Learning about the podcast technology and uses was interesting last class. This was not the first time I had seen podcasts, but it was the first time I had seen them used so well. I had found podcasts boring in my previous encounters, but they had been used only with sound and a picture as a background. I think these can be helpful tools in the classroom but not replacements for instruction. Podcasts favor auditory learners and most people are not auditory learners, they are some combination of visual and tactile. With that said, a podcast that walks individuals through a website would combine the visual and auditory components of learning. I would be hesitant to replace "lectures" with podcasts, but supplementary material could be quite good.
If people look outside of academia for industry jobs I think we will start to see podcasts being used more and more by companies interested in diseminating information. I've been on the Department of Education website and seen podcasts. So, this technology would be good to know even for those individuals not looking to go into academia. All in all I found this to be one of the more promising pieces of technology I have seen used, especially when it is used well.
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I agree that the podcasts were really neat and definitely an important innovation in instruction. What do you think about the problems with this, however? Do students engage as well when they are not watching a real person and cannot get immediate feedback? And, are they more likely to not pay attention when it is on the internet with millions of other distractions at their fingertips? What does this mean for the profession of academia when one teacher could develop a class that could hypothetically be used nationwide at all schools?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you found podcast technology to be interesting. You both ask some good questions that may help you to develop teaching methods that will work in your discipline - maybe techniques for using statistical software or podcasts combined with self tests?
ReplyDeleteI like this suggestion Sherry - particularly, the statistical software. How many times would I have liked a tutorial for understanding a more complicated test or analysis.
ReplyDeleteChristen - I totally agree with your fear of students "checking out" from a podcast and recall a moment vividly when I did the same thing. I'm not sure if it was boredom or tiredness or wanting to fold laundry rather than listen to someone babble from my laptop. The downfall of podcasts (not present in books) is the inability to skim for key points. :)