http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/04/community/doc501c90febfdbe569701568.txt

Park Rangers Discuss Missouri River Artifact Thefts

Chris Wilkenon, of the Park Service, explains the area that is part of the Missouri National Recreational River as part of a discussion on thefts at the river on Friday. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

63-3 ‘Lends A Hand’ To 67 Teachers

Shown are Pauline Rhoades, left, executive director of the YSD Foundation, and Webster second grade teacher Kellie Holmstrom. The YSD Foundation recently announced grants for 67 teachers in the district for the 2012-13 school year. (Andrew Atwal/P&D)

Foundation’s Grants Will Help Cover Expenses

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Bloomfield Firefighters Lend A Hand With Wildfires

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Firefighters in Nebraska were working around the clock recently in hopes of containing the several wildfires that have broken out across the north-central region of the state.

Many area figherfighters were summoned in to help battle the blazes and, as of Monday, it appears that the fires are under control and contained.

“A mutual aid call was sent out to many fire departments in the area, including those in Creighton, Bloomfield and Verdigre,” said Laura Hintz, Knox County emergency       manager.

There were about 500 firefighters that helped to assist crews in the area battling the blazes, which broke out more than a week ago. Officials note that the crews should start returning home this week.

Kelly Kumm, Bloomfield Fire Department captain, worked a 24-hour shift with his crew to help battle the fires last week.

“We left Bloomfield Monday afternoon and got back in town Tuesday afternoon,” he said.

His crew was responsible for helping to contain the Mills fire, which was the easternmost blaze.

Kumm added that fire departments from all over the area helped battle the fires, including some departments that came from more than 200 miles away.

Although the fires were partially contained, Kumm said there were big challenges for the crews once they got there.

“The biggest challenge we faced with these fires was communication,” he said. “Everyone that was there had different radio frequencies.”

Kumm added that every county throughout Nebraska has multiple radio channels, and it is “nearly impossible” to program a radio to store 100 or more channels.

Because the expensive radios were largely useless, crews had to find other ways to communicate with each other.

“The only way we could communicate was through texting,” he said. “There was poor cell coverage there, so we would have to talk to people face to face (to get their phone numbers) and than text them to communicate.”

One of the main risks going forward for the region is more lightning fires, which is how the fires in Nebraska were started. All told, more than 70,000 acres of land were burned in the fires, with about $2.5 million in total damage — most of which went to fire personnel salaries and for equipment and supplies crews used. Most of the expenses went to battle the Fairfield Creek fire, which was the largest of the fires in the area.

Most of the damage to the area included pastures being destroyed, hay bales burning, trees and timber burned, and damage to about a dozen homes.

“The last job we had before we came back was defending one of the homes in the area,” Kumm said. “All the crews were able to save a lot of homes from burning.”

When Kumm’s team arrived in the area, they were quickly reminded of how dangerous the fires were.

Kumm said the fires got out into the trees, so firefighters could not simply move in and put the fires out.

“You can’t just drive in to those fires or get to them,” he said. “You really just have to wait for the fire to get out of the trees.”

He added that his crew was not used to the pine trees they were up against, as cedar trees are much more common for the Bloomfield Fire Department to deal with.

Crews also used back burning as a way of reducing the amount of flammable material available to the bushfires. This is the controlled burning of the bush, or material that can be easily set ablaze. It also helps prevent future bushfires.

Kumm said that he is worried about the potential for similar fires to break out along the lake area in northern Knox County. He said that it would be “very dangerous” to have those fires in areas where there are a lot of trees.

However, he added that prevention is the main key in stopping future fires from breaking out. Kumm said that burn bans in place in the area, including Knox County, could help stop fires from sparking.

Penalties for those who break the burn ban in Knox County include a $100 fine, along with any costs to the fire department to put out the fire, and also being criminally liable if you start a fire that leads to someone’s house burning down.

