programs, over the Internet using syndication .... or can afford to buy Apple's Garage Band software .... standing IVLA member contacted one of us (Maria) to.
Design Of A Visual Literacy Podcast Maria D. Avgerinou
Rune Pettersson
Abstract The podcast phenomenon has gained considerable momentum in various educational contexts around the world. For this action research project, we have designed a podcast about Visual Literacy (VL). Apart from documenting the design process to monitor the evolution of our own understanding of VL podcasting, our purpose is to instigate the production of a series of VL episodes, entitled “Perspectives on Visual Literacy”- each of which will represent the individual perspectives of VL theorists and practitioners. The episodes may be uploaded on IVLA’s website to reinforce engagement with, and reflection upon the concept of VL, thus addressing the information, design, and pedagogical needs of various audiences. Introduction Williams and Tollett (2007) explain that a podcast is an audio blog that one can listen to rather than read it. “It’s like having your own radio show that everyone around the world can tune in to whenever they want, not just at the moment you happen to be recording or broadcasting” (p. 5). A more comprehensive definition of the term is found in Wikipedia’s (2006) “podcasting” entry: Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio or video programs, over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. The term as originally coined by Ben Hammersley in an article in the Guardian on February 12, 2004, was meant as a portmanteau of “broadcasting” and “iPod”. The term podcast, like “radio”, can mean both the content and the method of delivery. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital audio formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading feeds like RSS or Atom. Wikipedia (2006) also informs us that the editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary declared “podcasting” the 2005 word of the year, defining the term as “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player”. Campbell (2005, p. 34) reminds us that Streaming and downloadable video and audio are not as old as the World Wide Web… What’s new about podcasting is the ease of publication, ease of subscription, and ease of use across multiple environments, typically over computer speakers, over a car stereo, and over headphones – while the listener is
walking or exercising or driving or traveling or otherwise moving about. The Podcasting Phenomenon Podcasting's initial appeal was to allow individuals to distribute their own “radio shows”, but the system quickly became used in a wide variety of other ways, including distribution of school lessons, official and unofficial audio tours of museums, conference meeting alerts and updates, and by police departments to distribute public safety messages (Wikipedia, 2006). In his March 2005 podcast (http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2005/03/03.html) Jon Udell identified some major reasons underlying the explosive growth of podcasting and rich media authoring. These are: The Internet activity is pervasive. Broadband has grown very rapidly, making it far easier to consume large media objects. The distinction between streaming and downloading has begun to blur. People can now have the experience of streaming while enjoying the simplicity of downloading. There is also the iPOD phenomenon, and the rapid adoption of MP3 players. Educational Podcasting The “podcasting phenomenon” has now penetrated education, and is indeed gaining considerable momentum in various educational contexts around the world. By way of example we can mention the podcast-based projects of such American institutions as San Jose State University, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Chicago, Purdue University, Depaul University, Manhattan Marymount College of New York City, but also educational establishments outside the US, as in the case of the Musselburgh Grammar School in Scotland (Campbell, 2005). Nowdays and even more so in the future, people will demand total freedom in their use of various media technologies. The development of video has made
“time-shifting” possible. Now, the development of podcasts makes “place-shifting” possible. People will be able to access educational materials, different kinds of entertainment, as well as information anywhere and anytime. For instance, Stanford University’s iTUNES U project provides online access to a wide range of Stanford-related digital audio content, and includes two aspects: A public site targeted primarily at alumni, which includes Stanford faculty lectures, learning material, music, sports, etc. An access-restricted site for Stanford community only delivering course-based materials and advising content. Duke’s Example According to Blaisdell’s report (2006, p. 6): Duke University’s first experiment with campus use of the iPod began with the incoming class in Fall 2004. The school spent in excess of $500,000, giving an iPod and a recorder accessory to each of its 1,650 incoming freshmen and a handful of faculty members. The giveaway generated substantial publicity for the school, but it also attracted challenges and criticism from inside and outside the campus. Duke University’s Center for Instructional Technology conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the school’s program and published a report in June 2005… The evaluation identified five major categories of academic iPod usage by the faculty, including course content dissemination, classroom recording, field recording, study support (via repeated listening to audio content), and file storage and transfer. Of these, it was found that the highest levels of student and faculty interest were focused on the ability to use the iPod’s digital recording functionality. On the positive side, the study found that the portability of the iPod and its contents contributed to reduced dependence on physical materials and access to library and lab resources. Students and faculty found the iPod an effective and easy-to-use tool for recording a variety of activities, including discussions, labs, field research, and oral assignments. Sixty percent of the first-year students reported using the iPod for academic recording. The evaluation also acknowledged substantial challenges encountered in the course of the first-year program. Major issues included content storage and access, procurement of licenses for copyrighted
