Using Escape Artists' Podcasts as teaching material

[Moritz]

Hi there, it's me, posting the first time from work, as I have a work-related question.

There was recently a question going around some teaching related mailing list about using genre fiction as teaching material. Now, I don't believe that using a novel - as proposed in the original discussion - would be the best way, because it's just too much reading to be done apart from the usual workload. Podcasts would be an ideal solution though - you can listen to them on the commute (about half of our students have a 1 hour commute), they are usually about 20-40 minutes long, and they are often connected to a clear topic.

My big question is - would this be allowed under the license? It would mean distributing the files in a closed network (e.g. Moodle) without altering them, so that should work. Indirectly, though, this is connected to money, because I am being payed for teaching and would use the material for my payed work... in a way. I just want to make sure before I delve any deeper into the idea.

[Fenrix]

You're not changing it or selling it, so I'd say that what you're proposing is covered under a creative commons attribution non-commercial no-derivatives license.

I look at it as a public service. All the extra fiction reading I had to do for class in high school and beyond came out of my pocket. You're saving the students money, and may hook a few new listeners to boot.

So what's the topic you're teaching?

[matweller]

Agreed. You're getting paid whether you use our materials or not, so I think it would be a pretty big stretch to associate the two.

I wonder if you could get into trouble on the parent/administration side for the content of the stories or the intros, though.

Thanks, now my head is spinning at the thought of doing an alternative version -- same show with no ads, no swearing, and school appropriate intro/outro segments -- for use in education... It could be such a great tool if we had a way to get a foot in the door with English teachers. You're right, though, kids could do it on the bus. So many schools have mandatory tablets or laptops that all have MP3 software. There's a lot of potential there.

[Moritz]

I am talking about university here, so people would be at least 19 if they are at bachelor level. I still have to think this idea over a bit though, I just collected three stories which would fit. Sort of.

[Alasdair5000]

You're not changing it or selling it, so I'd say that what you're proposing is covered under a creative commons attribution non-commercial no-derivatives license.

I look at it as a public service. All the extra fiction reading I had to do for class in high school and beyond came out of my pocket. You're saving the students money, and may hook a few new listeners to boot.

So what's the topic you're teaching?

This is a fantastic idea, Moritz! Seriously. If this goes ahead, could you let us know how it goes? Because both you and Mat are right, there's a lot of potential here.

[Moritz]

OK, I talked a bit with my professor about the idea and I recorded some mini-casts for a different subject. So we think about giving this a try. I am not really sure how to grade a course using podcasts - currently I am thinking about the students having to write essays about the topics of the episode, or maybe having to find a method/model that fits the story.

So... now I am looking for episodes. I think most will come from Escape Pod, and probably few from Pseudopod. I haven't listened to all Escape Pod episodes yet (the first 100 and the latest 10...), and I of course can't remember all the Podcastle and Pseudopod episodes, so help with finding episodes would be greatly appreciated.

The general topic is economics and management, with a focus on international management.

Here are examples of episodes I found that fit the topic:

EP 054 Tk'tk'tk - this one fits intercultural communication, expatriate & acculturation issues, and general discussion about foreign cultures
EP 075 Nano Comes to Clifford Falls - some microeconomics, especially supply and demand
EP 098 Just Do It - marketing psychology & ethics

[Fenrix]

PP006 - What Dead People Are Supposed to Do deals with some interesting spec fic implications of debt, along with poor decision making. So does PP355 - The Chair but in a much more grim fashion.

PP337 - At the End of the Passage if you want to talk about British Colonialism

PP197 - Set Down This - The cost of our current wars

PC154: Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Under the Still Waters - because it's awesome and also good fiction dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster

[Moritz]

thanks a lot, I'm going to check these out.

I now had some talks with staff, so it seems like the course is good to go. Mind you, it wouldn't start before April 2014, so that gives me some time to collect stories (they don't all have to come from Escape Artists...). I am still pondering over how to limit the participants and the exact expectations I will have, but we'll see. My boss is also exited about the idea and will support this.