“Despite measures in place, we can’t stop all the accidents and all the lightning from occurring,” Kumm said.

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/01/community/doc5018a31bc2f19772657172.txt

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/07/27/community/doc50121163f1568331533245.txt

Grant Provides Sound Improvements For YSD

Members of the Yankton Sertoma Club and the Yankton School District (YSD) recently announced an $8,000 grant which helped the club purchase additional Soundfield FM systems for more classrooms in YSD. The club started the Better Community Through Better Hearing Project, which helps put the systems in schools all across the area. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

The Yankton Sertoma Club recently announced an $8,000 grant they received to provide additional soundfield systems for the Yankton School District (YSD).

Four years ago the club began a program aimed at purchasing and placing Soundfield FM systems into local classrooms in the area. The group began the project by purchasing one system each year. Since then, the project has expanded to include the purchase of two systems a year.

“A Soundfield system provides better amplification for a teacher’s voice,” said Matt Rumsey, Yankton Sertoma Hearing Committee Chairman. “The teacher does not need to talk as loud, students pay more attention to the teacher and perform better as a result.”

Soundfield systems are designed for hearing impaired students, but they also help all students hear the teacher’s voice better, Rumsey noted. Currently the systems are spread out throughout the schools in the    district.

Rumsey added the Sertoma club in Yankton focuses heavily on the hearing impaired community in the area, and these systems are a cost effective way to help the whole classroom.

“Anytime you can make students in classrooms more attentive, it’ll help out education,” he said. “By getting the systems through the grant, it’ll save YSD a good amount of money.”

Principal Regan Manning at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Yankton asked for a system about four years ago, Rumsey said. After that request, the club took initiative to develop a project to put systems across other schools throughout the area.

The American Speech, Language and Hearing Association identifies several ways that hearing loss impacts children. It causes delays in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills, language deficits cause learning problems that lead to reduced academic achievement, and communication difficulties often will lead to social isolation. All of these lead to reduced vocational options — problems that the soundfield systems could help address.

Researchers at Michigan State University found that students who use the soundfield FM systems show improvements in mean spelling scores and significant improvements in scholastic reading achievement scores as well.

Sheryl Rehurek, a fourth-grade teacher in the Yankton School District, was quick to praise the Soundfield systems in her classroom.

“I believe the children are more active listeners with the system,” she said. “I know more are participating in class because of the opportunity and their classmates are listening better as well.”

After looking over the research and the first-hand experience teachers are having with the systems, members of the Sertoma club and YSD think the project will be a nice benefit to the students in the schools, and the entire community.

So far, the seven systems in place have impacted about 475 students, and the additional 10 systems, to be implemented for the 2012-13 school year, would immediately impact another 225 students.

Based on current experiences with the systems already in place, members of the club believe the new and continuing additions have the potential to impact the community in “immeasurable ways.”

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/07/26/community/doc5010bc2f484e9852145676.txt

Area Hay Yields Take Hit From Drought

Hay throughout the area, such as these bales in a field east of Yankton on Highway 50, has been taking a hit due to the drought and excessive heat. If such conditions persist, farmers could likely see only 40 percent of their normal hay yield, according to Rich Schwartz, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency. (James D. Cimburek/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

With the drought and excessive heat never seeming to end, farmers in the region continue to take a big hit. Not only are yields of corn, soybeans and other crops down, hay yields are down as well.

Rich Schwartz, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Yankton, said farmers could likely be around 40 percent of their normal hay yield if the hot and dry conditions persist.

Some pastures across the region are doing well, but Wagner notes that pastures in the Yankton area are not so fortunate.

“Pastures in the area are in tough shape right now,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult for them to improve if farmers don’t get rain soon.”

Schwartz added, “It’s not a pretty picture right now. The drought is having a huge negative impact on farmers.”

