Einstein the Podcaster

Concurrent Session 2

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

What could you accomplish if you could master the time when you commute, hit the gym, make dinner, or get ready for work?  Micro-learning is an efficient way of meeting learners where they are: the space between all of their commitments.  Podcasts slip into and stretch these moments.  

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Alexis Morton, Southern New Hampshire University - COCE

Alexis Morton is the Manager of Faculty Training & Development at Southern New Hampshire University's College of Online and Continuing Education. Alexis has over 20 years of experience in education, most recently focused on program coordination, training, and staff development. She combines this with her passion to help others better understand educational technology and ways to effectively implement training and professional development for online faculty. Under her direction, SNHU has successfully on-boarded nearly 1,200 new faculty members for the College of Online and Continuing Education over the course of the last academic year.

Extended Abstract

Have you ever wished for more than one copy of yourself so you could accomplish more in a day?  Have you dreamt of bending and stretching time to create more hours in your day?  To learn more?  Do more?  Be more?  This session will allow participants to tap into that most precious commodity: time.

Einstein’s theories said that time and space stretch, dependent on different forces exerted upon them.  He said that as space stretches, so too does time, ever progressing forward, yet elongated.  This is what podcasts allow us to do for our students and faculty – to bend and stretch time.

Podcast consumption is on the rise, with mobile consumption via tablets and smartphones accounting for 64% of all podcast consumption. (Edison, 2016)  Because people can take podcasts with them wherever they are, this is an ideal platform for students and faculty to consume information, broaden their learning, and grow.  When we meet our students and faculty where they are, on their own terms, and within their own time, we help them stretch and expand time to accommodate what they need their days to hold.

Participants will explore podcasting through the lens of Clayton Christensen’s Job Theory, considering the “jobs to be done” in their unique role within their organization.  What job have students and faculty hired us to do as educators and as faculty development specialists?  What do they need from us and how can we provide them with a novel, yet meaningful, opportunity for them to engage with their learning and development?

Participants will consider their audience and generate ideas for shows that will interest and serve the needs of their students (or faculty) and refine these show concepts to determine which will benefit their audience most.  Questions to be explored include:  Are there common trends you hear bubbling up from your students or faculty?  Are there aspects of or findings from your own advanced studies you’d like to share? 

Participants will be introduced to various podcasting tools and platforms.  Further collaboration will enable participants to consider the ideal episode length for their audiences.  Ultimately, participants will determine when the episodes and shows will air, establishing a regular, recurring, and predictable basis for their broadcasts and in turn, creating a draft of an editorial calendar for their podcasts’ shows and episodes.  

Participants are encouraged to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), to explore podcast platforms and to manipulate the provided editorial calendar template and save it for future use.

 

References

Edison Research (2016, March 10).  The Infinite Dial 2016.  Retrieved from http://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-2016/.