A podcast is a series of audio or video digital media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated download, through Web feeds, to portable media players and personal computers. Though the same content may also be made available by direct download or streaming, a podcast is distinguished from most other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added. Like the term broadcast, podcast can refer either to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.
The term is a portmanteau of the words "iPod" and "broadcast", the Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which the first podcasting scripts were developed (see history of podcasting). Such scripts allow podcasts to be automatically transferred from a personal computer to a mobile device after they are downloaded.
As more devices other than iPods became able to synchronize with podcast feeds, a backronym developed where podcast stood for "Personal On Demand broadCAST." though such a definition would create a misnomer, because podcasts are not available "on demand"; they are subscribed to and usually received at set intervals. Such a definition would more accurately describe a direct download or streaming media.
Campbell suggests that “rich media” tools like podcasting are the tools of students’ native expressiveness, and with the right guidance and assignments, they can use these tools to create powerful analytic and synthetic work. He asserts that we do students a disservice if we exclude these creative digital tools from their education.
By situating podcasting within the time-honored heritage of radio, Campbell suggests that the tool might be used to create a theater of the mind. “A gifted teacher could be said to create just such a theater of the mind, as well as the conditions whereby students may be enticed to create such a theater for themselves. At it best, podcasting can serve as training in rich interiority and in shared reflection.” He also suggests that, like radio, podcasting has the potential to spread its effects to people both near and far and to unite them into a community of shared learning. He writes, “Done well, podcasting can reveal to students, faculty, staff, communities—even the world—the essential humanity at the heart of higher education.”
If you are in need of a message that will incite or renew your enthusiasm for podcasting in higher education, Campbell’s article certainly won’t let you down.