Maybe we can later donate some money to Escape Artists for the valuable teaching material they gave us 

[DKT]

Since you mentioned economics, you may want to check out Daniel Abraham's "The Cambist and Lord Iron," featured on PodCastle 51. It's a big one, but it's also a longtime favorite of our audience, I think.

[Unblinking]

Not from the EA casts, but:

Anakoinosis by Tobias S. Buckell:  http://dunesteef.com/2011/03/27/episode-97-anakoinosis-by-tobias-s-buckell/
The effects of free labor on social, economic, and technological issues.

I'll see if I can think of other ones.  I'm sure there are plenty.

And seriously, so cool!

[Unblinking]

and:

Expiditer on Escape Pod:
http://escapepod.org/2013/10/28/ep419-expediter/
Communism and economics, many people commented that it was outdated, but I think there's plenty there of interest.

[Unblinking]

And:

Special Economics by Maureen F. McHugh on Clarkesworld, which, surprisingly, involves economics:
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_11_13d/

[Moritz]

Accounting 
http://podcastle.org/2009/10/09/pc-miniature-38-accounting-for-dragons/

[Moritz]

So does PP355 - The Chair but in a much more grim fashion.

Yeah, though the minimum age of my students would be around 21, 22, I think this one is too gruesome for class in general.

[Unblinking]

Dragonomics on Cast of Wonders:
http://www.castofwonders.org/2013/04/22/ep-76-dragonomics-by-lance-schonberg/

[Fenrix]

The Tamarisk Hunter seems like it would inspire some conversations about water rights, ownership of natural resources, and what forced markets do to behavior.

[Moritz]

and... it's happening!

"Business and Economics in Fiction Podcasts", summer semester 2014

 

edit: it will start in April 2014. There will be no grades, just credits for pass/fail. I am not sure yet whether students would also create their own podcasts - I'd have to check the equipment here. An interaction with this forum and the good people at escape artists is certainly possible.

[Unblinking]

So Cool!

After the semester's over, do you think you might be interested in writing up a guest-blog kind of post about the experience?  I think that would be cool, especially since I've never heard of this particular class niche being done before.

[Moritz]

So Cool!

After the semester's over, do you think you might be interested in writing up a guest-blog kind of post about the experience?  I think that would be cool, especially since I've never heard of this particular class niche being done before.

Ha, I've never heard of it being done either!
Yeah, I will write something about it. Actually currently I am already working on chapters in a book on experimental teaching. The deadlines are way before this, but it might be a start into this field.

[Fenrix]

So Cool!

After the semester's over, do you think you might be interested in writing up a guest-blog kind of post about the experience?  I think that would be cool, especially since I've never heard of this particular class niche being done before.

Ha, I've never heard of it being done either!
Yeah, I will write something about it. Actually currently I am already working on chapters in a book on experimental teaching. The deadlines are way before this, but it might be a start into this field.

The folks over at Mythgard.org might be able to help focus or expand your notes, since they're doing related but different educational experiments.

[matweller]

I think you should video record it and then record intros & outros and then post everything as a podcast. MEGA META!

[Unblinking]

Another one I remembered:  "Face Value" by Sean Williams:
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/face-value-sean-williams/

About a world where replicators are available to everybody, so money isn't a thing anymore, and someone comes on the market claiming that he can make a material which cannot be replicated in order to re-introduce money.

[Listener]

Another one I remembered:  "Face Value" by Sean Williams:
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/face-value-sean-williams/

About a world where replicators are available to everybody, so money isn't a thing anymore, and someone comes on the market claiming that he can make a material which cannot be replicated in order to re-introduce money.

Basically gold-pressed latinum, right? Although I don't think ST ever explained what latinum was used for.

[Fenrix]

I think this was posted elsewhere, but also should be co-located in this thread

http://attipscast.com/2013/12/15/a-t-tipscast-episode-127-audio-stories-for-secondary-students/

[Moritz]

interesting podcast, though not the same target audience I'll have.