material, lack of instructor tools for content preparation, limited documentation and training resources, and a lack of awareness or accurate knowledge of iPod functionality among faculty and students. To Podcast Or Not To Podcast? As Campbell (2005) points out more and more students come to academia with media authoring skills. This means that if we want to maintain our rapport with them, communicate to, and teach them effectively, we should progressively learn the potential uses, and appreciate the value of rich media authoring. Campbell also reminds us of how complex our own professional lives have become. To exemplify his assertion, he draws a parallel between the development of wordprocessing, and media authoring skills. In his words, “indeed in most cases, the line between typing and composing has grown so faint as to be practically invisible. The same process will inevitably overtake rich media authoring as well” (p. 38). Apart from podcasts being considered engaging and “cool” by younger generations, they also happen to be free, user-friendly, and operate both on Windows and Mac platforms. They prove useful to those who are not good at taking notes during a lecture. They also seem to provide enhanced support catering for individual learning needs and preferences. Most importantly, they are completely aligned with the concept of convenience, “anytime, anywhere, 24/7” access and use of instructional material. From the technical aspect, podcasts that offer the chapter function, allow the user to identify specific sections within the podcast which may also come with images, and URLs. On the downside, podcasts are accused for contributing to the digital divide phenomenon. Not everybody possesses an MP3 player, or Apple’s iPOD, or can afford to buy Apple’s Garage Band software (www.apple.com) to produce a podcast. Campbell’s (2005) own rhetorical question as to why Apple’s embrace of podcasting may be troubling to educators, is addressed by the fact that “this easy-to-use audiocontent manager just happens to sit inside a store that sells music” (p. 40). Another potential obstacle is the issue of copyright which has not yet been straightened out completely. Last but not least, potential technical challenges of podcasting may be particularly hard, and time consuming to contend with especially for novice podcasters trying to integrate new media formats within an existing technological infrastructure. Research Focus And Purpose New media technologies evolve at an extremely rapid pace (Pettersson, 1993). It is however, quite common that producers of software for innovative and
new media products lack the knowledge needed for the development of materials to be used in instruction and training, and for information. The special skills possessed by instructional message designers and information designers are not always called for. Pruit and Adlin indicate (2006) that designers do not always design with the user in mind. Rather, they tend to focus more on themselves and their own perspectives. In The inmates are running the asylum, Alan Cooper (1999) asserts that a focus on technology is fostered in whatever we do, when we should instead be focusing on people. For this project, we have designed a podcast about Visual Literacy (VL). Apart from documenting the design process to monitor how our own understanding of VL podcasting would evolve and change, our purpose is to instigate the production of a series of VL podcasts – or episodes as they are called – entitled “Perspectives on Visual Literacy” (Figure 1). Each of those episodes will present and elaborate upon the individual perspectives of VL theorists and practitioners. Our intention is to upload all podcasts on IVLA’s website in an attempt to spread the word about Visual Literacy as well as the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA), thus addressing the information, design, and pedagogical needs of various audiences such as novice visual literacists, new as well as long standing IVLA members, educational practitioners teaching VL courses, instructional designers employing VL in their projects, etc. Finally, it is our hope to begin reflection and discussion on the concept and applications of VL, and what both mean in the context of the 21st century. Figure 1 Perspectives On Visual Literacy
Method In order to study the possibilities embedded in the new podcast feature, we have designed and produced a podcast about Visual Literacy. Toward that end, we employed an action research methodology which is commonly used by researchers studying design and
