Conclusion:

1. Introduction: Overall, we found that teachers are always looking for ways to enhance their students learning with beneficial learning tools. Vod- and podcasts allow opportunities for students to succeed even more than they normally would. They are motivational learning tools that can involve the whole school community. A podcast is a Web-based broadcast of audio, which works with software that automatically detects new files and is accessed by subscription. A vodcast is a video-based broadcast which works in the same way as a podcast. Using vod- and podcasts in the classroom can open new doors to confidence and communication. Teachers have noted that students’ writing improved as well as their listening skills. Vod- and podcasts enhance distance learning, allows for self-paced learning, prepares slow learners, is enrichment for advanced and motivated learners, is assistance for students with reading disabilities, is auditory support and support for multi-lingual education. Teachers are able to link vod- and podcasts to their units and post them online. It allows the teacher to reach a diverse and real audience. Vod- and podcasts cover all students’ information processing systems. Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic are all considered. Method: We created a survey to send out to educators that helped answer our question of: Are pod and vodcasts beneficial to use in classrooms? To collect data for our research question we used Survey Monkey and created a survey of 10 questions. Our questions were a mix of true/false, open ended, multiple choice and yes/no questions. Then we sent our survey out to educators that were our former teachers or that we knew through our families. We ended up with 38 responses to use to answer our research question. Our survey questions are as follows: Research Question Is Vod– and pod-casting beneficial in the classroom? • 10 Survey Items • I know what pod and vodcasts are. • Yes • No • A vodcast is… •  a. a Web-based broadcast of video, which works • with software that automatically detects new • files and is accessed by subscription. • b. a device used by actors/actresses in movies. • c. a tool used by people who are blind. • A podcast is… • a. a green vegetable that grows in your garden. • b. a web-based broadcast of audio, which works with software that automatically detects new files and is accessed by subscription. • c. a music video. • I have the technology to create a pod or vodcast. • Yes • No • How often do you use vod and podcasting in your classroom? • a. Always • b. Sometimes • c. Never • Vod and podcasts benefit audio and visual learners? • True • False • Vod and podcasts benefit teachers. • True • False • How can you use vod and podcasts in your classroom? • How do vod and podcasts benefit students? • In what ways do you think vod and podcasting negatively affects students in the classroom? • Findings: • Overall, we came to the conclusion that most everyone feels vod and podcasts are beneficial in the classroom. They also understand what vod and podcasts are, but do not necessarily have the knowledge and technology to create them. • 1st Chart • All of the people who responded to our survey said they knew what vod and podcasts were. Hopefully now that more people are finding out about vod and podcasts they can begin to more frequently utilize them in their classrooms. 2nd Chart The results from our survey showed that 2.6% of educators always use vod and podcasts in their classroom, 18.4% of educators sometimes use them in their classrooms and 78.9% never use either of the two in their classrooms. We think a lot of educators never use vod and podcasts in their classrooms because either they didn’t have the technology to create a vod or podcast or they didn’t have the knowledge to create one. Many educators might not have the knowledge to create one because vod and podcasts are fairly new. 3rd Chart Most of the educators who responded to our survey thought that vod and podcasts are beneficial to students. The only thing they said that could affect the student is if they are overused, because then students wouldn’t have enough face-to-face contact with people. Another negative aspect mentioned was that students couldn’t ask questions and have them answered right away. Overall, most educators think vod and podcasting would benefit students. Conclusion: Overall, with the data we collected, we believe that using vod and podcasting in the classroom would be beneficial to students. Although most of our participants do not have access to the materials deemed necessary to create vod and podcasts, and 78.9% say they have never used a vod or podcast in their classrooms before, almost all of them believed that vod and podcasting would not only benefit the teachers, but students, as well. Most agreed that vod and podcasts would benefit students in numerous ways, including; audio and visually. Many responded by saying that they thought it would be very beneficial to incorporate this form of technology into the classroom because it allows access to lectures, presentations, test information and many other things students may want to review at a later date, or at a more personalized pace. Most said it would be a good experience and a different way of learning. Taking into account how new this technology is, we weren’t surprised that most people have never used a vod or podcast in their classroom. In the future, most hoped for this form of technology to become more available to their classrooms and themselves. The fact is, that this is all very foreign to most teachers, which we found was the biggest reason why people aren’t jumping to use this new opportunity. Most people don’t like change, but we feel that vod and podcasting would be a great benefit for not only students, but also teachers, and we encourage teachers to experiment with these new forms of technology. References: Diffenderfer, Andy.  (2010, January 26). Podcasts power up learning in LaFayette. Chattanooga Times Free Press,B.2.  Retrieved January 26, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1947840611).http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1947840611&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=44087&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Gkatzidou, S. & Pearson, E (2007). Vodcasting: A case study in adaptability to meet learners’ needs and preferences. In ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore. Retrieved January 27. 2010, from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ conferences/singapore07/procs/gkatzidou.pdf Vod and Podcasting in the ClassroomKendra Nelson, Stacy Hegland, Nikki Roberts, Nate Asper, Keshia Wolf