Center for Online Learning
Podcasting vs. Streaming Guide
We have prepared this short guide for you to understand the differences and similarities between the two. This will help you decide how to handle media with your courses.
| Podcasting | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| PC / Mac compatible? | Yes |
Yes |
| View without portable media device? | Yes |
Yes |
| Must be downloaded to computer? | Yes |
No |
| Can be a recording? | Yes |
Yes |
| Is a single file? | No |
Yes |
| Can be linked inside WebCT Vista? | Yes |
Yes |
The essential difference between the two is that if you simply want to post a file to your computer that your students watch at their leisure on their computer, with little or no time spent downloading, then streaming is the way to go. If you would rather the students downloaded the file to a portable media device or to their computer, and you want the downloads to occur each time you post a new file, then podcasting is the way to go.