creating podcasts with profcast (learner analysis)

7/29/2019 Creating Podcasts with ProfCast (Learner Analysis)

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Creating Course PodcastsWith ProfCast

(Final submission)

Jeff Toorongian

EDTECH 503-Fall 2010

Prof. Yu-Hui Ching

December 10, 2010


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Creating Course Podcasts With ProfCast | EDTECH 503-Fall 2010

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Part 2- Analysis Report

Part 2a.1: Needs assessment survey

The following survey was developed and distributed to a sub-group of the 447university instructional faculty to obtain information on their demographics, level of

computer skills, instructional patterns, experience with online and blended learningenvironments, and interest level in the use of podcasts as online materials in their courses.This sub-group consisted of 68 instructors who in recent years have participated in

online or blended learning instruction. The survey was developed in Google Docs and anemail invitation to participate was sent via a listserv. The survey invitation was sent on

October 18, 2010 and accepted responses until November 30, 2010. The completetwenty-five-question survey is presented below:

Online and Blended Learning Technology SurveyWe are currently gathering information from current university faculty and instructorsregarding their use of technology in online and blended learning courses. For our purposeshere, a course is considered "blended" if there are regular face-to-face meeting times withyour students and substantial portions of the course (at least 25%) that are conducted online,including the viewing of on-demand video/audio, discussion board interactions, liveinteractive web conferencing, or other group collaboration activities. Please take a fewmoments to respond to the questions below. Thank you for your time and assistance.* Required response

Background InformationPlease provide answers to the following questions intended to learn more about yourbackground, teaching experience, and knowledge and preferences of educational technologyresources. All information is gathered anonymously and will kept confidential.1) Please indicate your gender. * (Information is gathered anonymously and held confidential)MaleFemale2) Please indicate your age from the ranges provided. * (Information is gatheredanonymously and held confidential)20-3031-4041-5051-6061 or older


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3) Please indicate your ethnic heritage * (Information is gathered anonymously and heldconfidential)CaucasianAfrican AmericanNative American

Hispanic/LatinoAsian/Pacific IslanderOther:4) Please identify your current teaching ranking at the university. *

LecturerInstructorAssistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorProfessorOther:5) Please tell us how many courses you are teaching this semester * Please only includecourses where you are the primary instructor. Multiple sections of a course should only countas one course.onetwothreefourOther:6) Please tell us the learning context of your current course(s). *(check all that apply)Online

Blended learningFace to faceOther:Technology BackgroundThe following questions are intended to help us better understand your level of technicalexpertise with the educational technology resources available to you.7) How often do you use a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer in your BLENDED or ONLINEteaching? * 1 2 3 4 5

not at all all of the time8) For any BLENDED learning courses that you are currently teaching, please tell us the type

of technology you use regularly in the FACE-TO-FACE portion of the class? (check all thatapply)chalkboard/whiteboarddocument cameracomputer projection (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.)tablet computer/iPadsoftware based (via computer display)Other:


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Podcasts in Online and Blended CoursesIf you currently use, or are interested in learning about the use podcasts in your online andblended courses please answer the following questions.14) Do you know what a podcast is? *

I understand the concept of podcasts completelyI have a pretty clear understanding of podcastsI have little understanding of podcastsWhat's a podcast?15) If you currently use podcasts, please tell us what type of podcasts you use in your onlineand blended course(s). (select all that apply)

audio only podcastenhanced podcastvideo podcastI don't currently use podcasts16) If you use audio only podcasts, how do you produce them? I produce them with a handheld voice recorderI produce them with an ipod/mp3 deviceI produce them with software on my computerI have technical support personel produce themOther:17) If you use enhanced podcasts, how do you produce them? I produce them with a handheld voice recorder and computer softwareI produce them with an ipod/mp3 device and computer softwareI produce them completely with software on my computer

I have technical support personel produce themOther:18) If you are currently using some type of podcasts as part of your online and blendedcourse(s) how do you make them available to your students? (check all that apply)I post the files directly in my Blackboard courseI post them to my own course web pageI post them (or have them posted) to the university iTunes U siteI send them as attachments on the course email listservOther:19) If you are currently using some type of podcasts as part of your online and blended

course(s) have you surveyed your students for their usage habits with and opinions of yourpodcasts?I have not surveyed my studentsI have surveyed my studentsI have only informally (face to face discussion, etc.) discussed the podcasts with my studentsOther:


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20) If you have received feedback from your students regarding your use of podcasts, whathas the response been?students like them and use them regularlystudents like them and use them some of the time

students like them and use them only occasionallystudents are not using themOther:Podcast ProductionIf you are not currently using podcasts, or would like to learn more about how to incorporatethem into your course(s), please answer the following questions.21) Would you be interested in attending a short (1-2 hour) training session to learn how toproduce your own audio-only, or enhanced podcasts? * Yes, very interestedI may be interested if I had the timeI am not interestedOther:

22) After learning how to produce podcasts do you think you would invest the time required toproduce them for your students? *Yes, if it was relatively easy to doI might invest the time, if my students would use themIt would be difficult to find time to produce the podcasts regularyI would rather have someone else produce themOther:23) Would you be willing to invest a small amount of money in the software and computerperipherals (podcast software, headset with microphone) needed to make podcasts? *Yes, if it was a reasonable amount

No, my department should purchase the items for meI already have the necessary itemsOther:24) Assuming you are ready to learn how to make podcasts, what computer operating systemwould you be using to produce them? * Mac OSXWindows XPWindows VistaWindows 7Other:25) How would you describe your level of expertise with using your computer for basic webbrowsing, document creation, and email or Blackboard-based communication? *I am very competent (a power user)I am fairly competent (average user)I'm a beginner, and would need some help to get startedI don't use computersOther:


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We're Finished!Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. We encourage you to considerpodcasts and other technologies to further expand the depth and effectiveness of your onlineor blended course(s).