The course won't start until early April, but I am making the slides for the course now. Hm, should also decide on the episodes sometimes soon I guess...

We might need to delete this thread by March maybe, so that students can't find it  Actually, who of Escape Artists' crew should I talk to if there are any other meta-questions?

[Bdoomed]

Depends on what kind of meta questions you're asking

Also, would be funny to let the students find this and the rest of the forum on there own and see how much they steal discussion ideas

[Moritz]

Depends on what kind of meta questions you're asking

Also, would be funny to let the students find this and the rest of the forum on there own and see how much they steal discussion ideas

Yeah, I am dreading that, especially because I might need to revisit all my previous posts here...

The questions I have is:
- I need logos, names of the crew, when Escape Pod was launched and so on from an official source. I mean, I could grab all of that info from Wikipedia, but I don't think that's the only source I should use
- it may make sense to forewarn the moderators when course members will show up here and post questions in episode comments of things that ran years ago

By the way, the course is already on our website. Also note we have a seminar named "World of Workcraft" 
http://www.wiwi.europa-uni.de/de/lehrstuhl/mm/ima/lehre/index.html

[Fenrix]

The questions I have is:
- I need logos, names of the crew, when Escape Pod was launched and so on from an official source. I mean, I could grab all of that info from Wikipedia, but I don't think that's the only source I should use
- it may make sense to forewarn the moderators when course members will show up here and post questions in episode comments of things that ran years ago

1. Pretty sure the Wikipedia entry is updated by folks involved. I just glanced at it and it appears to be accurate.

Escape Pod is a magazine-style podcast founded by Steve Eley and launched on 12 May 2005 which presents science fiction stories. It has been called "the world's leading science fiction podcast".[1]
About 10 months later Steve Eley created Escape Artists, Inc. to produce Escape Pod and sister podcasts.

2. Threadomancy is approved and encouraged, as long as the new members abide by the One Rule.

[Unblinking]

2. Threadomancy is approved and encouraged, as long as the new members abide by the One Rule.

I love threadomancy.  Sometimes someone will wake up an old thread that hasn't been touched in years and I may not have remembered the story at all until it's brought up again--and can now hear new thoughts about it that bring it back to mind. 

[Asomatous]

I am posting to this thread because I too have an interest in using Escape Pod and other sci-fi to help teach course content. My field is education. More specifically teacher education. I found the recent Escape Pod episode "Inappropriate Behavior" to be particularly insightful as to issues related to communication with autistic spectrum students. I have used a short story by Walter F. Curlie entitled "Billy's Bunter" that appeared in Analog from over a decade ago. I am seeking recommendations (both podcast and written) that might be able to be used to spark thought of give insight into teaching using sci-fi or fantasy genres.

Thanks in advance.

[Unblinking]

I am posting to this thread because I too have an interest in using Escape Pod and other sci-fi to help teach course content. My field is education. More specifically teacher education. I found the recent Escape Pod episode "Inappropriate Behavior" to be particularly insightful as to issues related to communication with autistic spectrum students. I have used a short story by Walter F. Curlie entitled "Billy's Bunter" that appeared in Analog from over a decade ago. I am seeking recommendations (both podcast and written) that might be able to be used to spark thought of give insight into teaching using sci-fi or fantasy genres.

Thanks in advance.

Any particular topics?  Any writing could probably be used to teach something, but "everything that has ever been written" might be broader of a recommendation than you're looking for.   

[Varda]

I am posting to this thread because I too have an interest in using Escape Pod and other sci-fi to help teach course content. My field is education. More specifically teacher education. I found the recent Escape Pod episode "Inappropriate Behavior" to be particularly insightful as to issues related to communication with autistic spectrum students. I have used a short story by Walter F. Curlie entitled "Billy's Bunter" that appeared in Analog from over a decade ago. I am seeking recommendations (both podcast and written) that might be able to be used to spark thought of give insight into teaching using sci-fi or fantasy genres.

Thanks in advance.