Second alfalfa cuttings in South Dakota were at 83 percent for the week ending July 22, and 79 percent for the week ending July 15. This is above the 49 percent from last year, and also above the five-year average which is at 53 percent. Third cuttings of alfalfa for last week were at 22 percent, well above last years zero percent and the five-year average of just one percent.

In response to the drought, Gov. Dennis Daugaard activated the state drought task force to monitor the worsening drought conditions throughout South Dakota.

The task force helps to coordinate the exchange of drought information among government agencies, and agriculture, fire and water-supply organizations. The group will also monitor the impact that the drought is having on the economy in South Dakota.

“We can’t change the weather, but we can give people access to information,” Daugaard said.

Jim Bye, of Bye Brothers Hay and Seed in Gayville, said the quality of hay they are producing has been good, despite the drought and heat.

“What we’ve produced has been good quality so far,” he said. “Although our yield amount might be down, our first cutting was just as good as you can dream of.”

He added that this year’s drought is not worse than it was in 1988, and the worst drought that he has experienced in South Dakota came in 1976.

“Things have dried up quicker this year than they did in 1976,” Bye said. “However, we do have a lot better corn now than we did back then.”

Bye added that some farmers in the area have gone up to Canada to bale hay because they have gotten a good amount of rain up there.

“It’s been like a gold rush up there because they’ve gotten rain,” he said.

The next cutting of hay will be coming up for the Bye’s, which would be their fourth cutting this year.

“We’re hoping for about a half-ton off of that cutting,” he said. “But it’s already starting to bloom, and once it starts blooming, it will also stop growing.”

Cuttings of hay in South Dakota were at 90 percent the week ending July 22, and 84 percent for the week ending July 15. This is above last year’s total of 71 percent, and also above the five-year average of 76 percent.

Gary Freeburg, of the Freeburg Hay Company in Gayville, said his hay has also been of good quality, but expects his yields to be down significantly this year.

“We’ve had two really nice cuttings,” he said. “However, we will be down probably by at least one-third of what our yields usually are.”

He noted Freeburg Hay typically produces about 5.5 to 6.5 tons of hay each year, and that total is predicted to be in the four to five ton range.

“Despite the drought, we are really trying to service our customers here within reason,” he added.

Freeburg said that he experienced the droughts in 1976 and 1988 in the state and said this has been as dry as he’s seen the area since that time.

In spite of the excessive heat and dry conditions, he said that the demand for hay has been very high.

“Our phone here doesn’t stop ringing,” Freeburg said. “We have been able to meet the demands of our customers, despite the lower yields.”

He added that some rain would really help a lot, but things are not a total disaster yet and he still has high hopes for getting in two more cuttings of hay this year.

Daugaard said the areas in Yankton, Vermillion and Sioux Falls had never had a drier month in their history than what they experienced last month.

“It makes it even more damaging when you combine the drought with hot temperatures,” he said. “Some ranchers are regretting the sale of hay from last year.”

Daugaard added there is still some hope that the FSA might open up wetlands in the region for haying and grazing.

“This is a very serious drought problem, but we still have some hope here,” he said.

Freeburg noted crop insurance allows farmers to hang on, and that folks in cattle will likely take the biggest hit from the drought because beef prices are down from where they normally are.

Bye added, despite the good quality of hay being produced, farmers still need to watch out for bugs getting into hay. When bugs bite hay, it becomes poisonous to alfalfa, causing it to stop growing.

“We really can’t do a heck of a lot during the drought and heat,” Bye said. “The only thing we can do is hope for the best and pray a lot.”

Yankton Welcomes United States Paralympic Archery Team

From left: Gov. Daugaard, his wife Linda and Bruce Cull, NFAA president, present the 2012 United States Paralympic Archery team with a card, signed by archers in the Yankton-area. The team arrived in Yankton on Monday to begin final preparations for the Paralympic games, which begin next month in London. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

The United States Paralympic archery team arrived in Yankton this week to begin final training for competition in London next month, with officials from across the state on hand to welcome them to South Dakota.