innovation (Andersson & Rollenhagen, 2003). The steps of our research are documented in detail in the following sections. Creative Processes The designer’s creative processes are influenced by message design principles, and are performed with message design tools that are suitable for the type of representation that has been selected in each case (Pettersson, 2002). In this case we, the designers, have selected a “podcast.” Information design is the purposeful use of words, images and graphical form. Words may be spoken, printed or displayed. Images may be printed or displayed in order to aid understanding. To the intended receivers, a message should be: Accessible Easy to find Correct Well structured Comprehensible Consistent Clear Simple Interesting Aesthetic Generally speaking the information designer should: Adapt the message to human attention and to human perception in order to facilitate interpretation, understanding and learning. Edit the message for better comprehensibility and for easier understanding. The editing for a selected audience or target group includes information structure, subject matter depth, clarity, simplicity, consistency, unity, harmony and proportion. Consider the costs for the message. Secure the quality of the message. Respect copyright, the ethical rules, and the media-specific ethical guidelines. Use the appropriate tools for message design. The main creative processes involved in message production include the following four activities: Analysis and synopsis Production of draft Production of script Production of original and master Analysis And Synopsis During a planning and analysis phase it is possible to organize the work; analyze the intended message; analyze the intended receivers, their specific characteristics and their requirements; get the
necessary data and facts; define the purpose and the objectives; select a method for framing the message; select a medium; and, evaluate results from tests on previous versions when there are any. When the purpose, the objectives, the receivers, and the type of representation (in this case a podcast) for the intended message are decided, it is possible to start working on a synopsis. It is important, already at this stage, to decide on a suitable structure of the material. This creates the conditions for the material to have a good reading value for the intended readers. Adams (1999, p. 9) concluded that “designing good information-giving material is a difficult task, but it is one that can be assisted greatly by appropriate usability testing”. Visualization is usually a complex task, never a single act on its own, and requires the collaboration of several different parties. Note the following steps: Requirements. Analyze the commission and the requirements. Receivers. Define the intended receivers. Consider age, gender, and socio-economic factors. Objectives. Define the objectives for the message. Production. Organize the work. Produce synopsis for text and pictures. Size. Find out how many megabytes we can use for the podcast. Reviews. Ensure that the content will be relevant to the intended audience. Ensure that the material will be well structured. Production Of Draft Produce the “raw” draft. Note the following steps: Text. Write a preliminary text. Pictures. Draw sketches for drawings and photographs. Moving pictures. Draw sketches for moving pictures. Sound. Write explanations for sound. Color. How should color be used? Integration. Organize interplay between text and pictures. Graphic design. Prepare work with typography and layout. Reviews. Ensure that the content is correct. Ensure that the material is well structured and comprehensible. The information material must also be highly legible and readable, and have a high reading value. Production Of Script When the script is ready, the information material looks like a completed material. Note the following steps:
Text. Edit the manuscript into its final version. Drawings. Produce the originals based on previous sketches. Photographs. Produce suitable prints. Graphic design. Work with typography and layout. Copyright. Check copyright clearance for all materials. Reviews. Make an overall check of linguistic usage, writing style, terminology, typography, and layout.
Production Of Original And Master The production of original and master is the final part of the creative processes for a message. Before any original can be confirmed as a master, in which the text and the visuals finally are brought together, there should be an overall final check and review of technical quality. Designing The VL Podcast As Herrington advises us (2005) “Getting started is very important. Podcasting is all about making mistakes and learning from them to create better podcasts” (p. 48). Key elements (Herrington, 2005) to bear in mind while designing podcasts are: Structure- what is the show’s format? What recurring elements (format elements) does the show use to keep one listening to this podcast, and coming back for future ones? Is the interesting stuff in the beginning, at the end, or mixed throughout? Style- how is the presentation style? Professional or aloof? Just goofing around? Is the style related to the content? Technical elements- is the podcast connected to a blog, or website? Is there a novel way of contacting the podcast owner with feedback? Content- what is holding the audience’s attention? An interesting consideration is that podcasts are not live. This affords the opportunity of editing before uploading them on the server. However, we still need to plan for a reasonable podcast duration. Moreover, the technical aspect of producing the podcast is perhaps not as critical as the content of the podcast. Prior to documenting our steps in the VL podcast design process, we would like to acknowledge where the idea of creating an instruction-oriented podcast came from. It was sometime in 2005, that a long standing IVLA member contacted one of us (Maria) to receive information on instructional material (video) regarding VL and IVLA which would be available on the web. It was at that point that the seed was planted: there was no such video readily available on the web!...