Are you looking for other stories that explore issues in special education and special populations of children?

I think EP# 405 - "Vestigial Girl" would make an excellent introduction to a conversation for educators on speech disorders, and specifically, articulation issues. You could discuss adaptive technology, use of sign language and other forms of nonverbal communication in preverbal children or children whose speech is very difficult to understand due to physical limitations.

[Devoted135]

I would also recommend EP314: Movement as an exploration of people who perceive time and the outside world differently.
http://escapepod.org/2011/10/13/ep314/

“Would you like that, Hannah?  Would  you like to be more like other teenagers?”

Neither yes nor no seems appropriate, so I do not say anything.  Words are such fleeting, indefinite things.  They slip through the spaces between my thoughts and are lost.

[Asomatous]

Are you looking for other stories that explore issues in special education and special populations of children?

Thank you for asking for clarification. I am interested in all areas of education as an academic discipline. I have used story to help teach challenging content in psychology and philosophy of education. "Billy's Bunter" is specifically about the difference between active rather than passive engagement in the educative process.

I concur that Vestigial Girl is another good example that can be used. Thanks for the recommendation.

I also appreciate Devoted135's suggestion of "Movement." That might be an episode I missed.

Thank you.

[matweller]

I think you could find themes in almost any episode that would be applicable if they fit your lesson plan. The Homecoming (http://escapepod.org/2012/05/10/ep344-the-homecoming/) is full of interesting themes: dealing with special populations; overcoming anger with patience; descrimination.

I had another in mind, but I lost it. Point is, if you tell us the themes of the lessons, we can probably find you a story or five to fit 'em.

[Asomatous]

Point is, if you tell us the themes of the lessons, we can probably find you a story or five to fit 'em.

There are a number of concepts I find potential teachers have difficulty grasping until they have been been teaching 5+ years. One is how language is very much a social construct. Watching the interaction of children and how they correct one another's use of language is one way of helping this but a strong story might help the recognition emerge more quickly. Another challenging concept relates to understanding Piagetian developmental differences between adults and children. I have had a very difficult time getting pre-service teachers to understand that concrete operational thinking is not just primitive or inferior to abstract thought but a valuable and needed process humans should go through. A third challenge is getting pre-service teachers familiar with basic philosophical concepts such as existentialism so they can evaluate if such a system of thinking should form the basis of their own teaching philosophy. I used to employ a viewing of a Stat Trek Voyager episode to try to help with this but then students had trouble transferring the ideas presented in the episode to their teaching philosophies. Given that most teachers tend to be overly literal in their interpretation of stories, finding a narrative that piques their imagination has been challenging.

Thanks for your willingness to help.

[Moritz]

Hey, Asomatous, cool ideas. Maybe when you did do your course we could collaborate on a paper about our teaching experiences 

[Unblinking]

Asomatous,
I'm not totally sure I grasp what you're looking for, but I don't think that's a flaw in your explanation, I'm just having trouble boiling it down to something that I can easily rattle off a list of episodes for (a one-word like "economics" is easier in that sense)

But I'll take a shot at one episode, in regards to the basis of language as social construct, as self-promotional as it may be:
http://pseudopod.org/2009/11/20/pseudopod-169-the-disconnected/

My story The Disconnected which takes place in a future society where people are heavily networked via phones from the time of their birth, and can see through each others eyes, feel each others emotions, and communicate directly through the medium.  Rare accidents can separate a person from their phone, which leaves them unable to communicate with the general populace so that they have to invent their own language from scratch as adults.

[matweller]

An extension of that theme would be Feed by MT Anderson -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KVKW9U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KVKW9U&linkCode=as2&tag=matweller-20

Of course, 1984, Farenheight 451 and Equilibrium are also all variation on that theme.