The team was met by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and his wife Linda on Tuesday, who wished the archers well and welcomed them to South Dakota.

“It’s great that the team came to Yankton,” Daugaard said. “It shows we can be a competitive place for athletes to train.”

Speaking to the athletes Tuesday, Daugaard added the last time he came to the National Field Archery Association (NFAA) facility was before the new renovations were complete, and that he was “astounded” when he saw how nice the new area in the facility was.

“The next step is making this an official Olympic training facility,” he said. “We want to welcome the team to Yankton and best of luck at the Paralympics.”

Yankton Mayor Nancy Wenande was also a part of the ceremony.

“We are blessed to have the team in Yankton,” she said. “We’re excited that you are sharing your talents with the rest of us around here.”

Some of the top names in archery are frequent visitors to Yankton because of the many national and international tournaments held in town every summer. Four of the archers who qualified for the Pan American trials last year — which were held in Yankton — are among the six who will represent Team USA at the London Olympics, which start Friday.

In addition, the NFAA facility has the only dedicated indoor 70-meter range in the country.

“There will probably be more of those to come, but this is the first one,” said Bruce Cull, NFAA president.

Cull added that his biggest goal is to become an official Olympic training facility, and the process on that has already begun.

“One of the biggest things we have here has been having these Olympians here,” Cull said. “Athletes want to utilize the facility here, and from our perspective, it couldn’t get any better than that.”

He added that when tournaments are hosted in Yankton, there are economic benefits for the entire area because of the additional money archers spend at local businesses.

“The main goal of the Olympians using the facility has been the ability to shoot their equipment in a controlled environment,” Cull said. “When they do have to go outside, their equipment is tuned properly after training      indoors.”

He added that having Gov. Daugaard at the facility shows how much the support archery has from state government officials.

Daugaard had high praise for Cull when he addressed the archers.

“Bruce has expanded the ability of the NFAA, which is great for archery,” he said.

The archers on the team hail from across the country, and for many this is their second or third Paralympic games. The team members spoke about how much it means for them to represent the United States at the event and that it is not about medals, but more about the camaraderie that athletes have with each other at the games.

Randi Smith, head coach of the Paralympic team, said she has enjoyed being able to train in Yankton.

“The process for picking facilities wasn’t long,” she said. “We wanted to train here because of the indoor shooting range and that way we could get our equipment tuned properly.”

She added that the people in town have been very nice and helpful to her and her team.

“My biggest goal is to help everyone be prepared and do the best they can at the Paralympics,” Smith said.

The team plans on taking a short break after the games, before beginning training for the 2013 archery championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

USA Paralympic Archery roster includes:

• Matt Stutzman, Iowa

• Jerry Shields, Florida

• Lee Ford, Georgia

• Jeff Fabry, California

• Eric Bennett, Arizona

• Russell Wolfe, Oklahoma

• Lewis Denton, Montana

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/07/25/community/doc500f6b076bb94919553304.txt

Biking And Building

Members of the “Bike and Build” bike ride from Providence to Seattle were hosted at the First United Methodist Church in Yankton Friday. The group is biking and building houses across the country to address the affordable housing issue and youth empowerment. (Andrew Atwal/P&D)

Cross-Country Bicycling Mission Stops In Yankton

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

A group of 30 college students from across the country are biking from coast to coast, a total of nearly 4,000 miles, in hopes of spreading the messages of affordable housing and youth empowerment to people across the country.

The group members started biking in Providence, R.I. in June, and will conclude their journey in Seattle by the end of August. They were staying in Yankton at the First United Methodist Church on Friday.

In addition to riding from Providence to Seattle, the group helps in building homes along the way. The members are part of the “Bike and Build” group, which has other bike routes across the country.

One of the route leaders, Neil Curran, said it took a lot of planning for the trip to come together as it has.