In late spring 2006, following her participation at a podcasting in-house seminar in her institution, Maria contacted Rune to discuss the VL podcast idea. Rune’s consent and willingness to apply his expertise in information design to this new “animal”, off-sprung the following process: We begun by communicating extensively online in order to decide on the design purposes, audiences, and themes. At the same time, we exchanged resources, regarding especially the educational use of podcasts, but also issues related to design and usability. Our thinking was along those lines: “If one went to IVLA's website as a potential member, and identified the VL podcast, what precisely would s/he expect it to be about? Secondly, if an education practitioner who wants to use a short, informative video on VL, visited the IVLA website and located the podcast, what precisely would s/he expect to find in it? Finally, as an existing IVLA member and returning visitor to the IVLA website, what would one like this podcast to include so that his/her needs would also be covered? In this last case, how exactly can we define this member's needs?” (M. Avgerinou, personal communication, June 2006) We explored various publications on the concept and applications of VL in an attempt to decide what to include or not in the content of our podcast. While trying to figure out the content and its structure, Rune suggested we revisited Lida Cohran’s video which was produced in 1993 to celebrate the 25 years of IVLA. This was a pivotal moment in our thinking and resulted in our suggesting the production of a series of episodes on VL (“Perspectives on VL”) which would be produced by several Visual Literacists (#12-15) – each addressing a specific topic or concept related to VL. The topics could include major VL definitions, use and applications of VL as those are manifested in each VL expert’s field, what VL means personally to the VL expert, etc. Our own podcast would be the first in the series, expressing our individual views of VL, and perhaps serving as a prototype to the series. We then decided to re-focus on producing a draft VL podcast which would be offered to the IVLA 2006 annual conference attendees inviting their critique and feedback both regarding the content and the format/structure. We both felt this process would aid us further shape our podcast. So, our goal became to share a pilot form of the podcast while inviting IVLA attendees to answer specific questions about the existing podcast, and give us ideas and suggestions on what is not incorporated yet. We also considered the idea of interviewing
interested IVLA-ers during the conference, and video-record those interviews with the view to editing and then transforming them into VL episodes. Those IVLA-ers wanting to participate in the project yet not available at the annual conference, could be interviewed via Skype conferencing, or video-record themselves while talking about VL. A past IVLA president was the first one to promise that he would gladly video-record himself to discuss VL from the instructional designer’s point of view. We subsequently shared our idea with various IVLA members, targeting particularly the membership committee chairs and their goals for the association’s outreach. The chairs responded with enthusiasm and constructive feedback. At the same time, we developed a design and production timeline which would first involve the creation of a slideshow on VL, second the production of a script that would accompany it, then the recoding of the voice over the slideshow, and finally the transformation of the latter into a podcast. Abiding by Steve Krug’s first law of web usability (2000), namely “don’t make me think!”, and producing a self-explanatory, self-evident podcast was perhaps one of our most important goals. Among the key design decisions that we made, were that: (i) if we were to maintain the audience’s attention and interest, the podcast duration should be kept short (5-10 minutes); (ii) the total size of the file should make it easily downloadable; (iii) in the name of legibility on an iPOD screen, each slide should contain only the absolutely necessary text, and where this cannot be possible, more slides should be created to accommodate the concept discussed; (iv) GarageBand jingles should be used throughout, and especially over slide transition; (v) we should use pictures from past IVLA conferences which appear on IVLA’s website- yet first discuss this with the 2006 IVLA president; (vi) our own voices would be recorded over the slides where we introduce ourselves, whereas a professional (or, professional-sounding) voice would be presenting the remaining slides. Rune’s point here was that “a podcast will probably be very boring with an unprofessional voice. This may draw the interest away from the content” (R. Pettersson, personal communication, August 2006). The professional-sounding voice was thankfully that of a DePaul University IT consultant. She provided enormous help and guidance throughout the project, not only at the technical level, but