[Asomatous]

But I'll take a shot at one episode, in regards to the basis of language as social construct, as self-promotional as it may be:
http://pseudopod.org/2009/11/20/pseudopod-169-the-disconnected/

My story The Disconnected which takes place in a future society where people are heavily networked via phones from the time of their birth, and can see through each others eyes, feel each others emotions, and communicate directly through the medium.  Rare accidents can separate a person from their phone, which leaves them unable to communicate with the general populace so that they have to invent their own language from scratch as adults.

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I admit I have yet to engage in cross fertilization possible by listening to the other wonderful Escape Artist podcasts. (There are just not enough hours in the day, I tell you.  ) I will dip my toes in and let you know how I fair [sic?].

[Moritz]

And the course is over. We have rather short semesters 

So it went rather well. One issue was that as there were no grades, some presentations were rather simple (e.g. didn't really use theory), but in general they engaged with the stories well. Today, during the last lesson, I let the remaining students fill out a questionnaire. This means I have 16 valid questionnaires, which are a bit few for any statistics, but I can check some general tendencies (e.g. "where do you listen to podcasts", "did you listen to any other Escape Artists podcasts during the course", "do you like Science Fiction stories" etc.)

I mentioned this forum today and it seems like none of the students got the idea of checking out the discussions here. I think I will offer this course in the future but might include stronger incentives for active participation. This was a test run with no grade and few credits (3 ECTS), which I can expand, now that I know that in general, the format works and students can deal with it.

"I first thought it was weird to have Science Fiction stories in class. Then I listened to my group's story and it actually all made sense!"

[Unblinking]

Did you assign particular stories?  Which stories did they listen to?  

[Moritz]

Week 1: From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled... (Michael Swanwick), Escape Pod
Week 2: Accounting for Dragons (Eric James Stone), Podcastle
Week 3: Nano Comes to Clifford Falls (Nancy Kress), Escape Pod
Week 3: The Tamarisk Hunter (Paolo Bacigalupi), Escape Pod
Week 4: Dragonomics (Lance Shonberg), Cast of Wonders
Week 4: The Cambis and Lord Iron (Daniel Abraham), Podcastle
Week 5: Anakoinosis (Tobias Buckell); Dunesteef
Week 5: Special Economics (Maureen F. McHugh), Clark's World
Week 6: Anda's Game (Cores Doctorow), Podiobooks
Week 6: Patent Infringement (Nancy Kress), Escape Pod
Week 7: Just Do It (Heather Lindsley), Escape Pod
Week 7: Tk'tk'tk (David D. Levine), Escape Pod

Week 1 was just as an excerpt, because the story features a short part on supply/ demand, the very short Accounting fro Dragons in Week 2 was used to show how to edit stories in Audacity. I've since found a couple of more stories which might be included in future versions (e.g. EP 242: The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake).
Students could self assign for the story and week (groups of three), I told them the general economics/ management topic beforehand.

[Unblinking]

Ooohh,  if you teach another class like this I remembered another very relevant story, "How I Crippled a World for Just 0.01 Cents"
http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/06/25/drabblecast-247-how-i-crippled-a-world-for-just-0-01-cents/

A major component of the story is a change to patent law that would allow scientific discoveries to be patented by their discoverers so that anyone who used those discoveries for further scientific advancement would have to pay royalties, and the effect this would have on future scientific advancement.

[Unblinking]

Here's Moritz's thoughts about the class posted on Diabolical Plots:
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=6779

[Unblinking]

This obviously wouldn't be suitable for listening in a class, but I'm reading Charles Stross's novel Neptune's Brood right now, which has a lot of worldbuilding based around economics of an interstellar civilization and I've found it really interesting. In particular, how to deal with communications limited to lightspeed without cheating.  There are no ansibles, no wormholes, no anything else to work around it.  They just have to deal with the lightspeed limit.

I am not educated enough in economics to know if it's plausible but it all seems very reasonable and is explained at a level accessible to a layman like myself.

[Moritz]

Here's Moritz's thoughts about the class posted on Diabolical Plots:
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=6779

If anyone is going to the European International Business Academy's annual meeting in Uppsala, Sweden this December, I am also giving a talk about it there (I just got the confirmation on Tuesday).