About Podcasts@UCSF

CIT :: About Podcasts@UCSF

About Podcasts@UCSF

We are pleased to announce the availability of a new learning and communications tool at UCSF -- Podcasts@UCSF. The UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management, through the Center for Instructional Technology (CIT), has developed Podcasts@UCSF to provide UCSF faculty with an easy way to deliver course multimedia, such as lecture recordings, to students. Campus departments and organizations can also use Podcasts@UCSF to deliver important content to the UCSF community and the general public.

What is a Podcast?

Podcasting is a method for delivering audio or video content over the Internet. What makes podcasting so intriguing is the subscription element. Users can subscribe to podcasts, and have new content automatically downloaded to their computers as it becomes available. Programs such as iTunes makes this a very easy process.

You can think of a podcast as an audiovisual version of a magazine subscription. You subscribe to the podcast and then when new episodes are added to it, the files will automatically download to your computer and/or portable MP3 player (e.g., iPod).

Using the Podcasts@UCSF system, UCSF faculty now have a place where they can serve their course lecture recordings. Students can quickly and easily subscribe to course podcasts -- this only needs to be done once -- and new lecture recordings will be downloaded automatically as they become available.

Why Podcast?

There are many reasons why faculty, and their students, might want to take advantage of podcasting, including:

Students can download podcasts to listen to or view wherever they go, whenever they like (on their computers, or on their MP3 players, such as the iPod).
New podcast episodes are automatically downloaded when students subscribe.
Instructors can limit the audience to students in their WebCT courses.
Instructors can produce and publish their own podcasts using Podcasts@UCSF.

Here are just a few examples of what an instructor can provide via podcasting:

Course lecture recordings (audio and/or video)
Narrated PowerPoint or Keynote presentations
Course audio files, e.g., heart sounds, auscultation
Audio or video case studies, including interviews with experts or other speakers
Multimedia presentations created by students
and many more....

Campus departments and organizations can also take advantage of podcasting to reach both UCSF community members and the general public. Access to podcasts can be limited to UCSF affiliates (faculty, staff, students) only, or open to the general public. It is also possible to limit access to only students in a particular WebCT course.

Hosting your own podcast on Podcasts@UCSF

UCSF faculty can request a podcast for each of their courses. Campus departments and organizations can also requests podcasts. Once you have logged into the Podcasts@UCSF site, you will be able to access the podcast request form.

Learn more about how to use Podcasts@UCSF, and how to create your own podcasting content, by attending the CIT's Introduction to Podcasting class.

We invite you to explore the Podcasts@UCSF site. Try subscribing to a podcast. Please read the FAQ there for more information. Use the "Contact Us" link to reach CIT staff, who will happy to answer any questions you might have and to help you get started.