed to achievement of the Government's educational priorities.

School site visits will collect data to include interviews, surveys, focus groups, analyses of documents and observation of facilities. A researcher will typically spend one day at each site for each visit. Staff are using iPods with microphones to collect the interviews. These are then imported into iTunes so that they are available for transcription and editing.

This project is running.

Student Feedback

Staff involved: Heather Sparrow and CSESS T&L Learning Office

The CSESS Teaching and Learning Office is supporting course evaluation by recording student focus groups. The ipod is a REAL improvement on the use of traditional recording tools. Its light and easy, can be carried all the time to collect "just-in-time/just-in-case" data and works really well with Tony Fetherston's digital transcribing tool "Footpedal". The files are easily shared so people can listen to students as well as read the transcripts.

This project is running.

Training for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Staff Involved: Dr Sue Stoney, Dr Cameron O'Beirne & Dr Beth Walker

This project has evolved from an ECU collaborative grant that evaluated what SMEs believed on-line training to be. This led to the evaluation of podcasting as a possible method of disseminating training for SME owners, who tend to be time and resource poor and who have clearly indicated that they don't want to just sit at a computer without social interaction.

This project is in development.

Wine industry Podcasts

Staff involved: Dr Sue Stoney, Dr Cameron O’Beirne and Mr Richard Giles (Clique Communications)

Podcasting as an enabling business tool for the wine industry.

The wine industry in Australia is currently facing challenges in communicating with customers and selling more wine. So there’s a specific need for dissemination of information through areas within the industry as diverse as agricultural processes, wine production, and marketing and communications to customers. This research aims to identify barriers to SME wineries using podcasting for business growth and as sales and marketing tool.

Here’s an example of how podcasting may be used for the wine industry:

Imagine a customer listening to the tasting notes from the winemaker directly on their iPod; hearing the winemakers voice or watching video of them in the vineyard on their iPod as they describe the wine passionately and personally, something that a piece of paper or PDF download just can’t convey.

This year long project is funded through a Faculty of Business and Law research grant. More information is available through this website

Podcasts for new and existing students

Staff Involved: Dr Sue Stoney

I have been trialing podcasting with a few of my students. I have found that one hour lectures via podcasts are simply too long and boring (although the students who miss the classes and have caught up this way, have been extremely positive). I am now looking at supplementing my classes with e-Modules - 10 minute 'bites' where I discuss newspaper articles or interview people of interest. This project has evolved out of my interest with e-Movies, which I have used very successfully with my 2nd year online students.

One of the other aims is to create some podcasts for new students who have not yet arrived at ECU, as part of a transition program. These will include interviews with current students from various countries, a discussion on plagiarism and its implications, some basic study skills, expectations, how to use Blackboard, how to logon to the ECU systems etc.

This project is in the investigation phase.

Legal and copyright implications of Podcasting

Staff Involved: Dr Sue Stoney and A/Pro Mark Stoney

Examine the legal and copyright implications of podcasting. This does not relate to the academic uses, but more to the use of podcasting to illegally disseminate copyrighted material.

This project is in the investigation phase.

Investigating Second Families

Staff involved: Pamela Henry, James McCue, Kate Goodwin

Researchers in the School of Law and Justice are currently investigating second families and the unique challenges this type of family structure faces. As part of their examination of the psychological, social and financial consequences of living in a second family, the researchers are interviewing members of second families. The interviews are being conducted using the latest iPod technology in order to ensure the data collected is of the highest quality. The iPod technology is being employed in conjunction Tony Fetherston's Footpedal programme to assist in the transcription of the interviews. Results of this important research will soon be analysed.

This project is running.

Historical Podcasting

Staff involved: Nigel Little, Rivka Niesten

In normal circumstances, students provide excellent resources and oral, visual media for the lecturer only. This projects seeks to introduce students to podcasting as an innovative way of recording oral and video material and displaying it to the body of students and the world at large.

This project is running.

Podcasting as a strategy for helping students become reflective practitioners

Staff involved: Maria Northcote, Linda Marshall, Eva Dobozy, Paul Swan, Paula Mildenhall

This project involves university lecturers and students creating, broadcasting and evaluating podcasts throughout two semesters of teaching in three units, made up of a pilot and repeat study. Students will use reflective processes to review some of the weekly lectures in their tutorials, and pass on suitable questions to an Interview Panel of up to 5 volunteer students. These students will compile significant questions and submit them to the lecturer. An interview between the lecturer and the panel will then be recorded and podcast to either the students through BlackBoard, and/or to the whole community through the web. The pilot data in Semester 1 will be reviewed, modified as needed and applied to two Semester 2 units.

A blog about the project can be accessed here

This project is running.