Part 2a.2: Needs assessment dataSurvey results indicate a significant level of understanding in podcasts, an interest

in attending a training session, and eventually using audio podcasts in their courses. TheProCast instruction developed in this project is aimed specifically at Macintosh computer

users, but since ProfCast is also available for Windows computers, these instructorswould likely also benefit from the training session since the functionality of the software

is very similar. Selected graphs are presented below showing learner characteristics ofsurvey respondents. Complete survey results are presented in Appendix B.


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Part 2b.1: Learning contextThe instruction on the creation of podcasts using ProfCast software is designed as

a standalone workshop for faculty and instructors who have completed the needsassessment survey and registered to participate. The ProfCast training session will take

place in one of the computer classroom facilities located in the university library. Theserooms consists of approximately twenty Macintosh iMac computers featuring a wireless

keyboard and mouse, and a Logitech USB headset with microphone. The computers arerunning the Mac OS X operating system (version 10.6.x), and have ProfCast software

installed on them. The computers have hard-wired network connections for access to theInternet and for administrative maintenance. No Internet access is required for the

ProfCast training session. All podcasts produced by the course participants during theworkshop will be stored on the internal hard drive of the computer they are using.


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The training room is rectangular-shaped, and consists of three rows of individualcomputer desks and chairs for the twenty course participants. These desks face the front

of the room where there is a large whiteboard and two drop-down screens with associatedLCD projectors. For this training session only one computer display will be necessary.

The instructor desk is up front, facing the course participant desks with their computerdisplay projected on the screen to their left. Due to the relatively small size of the

training room, no audio reinforcement is usually required. However, a wirelessmicrophone and ceiling mounted speakers are available for use if the instructors voice

level requires reinforcement. To play back audio sources from their computer duringtraining, the instructor uses the ceiling speakers. Course participants can listen to audio

from their computer with their USB headset.

Part 2b.2: Transfer context

Course participants will apply their new skills with ProfCast as part of theirregular preparation of course materials. If they need to create a podcast of supplementalcontent, they will likely use ProfCast in their office or home. The opportunity to create a

podcast outside the classroom environment is one of the software's great advantages.Course participants can also produce podcasts of their live face-to-face lectures in their

classroom. By connecting a wireless microphone (or using the built in microphoneavailable on most laptops), the course participants will be able to open ProfCast,

configure the audio input, load the slides (if necessary), and record their lecture. Whenthey are finished, the resulting audio-only, or enhanced podcast will be ready for posting.

The skills obtained in the ProfCast workshop will benefit course participants by allowingthem the flexibility to produce podcasts from virtually any location. Because the

software is self-contained, no Internet connection is necessary during the production ofthe podcast. This expands the possible locations where ProfCast can be used. The actual

posting of the resulting podcast would require an Internet connection after production.

Part 2c: Description of learnersParticipants of the ProfCast training workshops will be those university faculty

and instructors with teaching responsibilities. According to the most recent statistics

available (2009 data), the university currently has 447 instructional faculty across allranks, including lecturers, instructors, and assistant, associate, and full professors. Among

this group, almost 26% are female, 16% are underrepresented minority groups, andalmost 9% are classified as international instructors. As a primarily science, and

engineering university, these gender and ethnic breakdowns are fairly typical. Thisteaching faculty serves almost 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students, including

more than 900 international students. Many of these international students speak Englishas a second language, and could particularly benefit from supporting learning materials

like podcasts, which can allow them to review course material at their own pace.


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A total of twelve instructors responded to the needs assessment survey, aparticipation rate of 16%. Highlights of the survey results show that 83% of respondents

were 40 years old or younger, and 67% were male. Caucasians represented 58% and theremainder was of Asian decent. The majority of the respondents (75%) held either

assistant or associate professor ranks, and all respondents were teaching either two orthree courses at the time of the survey. Looking at responses to podcast-related

questions, most (83%) had a good understanding of what they were, but only one hasused them in their courses. Most respondents said they would either consider or definitely

plan to attend a podcast workshop, while most also thought they would invest the time toproduce them for their students. Half of survey respondents described themselves as

possessing average computer skills, and 75% used Macs compared with 25% using a

Windows-based computer.

Part 2d: Learning task analysisEntry Skills:Course participants in the ProfCast training are assumed to have thefollowing entry skills:- Basic computer skills, including use of keyboard, mouse, basic navigation and browsingtechniques while interacting with software and the computer operating system.- Ability to connect, configure, and operate USB-based, or internal microphones. - Proficiency with PowerPoint or Keynote presentation software for development ofslides that are part of the enhanced podcast production training.


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Figure 1-Overview flowchart of eight primary learning goals in ProfCast instruction

Figure 2- Task analysis of learning goals 1-3 in ProfCast instruction


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creating podcasts with profcast (learner analysis)

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