“All the route leaders coordinated the overnight stays, and other lodging and meals along the route,” he said. “We started planning the trip in January, in preparation for the June start.”

In order to become a route leader, Curran had to fill out a longer application than regular riders did. In addition, he had “four or five” phone interviews.

“In-person interviews were really out of the question because people that were applying were living all around the country,” he said.

Riders are offered eight different route choices, but Curran chose this route because he wanted to stay to the north. It also worked best with his school schedule.

“Another reason why I chose this route is because I wanted to see this part of the country,” he added.

He said he has enjoyed the towns the group has stayed in, as he said they all have “rolled out the red carpet” for their arrivals.

Curran said that so far there have been really no problems along the way, except for a few minor communication issues with host sites.

“We’ve really enjoyed every host that we’ve stayed with,” he said. “There haven’t been too many hiccups.”

One thing that is difficult for the group to prepare for is road closures. Curran said that sometimes road closures are not posted online, and the group often has to use maps and their GPS to navigate past the closures.

In addition to those detours, Curran said that he doesn’t think that many of the riders, including himself, were prepared for this heat.

“We have to get up a lot earlier than we normally would in order to prepare for and beat the heat,” he said. “We try to get our daily mileage in before it gets sweltering outside.”

In order to go on the trip, each rider must raise $4,500 — adding up to a total for the entire group of more than $167,000.

Members of the group said they were inspired to join “bike and build” because of their mission of addressing the affordable housing issues.

“I found out about the program through a friend,” said Alex Bloom, a student at Temple University. “I really wanted to try and help the affordable housing problem, and I thought this was the best way of doing that.”

Lauren Johnson, a student at Central Michigan University, said she was drawn to the ride for a number of different reasons.

“The main draw was the challenge of biking from the East to West Coast,” she said. “It’s not just raising money; it’s building houses, too.”

Bloom thanked the hosts that help the riders along the way.

“Without our hosts, we couldn’t exist as an organization,” he said. “They have helped us save a ton of money on lodging and food.”

“The support that we have gotten from our hosts has been amazing,” Arielle Parris said. “They have all been more than willing to help us out.”

One of the main reasons that riders chose the trip from Providence to Seattle was to see a different part of the country.

“I had a curiosity about the northwest, since not a lot of people have been there that I know,” said Michele Finkelstein, a student at DePaul University.

Riders noted they have had a lot of memorable and life changing experiences on the trip so far.

“One of my favorite parts of the trip so far was riding into Kent Falls in Connecticut,” said William Castellano, a student at Lynn University. “After the first few days of riding, it was nice to hang out and relax there for a few hours.”

Parris has also enjoyed all the scenery the riders have seen so far.

“I really loved the Sauk Rail Trail bike path in Iowa,” she said. “The fog was just enough so you can see the tops of the windmills. It was really beautiful.”

Other riders have enjoyed spending time with each other throughout the first month of the journey.

“I really felt we were a family after we rode through the Catskill Mountains in New York,” said Annie LaVigne, a Harvard student. “This was really a milestone moment for us because of all the hills we had to bike up.”

Some riders also mentioned biking in New York as being the highlight of the trip so far.

“Biking out of Ithaca was a really painful experience because of all the hills and mountains,” Bloom said. “When we finished, we could see the entire city and mountains below us, and seeing a physical representation of how hard we worked was so rewarding.”

Riders have also been “blown away” with the sense of adventure they have had biking from coast to coast. Bike riders from urban areas said they have enjoyed escaping the urban lifestyle, and that this trip has re-affirmed their faith in humanity and how generous some people are.

Despite all the groups successes, riders are not looking forward to finishing the trip in August. Many riders said they have not thought about going back into the “real world” when the trip ends. They think it is going to take a long time to adjust to their old eating habits and daily routines.

However, they are still enjoying the trip as it passes its midway point.

“The trip really makes you want to do the same thing for other people some day,” LaVigne said.

