Towards vidcasts: a case study in the development and use of video podcasts

This case study presents the learning journey towards the development of vidcasts at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). This was undertaken by the Effective Learning Service (ELS) and the Spoken Word Team at GCU. ELS was established in 2001 as a service that is available to all students irrespective of level, background or programme. It is currently located within the Learner Support Department together with other centralised services including Spoken Word, Careers, the Library, and Disability Services. The ELS has developed extensive, collaborative partnerships across schools, in the planning and delivery of context based workshops. Spoken Word Services originated in the international Spoken Word project, which aimed to transform higher education through the integration of digitised audio into learning and teaching. A collaboration and legal deposit agreement with BBC Information & Archives allows Spoken Word to make use of audio and video programmes from the BBC’s extensive archive for teaching and learning purposes.At GCU it is responsible for providing tools and technologies, coping withintellectual property rights, supplying engaging and valuable content, andencouraging reflection on the learning and teaching process. The team recognises that teachers need to develop ‘pedagogical pluralism’ and, in this context, aims to encourage students and their teachers to “write on and for the internet” (Wallace and Donald, 2008). Spoken Word has extensive experience in producing podcasts and exciting interactive material collaboratively. Working with the REAP Project (Re-Engineering Assessment Practices), Spoken Word has applied video podcasts as a driver for change, replacing a one hour weekly lecture with a 15 minute video podcast designed around a blend of a lecturer’s narration, BBC audio and video clips, and related to the lecturer’s own PowerPoint slides (REAP Pilot Projects, 2007).