Project IUP Cast

Project IUP Cast Overview

The goal of Project IUP Cast is to encourage IUP students and teachers to take part in the world of podcasting by writing and distributing their own podcasts. The hope of the project is to give students a voice to express their ideas on the web and to open a dialogue with other members of the IUP community. An additional specific goal of Project IUP Cast is to help students and teachers learn about writing and publishing with new digital media to enhance their communication skills.

Project IUP Cast History

Project IUP Cast was begun in 2006 by IUP English Professors Dr. Gian Pagnucci and Dr. Kenneth Sherwood. The project was originally funded by a $3000 competitive technology grant awarded by IUP’s Academic Computing Policy Advisory Committee (ACPAC). The project was originally called Project I-Cast, but the name was later changed to Project IUP Cast to highlight the IUP base of the project.

What Is a “Podcast”?

The basic idea of podcasting is to publish on the web an series of audio recordings. Typically, a person or group would publish these recordings on a regular, perhaps weekly, basis. More information on the history of podcasting can be found here:

The Podcast Audience

One of the most important things about podcasting is that it creates the potential for the podcaster to reach a real audience. Once a person publishes a podcast online, anyone can listen to it.

The First Project IUP Cast

The podcast below was the first one produced for Project IUP Cast. The podcast provides an overview of the project. It was produced by Dr. Sherwood in 2007. The podcast is a dialogue between Dr. Sherwood and Dr. Pagnucci in which they discuss the benefits of using digital tools for teaching and learning. The podcast is titled an “IUP Tech Talk” and was identified as part of Project ICast at the time. As noted above, the project has been retitled Project IUP Cast:

  • IUP Tech Talk (between Dr. Pagnucci and Dr. Sherwood)

Podcasting for IUP English Classes

Normally, podcasts are serialized, with a podcaster creating multiple shows on a weekly or monthly basis. However, even just creating one podcast can be a highly valuable learning exercise, so digitally savvy teachers often have students create podcasts for courses. Project IUP Cast has been integrated into a number of English courses at IUP:included Dr. Pagnucci and Dr. Sherwood have used podcasting in a variety of English courses:

Project IUP Cast for English 708/808: Technology & Literacy

Students taking Dr. Pagnucci’s English 708/808: Technology & Literacy courses regularly produce podcasts as part of their course work. These completed podcasts become part of Project IUP Cast.

Project IUP Cast Archival

Project IUP Cast has been running since 2007. During that time, lots of podcasts and a few vidcasts have been produced by IUP students for various classes. These materials are archived here so that future students and teachers can access them. All Project IUP Cast materials are published for public consumption. The individuals who created the podcasts and vidcasts own the copyright for the materials created and are responsible for their contents. In addition, it should be noted that all Project IUP materials have been produced for educational, non-profit purposes.

Project IUP Cast Researchers

As Project IUP Cast has grown, several other scholars have joined Dr. Pagnucci and Dr. Sherwood on the project. Below is a list of people who have worked on Project IUP Cast over the years: