Big Sky, Small World (BSSW)
The Carroll College student podcast, Big Sky, Small World (BSSW), began in the 2020-2021 academic year as an initiative founded by three senior Communication & Public Relations Students: Jesus Parra, Warren Wolcott, and Josie Snyder. These students discovered that Educational Technology Director Dan Case had ordered podcasting equipment, but it wasn't yet utilized. Jesus, Warren, and Josie produced four episodes during that year before graduating in May 2021, During the 2021-2022 academic year, Communications Professor Dr. Alan Hansen encouraged students to get involved with the podcast on a sort of volunteer basis, and students produced 22 episodes and published them on Spotify. Our podcasts are currently available on Spotify and will soon be available on Apple podcasts.
Dr. Hansen began to teach the course Podcasting Production in 2023, and students produced 13 episodes during that semester. In Fall 2023, they produced 16 episodes, including our 50th episode, "Stoichiometry" (December 2023). In Spring 2024, we had our most productive semester yet by dropping 25 episodes. For the first time, the podcast will continue over the summer, and we expect to drop our 100th episode sometime during the Fall Semester of 2024.
The podcast is sponsored by the Carroll College Communication Center, and Dr. Hansen advises the podcasting class and serves as executive producer of the podcast. The podcast remains student-driven. Students produce segments of the podcast and then these are combined to form weekly (sometimes twice-weekly) episodes.
The BSSW podcast also receives content for the podcast from assignments in Carroll College classes. Currently, the BSSW podcast does not have a budget allocation, but Dr. Hansen was able to raise funds for equipment and outreach activities for Saints Giving Day. The podcast works as a kind of incubator for students to begin podcasting on their own. So far, we have jumpstarted three additional student podcasts.
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