Johnson added, “You’re truly transforming yourself throughout the entire journey.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/07/19/community/doc50077ce51fe2c332703400.txt

Tourism Group Looks To Reach Out

During Wednesday’s board meeting of the Southeast South Dakota Tourism Association in Yankton, Cathy Buchheim of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau discusses some of the projects her organization is undertaking.(Kelly Hertz/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

The Southeast South Dakota Tourism Association held its regular board meeting on Wednesday, during which board members discussed new ways in reaching potential visitors to the area.

The agenda for the meeting included financial and marketing updates, an update on a travel media showcase slated for later this summer in Sioux Falls and an update on Blood Run Park near Sioux Falls.

Board members spoke highly of the fact that the association came out of last year in the black, and should be a similar projection for this year.

“We received an increase in our contract funding,” said Jacquie Fuks, executive director for the Southeast South Dakota Tourism Association. “Anything is better than going backwards.”

Fuks also gave an update on the new tourism website.

“There are still a few issues with the website that we need to work out,” she said. “However, people are staying on the website longer, which is one of the goals we had.”

She added that the tourism magazines and brochures that are on the new website function much better than they had before and noted that the new events calendar has been a big draw for people visiting the site.

“The website is still a work in progress,” said Cathy Buchheim of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Board members also spoke at length of the successes they have had in marketing this year.

“The number one state that people are requesting information about the area come from Ohio,” Fuks said. “This is still very surprising to us.”

The travel media showcase in Sioux Falls will allow tourism representatives from around the region to spotlight the area to a group of journalists and exhibitors. So far 65 journalists and 50 exhibitors are registered for the showcase.

Buchheim, who is heading up the showcase from the tourism association, said this year they will try a “clips for cash” initiative. This will be aimed at journalists who decide to write about the area getting a reward for turning in their articles to the association. The reward would be paid at the 2013 showcase.

“Fan tours in the area continue to become more valuable for businesses,” Buchheim said. “We are excited for the showcase, and it should be good for the area.”

The board also considered its rates for members to join the association. Rates are currently $210 per year for association members. However, the board is considering changing those rates and having a different rate for out-of-state members.

“We need to make sure our membership rates are in line with other regions in the area,” Buchheim said.

Fuks added the need to continue to tell member businesses about all the benefits they get for their membership fee, including space on the tourism website.

“What it comes down to is paying a big fee to get a lot of stuff, or paying a small fee and having to pay extra money to get more benefits,” said Jeff Van Meeteren, the regional park supervisor for the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GFP).

The board also discussed tourism numbers in the region this year.

“We are seeing lots of positive numbers for tourism in the area so far,” Fuks said.

Board members added that visitor inquiries, car counts at visitors centers and guide requests are all up from where they have been in previous years. State park numbers are also up about 20 percent this year from last year.

Van Meeteren also gave an update on the Blood Run Nature Area. He noted that the GFP added an additional 60 acres to the park, bringing the total area to nearly 600 acres. The GFP also plans on adding another area of land that would serve as an entrance to the entire park. If all goes according to plan, Blood Run could become the newest South Dakota state park in 40 years.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 19 in Renner.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Local Educator Sees A Boundless Future In Podcasts

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

After leaving Mount Marty College a few years ago, a local man has develop a passion for educational podcasts.

For many students and educators, new technology often shapes the way they learn and teach. Podcasting is a fairly new technology that allows educators to reach their students in ways that, in years prior, would seem impossible.

A podcast is a digital audio recording, that may contain images, and can be used by instructors to deliver content to students in an easy-to-use format.

One local man even left his job at Mount Marty to produce his own educational podcasts for everyone to use.

Mark Winegar, who taught at MMC for 12 years, has produced more than 400 podcasts that are all available for free on YouTube. Most of the podcasts are on computer science, which is his main area of expertise, but others are on distance learning and other topics.

He allows other educators to use his podcasts for their classroom materials and they can embed the video on to the course website, or simply send the students a link to the video to supplement their work inside the classroom.

