ED-CAST: An International Podcasting Collaboration to Enhance Access and Knowledge Ray Schroeder, M.S. Director, Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning University of Illinois at Springfield Margaret Maag, Ed.D. Assistant Professor of Nursing University of San Francisco Introduction In the spirit of the Open Knowledge Initiative, Ed-Cast, the higher education podcast repository, seeks to promote sharing of podcast lectures, speeches, presentations and related educational materials across institutional boundaries. Through an easily searchable database, and using Creative Commons licensing, podcasts are shared and virtual guest speaker engagements are encouraged. The repository is a joint project of the University of Illinois at Springfield and the University of San Francisco, with start-up funding from the University of Illinois Online. The repository is in working beta form and open to receiving submissions from faculty and staff members at high education institutions worldwide. Brief History of Podcasting The term podcasting is a combination of the words “iPod” and “broadcasting.” The advent of podcasting has enabled the ready notification and easy distribution of audio (and more recently video and audio/graphic) files across the Internet. Podcasting involves the creation of a media file, such as an MP3 audio file; posting the file on a server accessible through the Internet; and also posting online an XML file meeting the RSS 2.0 standard. The RSS 2.0 file directs podcatchers, including the very popular iTunes to the most recent media file postings. It was in late 2000 that Dave Winer, creator of RSS and a multitude of Web log utilities joined Adam Curry, founder of OnRamp, to create the first podcast. Winer added the “enclosure” specification to RSS 2.0, which enabled inclusion of the URL address of a binary file such as MP3, MP4a, etc. in RSS feeds (Affleck, 2005). But, the “enclosure” feature of RSS 2.0 remained largely unused until there were enough MP3 players, blogs and people interested in sharing audio/video/graphical content to make the standard useful. Dave Winer, himself, was one of the first podcasters with his “Morning Coffee Notes.” The standard took off when Curry wrote “iPodder” in Apple Script, enabling automated linkage to iTunes and the increasingly popular Apple iPods. (Affleck, 2005) Uses of Podcasting in Higher Education Podcasting has been used for many popular applications, including music shows, political commentary, social commentary, how-to programs, advertising, debates, and a plethora of other uses. Enhanced podcasts enable graphics and pictures to be included. Enhanced podcasts may provide even “vodcasts” in which video-on-demand is provided. The applications in higher education are many. They include such applications as dissemination of lectures; faculty and student recorded notes; news broadcasts to a campus community; student recruiting messages; student projects; oral history records; and even sporting events (Meng, 2005). Clearly, though, the most popular initial use of podcasting in higher education has been for the dissemination of lectures. There are many reasons for this popularity, including the allowing of students 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning For more resources click here -> http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/ Copyright 2006 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Duplication or redistribution prohibited without written permission of the author(s) and The Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning 1