Last modified: Monday, February 4, 2008
Indiana University launches podcast.iu.edu
FOR RELEASE
Feb. 4, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Podcast.iu.edu, an online gateway for audio and video podcasts from IU faculty and staff and various departments and groups from all of IU's campuses, will be launched publicly on Feb. 4. The user-friendly podcast portal will pull together a variety of contributed content, including lectures, music, radio broadcasts, performances and student profiles, on one convenient home page.
The podcast portal at podcast.iu.edu provides audiences with a simple, manageable way to stay up-to-date on the IU community and to absorb cultural and informational resources from IU campuses across the state. Contributors include public radio stations, world-class musicians from the Jacobs School of Music, IU professors of business and medicine, and information technology experts.
"While the value of podcasting is self-evident, the ongoing costs of doing it well are hidden," said Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology and chief information officer. "University Information Technology Services is pleased that podcast.iu.edu provides a common service for the entire Indiana University community to make creative uses of this medium. From lectures to music to press events and more, podcast.iu.edu is the place to connect to IU."
Martin J. Wagner of UITS was project leader for creating the podcast portal. Other contributors came from programming experts in UITS, and the Office of Creative Services Web design team. University Marketing is responsible for promotion and content acquisition.
As the sheer number of podcasts on the Web increases, podcast.iu.edu will allow audiences to find IU-related media and content in one place. With a clean, modern interface, visitors can search podcast.iu.edu by topics and categories, as well as by keyword tags. For users who are new to podcasting, podcast.iu.edu also includes the help, descriptions and definitions needed to get started.
"With podcast.iu.edu, IU can widely distribute the invaluable output from IU cultural and informational resources," said Lisa Townsend, executive director for university marketing at IU Bloomington. "Today's technology allows IU to advance educational goals, and to share the efforts of IU faculty and staff with our extended IU family, and with audiences throughout Indiana and across the world."
The listings on podcast.iu.edu will continue to grow as providers create new content, and as additional members of the IU community contribute their knowledge and expertise. Among the 39 currently listed podcasts and more than 400 episodes on podcast.iu.edu, podcast listeners and viewers will hear from the likes of museum curators, doctors, geographers and distinguished alumni.
"Our audiences want podcasts and other media that are well-organized and accessible," said Elizabeth Van Gordon, IU director of learning technology operations and chief information officer at IU Northwest. "Podcast.iu.edu uses the latest online tools to ensure that users will find the podcasts that they want quickly and easily."
Notable podcast sources on podcast.iu.edu include the IU School of Medicine and public radio station WFYI-FM90 in Indianapolis, with podcasts like Sound Medicine (https://podcast.iu.edu/Portal/PodcastPage.aspx?podid=f12936bb-ff68-4a34-970b-7919d9dc163e), an hour-long program discussing news and issues in modern health and medicine, and WFIU Bloomington's A Moment of Science (https://podcast.iu.edu/Portal/PodcastPage.aspx?podid=2d900409-c896-46e4-984e-d44c6e8038fa), a quick daily science podcast with an air of curiosity.
Listeners will also find professionally recorded concert recordings from the renowned Jacobs School of Music (https://podcast.iu.edu/portal/PodcastPage.aspx?podid=ae921d8a-6c09-4fc1-a7b1-dee734ac894d), weekly news from IUPUI's The Spot (https://podcast.iu.edu/Portal/PodcastPage.aspx?podid=117b8655-ca23-4eb0-a6ea-fa7f1cdeb84b), IT updates and tutorials from University Information Technology Services and guest lecturers at the Kelley School of Business.
With more than half a million alumni spread across the globe, podcast.iu.edu also provides a way for the extended IU network to tune into campus activities and cultural highlights. IU students, alumni, prospective students and parents, faculty and supporters worldwide have the same easy access to university podcasts. Hoosiercast (https://podcast.iu.edu/Portal/PodcastPage.aspx?podid=322154ec-7ad6-4665-91ed-1351698347be), for example, is a student-hosted podcast with updates about school and community events around the Bloomington campus. The IU Alumni Association Student Stories Project (https://podcast.iu.edu/Portal/PodcastPage.aspx?podid=ad0182c1-4b63-49ab-844a-42f9061fd991) features interviews with students from around the IU campuses, who tell their stories and share insights that they've gained as members of the IU community.
IU will increase its podcasting presence later this year with a public launch on iTunes U.
