“How many of you are scared by the idea of podcasting?” asked Jude Higdon, a project manager in the Teaching and Learning Services group at USC’s Center for Scholarly Technology in Leavey Library.

Half of the hands in professor Ann Crigler’s mass media and politics class shot up.

“Don’t worry,” Higdon said. “We’re here to help.”

Podcasting can be a daunting undertaking, even for students who pride themselves on being ahead of the learning curve of new technology.

The term refers to the Web distribution of audio and video files through a news feed that allows users to subscribe to a series of programs and automatically download content to their computers. It is sometimes described as “radio on demand.”

Crigler’s class is one of three participating in a pilot project sponsored by Leavey Library and the Center for Scholarly Technology.

“Leavey Library supports learning by providing the tools, resources and consulting help for students to create digital materials, such as podcasts,” said Karen Howell, director of Leavey Library, the USC Libraries’ Undergraduate Learning Center.

“The dedication of all participating faculty – Ann Crigler in USC College, Nitin Kale in the Viterbi School of Engineering and Karen Kensek in the School of Architecture – has made the pilot a true success story for Leavey Library,” she said.

Crigler’s students are required to work in teams, first to produce political Weblogs, or blogs, and then to produce a 20-minute podcast, or audio file, on the same topic. Blog topics for Crigler’s class include illegal immigration, the Supreme Court, domestic surveillance and “Condi vs. Hillary.”

The assignment has not been easy. There have been technical difficulties – problems involving the blogger software and Web servers. The demands of student life have made it difficult for the class to find time to stay well enough informed to respond confidently to the range of posted comments.

“Students will run into technical and content problems, but it is invaluable to experience firsthand how much time and passion it takes to create successful blogs and podcasts,” said Crigler, chair of USC’s department of political science.

“Political information is now conveyed through so many other sources than the news. There is much less reliance on traditional media. I want students to know that they can have a voice,” she said.

Having learned the difficulties of blogging, the class listens attentively as Higdon explained four basic parts of the podcasting process –preproduction planning; capture of the various media; production of the downloadable files (MP3 or MP4 and XML); and publication of the files to a Web server.

Some students in Crigler’s class already own the equipment they need to complete the podcasting assignment. Most do not.

Leavey Library is providing a podcasting studio that has two new workstations fully equipped with all the hardware, software and audio-visual equipment necessary to create podcasts – including microphones, headphones and even digital cameras for those students who wish to include graphics in their podcasts.

Leavey Library and the Center for Scholarly Technology have teamed to offer training and support for faculty and students. Training documents created for the pilot project have been posted to a collaborative Web site, or wiki, created for the class.

USC College has put additional equipment on reserve just for Crigler’s class, including a laptop, digital camcorder and tripods.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Crigler said. “Each person I’ve contacted on campus has bent over backwards to help me understand the opportunities for incorporating this technology into the curriculum.”

Giving the new Web-based technology a place in the curriculum makes good pedagogical sense. Since the 2004 presidential campaign, the Internet has become an important means for the dissemination of political material and a key mechanism for political mobilization.

From the perspective of news organizations and political groups, the production costs of podcasting can be relatively low, which, along with the prospect of easily automated delivery, accounts for its popularity.

A week after the class was introduced to the production process, the students’ reactions to the experience was positive.

“Learning to use this technology has been painless,” said Jeffrey Hubbard, a political science and philosophy major enrolled in Crigler’s class.

That is exactly what the staff and administration in Leavey Library want to hear.

For information on the studio and student instruction, contact Karen Howell at khowell@usc.edu or (213) 740-2933.

Faculty interested in podcasting their lectures or in-class instruction can contact Jude Higdon at higdon@usc.edu or (213) 740-8811.