also emphasizing the importance of a detailed and well-considered script, and also fine-tuning our thinking from the user end. After many and frequent email exchanges, but also various meetings with the IT consultant, the first podcast was recorded, uploaded and played on an iPOD, edited and re-recorded. Maria showcased the VL podcast twice at the IVLA 2006 conference, inviting participant feedback on its content and format (see Appendix), but also inquiring whether participants would be interested in producing their own VL podcasts as part of the “VL Perspectives” series. While still analyzing the constructive input of the conference participants, our draft podcast is published at Maria’s blog site so that other VL practitioners, but also our own students can view and comment on it: http://dis.is.depaul.edu:16080/weblog/mavgerin/ “Every Step Of The Journey Is The Journey” Our engagement with the design and development of this VL podcast has focused more on the process, less on the final product. While awaiting further feedback from IVLA members, but also input from our own students and other practitioners in the field of Visual Literacy, we keep reflecting on such questions as: what have we learned about VL? About podcasting? What has proved to be the most difficult, and the most rewarding moments in our conceptualization of the project? In our execution of it? Has our perspective on VL changed as a result of engaging in the podcasting process? And if so, how? What does this mean for our own practice of VL? Where to next? Perhaps, developing guidelines on how to design educational podcasts? Perhaps instigating discussion on what exactly VL means in the 21st century? Acknowledgements Finally, let us emphasize that this project has been more than just the sum of our individual efforts. Rather, it is a collective effort of many people who have served VL, and IVLA from their distinct individual corners, and theoretical angles. To them we are indebted! Our special thanks will have to go to Dino Karabeg who inspired this effort; to Jim Bradford, and Mike Moore for offering copies of Lida Cohran’s video; to Harry Davis, a past IVLA president, who was the first IVLA member agreeing to produce a VL podcast; to membership committee chairs Rhonda Robinson and Susan Daniels for their constructive feedback; to IVLA2006 president, Janet Giesen for her guidance and support; to Diane Tarkwoski, the IT consultant who went above and beyond to help us put everything
together; to Micki Breitenstein, Roberts Braden, Rob Branch, Ana Donaldson, Frank Dwyer, Peggy Pruisner, Rhonda Robinson for graciously accepting to be interviewed and share their perspectives on VL during IVLA and AECT 2006; and last but not least, to all IVLA2006 conference attendees for their invaluable feedback!! References Adams, A. (1999). Usability testing in information design. In H. J. G. Zwaga, T. Boersma, & H. C. M. Hoonhout (Eds.). Visual information for everyday use. Design and research perspectives. London, PA: Taylor & Francis Andersson, E. R., & Rollenhagen, C. (2003). Systemgrupper och innovativ problemlösning. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Blaisdell, M. (2006, March). Academic MP3s >> Is It iTime Yet? [Electronic Version] Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.campustechnology.com/article.asp?id= 18001&p=2 Campbell, G. (2005, November/December). There is something in the podcasting in education. Educause [electronic version] Retrieved, March 25 2006 from http://educause.edu/er/ERM05/ERM0561.asp?bhcp =1 Cooper, A. (1999). The inmates are running the asylum. New York, NY: Macmillan. Easy Access to Software and Information (2006). Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://easi.cc/podcasts/ GarageBand Tutorials (2006). Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcasts.html Herrington, J. (2005). Podcasting hacks: Tips & tools for blogging out loud. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reily Media. Krug, S. (2000). Don’t make me think: A common sense approach to web usability. Indianapolis, IN: Circle.com Library. Pettersson, R. (2002). Information design: An introduction. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Pettersson, R. (1993). Visual information. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. Pruitt, J., & Adlin, T. (2006). The persona lifecycle: Keeping people in mind throughout the design process. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. Stanford on iTUNES U (2006). Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://itunes.stanford.edu/ Wikipedia (2006). Podcasting. Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast Williams, R., & Tollett, J. (2007). Podcasting and blogging with GarageBand and iWEB. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press.
APPENDIX Design of a Visual Literacy Podcast Maria D. Avgerinou
Rune Pettersson
IVLA 2006 1. What is your overall assessment of this podcast?
2. What is your view of the duration of the podcast?
3. What is your view of legibility on the iPOD screen?
4. What is your view about the size of the screen?
5. What shall we do to improve this podcast?
6. Are you interested in participating in our “Perspectives in VL” Project? (Please circle one) YES
NO
7. If YES, would you be prepared to (Please circle a or b) a. send us your own slideshow and/or video within the next six months? b. have give a short interview to Maria during IVLA06 (NB your session will be video-recorded)?