Winegar first came to South Dakota several decades ago when he worked for the Zenith engineering group software department, even though he did not enjoy his time there.

“Computer programming and engineering became a commodity,” he said. “They were just trying to ship their product out the door, so the joy of engineering and computers was out of it for me.”

During his time at MMC, Winegar began to take a passion in using technology to enhance his lessons in the classroom and further connect with students’ needs.

“Teaching with the internet had always been an interest of mine,” he said. “During my time at Mount Marty, I began to see podcasting in action and I would include podcasts and YouTube videos into the course materials.”

Winegar added that podcasts allow professors to cover even more of the information in class that they ever could have before.

“With podcasting, professors can assume students have watched the videos and that everyone is up to speed on the given course topic,” he said.

He added that many companies, in addition to institutions, also use podcasts to connect to their employees.

Winegar cited an example of car companies using podcasts to get their sales teams up to speed on new models.

“The sales team, for example, can access the podcast at any time, so there is no need for a meeting,” he said. “They can access the podcast on their desktop computer, tablet, laptop and smartphone.”

Winegar noted that podcasts can be very powerful, just by giving people access to information.

“There are very few K-12 teachers that are using podcasts,” he said. “Imagine if all those teachers made just a few podcasts, everything would be available for the public to consume and become more knowledgeable on.”

Winegar encourages other educators and experts to get the information out to the public domain, as podcasts are fairly simple to create.

“Even though it takes me about three hours to produce one podcast, they are easy to produce, and you only really need a computer with a microphone to produce them,” he said.

Jamie Foster, who works in the department of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida, has done a great deal of research on the impact of podcasting in the classroom.

“A big advantage of podcasting is that it is an asynchronous learning tool,” she said in an email interview with the Press and Dakotan. “Students can listen to the material as many times as they need to and whenever they want to.”

She noted that this past year 100 percent of her students listened to the podcasts. In addition, more than 70 percent of her students either agreed or strongly agreed that podcasts have helped contribute to their learning experience.

“Another major impact of podcasting is that it has the potential to free up class time, so that the instructor can devote more time to hands-on projects,” Foster added.

Both Winegar and Foster noted that podcasting has helped facilitate a process called “flipping the classroom.”

“Flipping your classroom is basically throwing away lecture on some days and telling students that they are responsible for learning the material,” Winegar said. “Professors will provide the materials, which could include podcasts and readings.”

Foster has found that one of the major shifts between 2008, when she began her podcasting research, and today is that students are more aware of podcasting now. In 2008, nearly 60 percent of her students had never listened to a podcast before, compared to less than 10 percent today. In addition, none of her 2008 students had taken a class that used podcasts, a number that today stands at more than 40 percent.

“Occasionally we still get a few students who aren’t comfortable with the technology,” she said. “However, most students really enjoy the podcasting and are actively using it to learn the course material.”

Another big advantage of podcasting, as Foster said, is for professors that might live far away from where they teach.

“I live 165 miles away from the main campus, so for me I use podcasts to convey some of the material to my students each week,” she said. “Since I can’t be on campus each day, it has enabled me to generate a hybrid class of in-person learning, as well as the podcasts for distance learning.”

Foster noted that since she began using the podcasts, fewer students have come to ask questions in her office hours because they can simply re-listen to the material from the lectures.

However, there are some big concerns that people might have for using podcasts in the classroom.

“People might have concerns that podcasting can just simply replace all teacher-student personal interactions, and I do not agree with that philosophy,” Foster said. “I, and most of my students, agree that podcasting is a learning tool to supplement the traditional in-person classes.”

“Podcasts are just like a book in the library, except the library is in our pockets or on our computer,” Winegar said.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/07/16/community/doc50037f9e97aeb821014212.txt

Mount Marty College Announces New Additions To Student Affairs Staff

andrew.atwal@yankton.net