Podcasting in Plain English

Since iTunes U lists podcasts, this Podcasting in Plain English tutorial might be useful.  I love the "... in Plain English" series. 

Podcasting is very simple, and it can be a versatile educational tool.  Teachers can really use podcasts and podcasting to reinforce lessons, or to supplement lessons with real life applications or different perspectives.

Podcasting...door to new possibilities

K-12 teachers are learning how podcasts -- either podcasts already posted at iTunes U, or podcasts that they or their students create -- offer a new world of possibilities to increase the effectiveness of their instruction.  Educators can use iTunes to locate supplemental materials from universities, public TV or radio, museums, or other schools (and their students) that engage students.  Other teachers create podcasts of their lectures or review material and post them to iTunes U for their students to download.  Others encourage students to create podcasts on various topics which can be posted at iTunes U and made available to people around the world.  

An online article by Maya Payne Smart that summarizes the use of and appeal of iTunes U in the K-12 environment -- In One Ear: iTunes U Puts iPods to Good Use.

Can iTunes U replace professors?

Okay, so naturally I think to myself, "can I really educate myself by listening to podcasts of lectures?"

Researchers Dani McKinney, Jennifer L. Dyck and Elise S. Luber, in the Department of Psychology at SUNY in Fredonia, NY, wondered the same thing. So they did a study. The title of their report is called, "iTunes University and the classroom: Can podcasts replace Professors?" Here's a link to that study (I'm not allowed to post the pdf on blogger.com):

www.fredonia.edu/department/psychology/pdf/CAE1263.pdf

McKinney, Dyck and Elise wanted to know the impact of exposure to subject matter via classroom lecture versus via podcast using a ipod or mp3 player. They divided college students into two groups. Both groups were given the same Powerpoint presentation, but one group received the accompanying lecture by the professor in the classroom, and the other group received the lecture via podcast on their ipod/mp3 player. One month later both groups were tested on the material. The podcast group performed significantly better.

Note taking played an important role in the transference of knowledge in this study. The lecture group were exposed to the classroom lecture once, and were allowed to take notes and interact with professors during that time. The podcast group did not have access to the professor to ask questions, but they could listen to the podcast as many times as they liked as they took notes. The study results showed that the ability to listen to the podcast multiple times combined with note taking increased the transference of knowledge. Students who did not take notes in either group did not receive high scores.

So, this study doesn't mean teachers will be replaced by podcasts, but it does show that providing student access to podcasts of lectures so that they can supplement their note taking will most likely increase the amount of the content they will learn.

ITunes U: The end of classroom learning?

On March 30, 2007, Apple announce the launch of iTunes U, "a dedicated area within the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) featuring free content such as course lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights and campus tours provided by top US colleges and universities including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Duke University and MIT." (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/05/30itunesu.html) The idea is to provide free access to educational media to students, teachers, or anyone interested in expanding their horizons (learning something new).

iTunes U is a free service accessed through itunes.com, that allows educators to post media in the AAC, MP3, MPEG-4 or PDF format for access by their students or the world. Access to content can be restricted to only a course's registered students, or open to anyone in the world. Downloaded media can be played on a computer, an MP3 player, an iPod, or iPhone.

For a short video introduction to iTunes U visit the iTunes section of the www.apple.com/education/moble-learning website, about mid-way do the page.

iTunes U offers approximately 200,000 audio and video files from colleges and universities around the world -- Oxford, Princeton, Yale, Cambridge, MIT. But one can also find content from museums and PBS (Public Broadcast Stations), as well as state education organizations. And the range is topics is amazing.

But does access to classroom lectures and a wide variety of educational materials mean that face-to-face classroom learning will no longer needed?

Welcome to my IDE611 Blog

Pleasure before business.
This is Ruby. She's a goldendoodle (half golden retriever and half standard poodle). She's 8 months old and is sweet heart (except when chooses not to listen).