It’s the beginning of a new school year at the Atlanta University Center, which means that the Robert W. Woodruff Library’s GLAM Center for Collaborative Teaching and Learning is back in session. We kicked off the year with our first faculty development workshop of the fall semester, “Incorporating Podcasts into Classroom Assignments.” Led by Justin de la Cruz, Unit Head for E-Learning Technology, the workshop provided attendees with an overview of the basics of podcasting. For those unfamiliar, the term “podcasting” was coined by BBC journalist Ben Hammersley in 2004 to define the new ability to subscribe and automatically download recordings via RSS. Podcasts can run the gamut from structured and informative programming to podcasts just for entertainment purposes.
GLAM’s Museum Education Curator, Martina Dodd, introduces Justin de la Cruz to attendees
After de la Cruz provided some background information on the history and growth of podcasting as a medium, he described a podcasting assignment he helped facilitate for an AUC faculty member last semester. After giving workshop attendees a chance to brainstorm some potential assignment ideas incorporating podcasts, de la Cruz then provided attendees with a brief tutorial on how to use Audacity, a free and open source software platform used for recording and editing podcasts.
Justin de la Cruz discusses podcasting with workshop attendees
If you’re an AUC faculty member who missed out on our workshop but are interested in finding out more about incorporating podcasting into one of your existing classes, be sure to contact the GLAM Center. We have a whole semester’s worth of exciting workshops coming up, so stay tuned to our events page and the library’s social media channels to stay up to date!