My experiment with podcasting

Kim Pearson — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:04:11 -0600

I agree that podcasting as it's done now doesn't capture the real flavor of a class, but I think it can have some value. I generally try to break my 80-minute class sessions into 20-minute segments, one of which is a mini-lecture. I have recorded some of those mini-lectures to my laptop using Audacity and then posted them to an Odeo podcast that Link to our courseware system. But students who used the podcasts also had the class slides or handouts, as well as their classmates' discussion board posts reporting back on in-class activities. I haven't done action research to find out what the podcasts specifically contributed to student learning, but I suspect that it would be marginal in my classes, since my approach to teaching is very constructivist. In more traditionally-taught classes, the result might be different.

All of that said, I think your ideas for incorporating more of a social media approach to the use of podcasting has definite merit. I think there would have to be a lot of attention to usability, though, because as you describe it, the additional prep time needed to make the best use of the technolgy sounds daunting.

Thanks, as always, for a thought-provoking post.

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Well, my kids aren't in college yet,

ahermitt — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:10:00 -0600

But I was once...

I think podcasting would have helped my in those classes where I just didn't get it... especially if there was a pause and replay button!

Student don't need a full classroom experience, they can go to class for that, but sometimes, they wish they could just slow the teacher down a little bit.

Write your plans in pencil, and give God the eraser.

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My experiment with podcasting

Well, my kids aren't in college yet,