Along with bundle inst noodles , supernumerary - farseeing bedsheets and photos of loved ones before heading to college in a few calendar week , U.S. students may consider add portable medium players to their higher - teaching tilt . Boston - area universities are among those progressively integrating podcasting into the schoolroom technology mix .
The pedantic role of podcasts is proving disputatious . Some professors argue that scholar will be discouraged from attending class if lectures are made usable for downloading , while others are not keen on being recorded . There are also noetic belongings concerns .
While those are issues to contend with , this region ’s universities and colleges are experimenting with podcasting . The Boston area is dense with higher - training insane asylum and is noted as well for the presence of technology companies . summate to those chemical element technologically savvy student .
“ It is connecting to a generation who may choose to view and listen than read , ” Emerson College ’s Jon Satriale read ofthat school’spodcasting opening . He is Emerson ’s news media technology manager and is help to mix podcasting into the college ’s curriculum .
Emerson , Northeastern University , and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology , among other Boston - area schools , have launched podcasting efforts .
Emerson records lectures for podcast on a case - by - case basis , according to Satriale . The college finally design to implement a system that read most public lecture and arrive at them available for downloading .
Emerson ’s student groups and pedantic departments also are witness uses for portable medium players .
The schoolhouse ’s environmental grouping recorded a speech Massachusetts Senator John Kerry delivered last calendar month in Boston and turned it into a podcast and videocast . Satriale and the calling services section late tested podcasts and videocasts of grad who were interviewed for Book of Job advice . Speeches fork over by college guest lecturers are also turn into podcasts and videocasts .
The digital divide between educatee with and without portable euphony player is not an issue for colleges that offer computers with Internet access .
“ An iPod is a sumptuousness that allows you to take it on the go , ” Satriale said . “ The important thing is let a electronic computer . Any college that is plug in to the cyberspace has computers in its library that student can apply . ”
Northeastern University ’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies ( SPCS ) introduced podcast last twelvemonth , grant to Christopher Hopey , the school ’s frailty President of the United States and dean . Between 50 and 70 lectures are podcast . The college ’s scholar body , which is mostly contain of working pro and students over the age of 25 , fostered the demand for podcasting , said Hopey .
“ They ’re journey for work or have family line commitments , ” he enjoin . “ We recollect it is the right tool for our students to graduate and do something with their lives . ”
SPCS students can download missed lectures and catch up with coursework . Other professor podcast lectures and utilize class clip for discussion instead of lecturing .
Hopey sees podcast as a accessory to the college experience and has establish that scholarly person who sum podcast to schoolroom learning are more engaged in the material .
“ Students are able to expand their knowledge al-Qa’ida . Podcasting is just one more of those technologies that contribute one more modality of get word . ”
Northeastern has plans to roll out podcasting to all of its undergraduate , but has no time melodic line for the expansion .
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) begin experimenting with videocasting after a school frailty president build up a videocast indexing system last year .
“ We leapfrogged the whole audio podcast and decided to go directly into video podcasts , ” said Larry Gallagher , director , MIT video production and digital applied science and distance education delivery .
MIT ’s foray into the medium pop by tape two lectures , a professor take a tutorial and a teacher ’s helper holding a homework help session .
Students praised MIT ’s videocasting offerings and enjoyed the public toilet of accessing the material . Students also said that they used the service as an addition to class eruditeness .
MIT produces a videocast magazine and videocasts of research , athletics and particular lectures , among other subjects . Audio podcasts are also available for some of these events .
Despite early success , there are issues to work through . Besides enable students to decamp stratum , recording and distributing college speech might create rational dimension woes , while some staff might shun being register .
A sloping trough refer to during a lecture is bonny use , but placing a video of that talking to on the Web for downloading to an iPod may advance right of first publication business organization , Gallagher said .
“ Some prof opine the engineering science extend an easy way for students to becharm up on missed classes , others are uncomfortable being record in any fashion and some professors find the technology ready it easier for pupil to miss classes and escape key in - class interactions , ” said Emerson ’s Satriale .
So , shoal see portable media ’s role in academia as develop .
“ We intend on continuing with our podcast experiment , ” Gallagher say . “ Where it go from there we ’re not sure . ”
“ Technology makes scholarly person more engaged , more into learnedness . It also make things a fleck shivery because we do n’t know what pass next with it , ” Hopey enounce .
Student demand for a new method of learning may further drive the acceptance of portable media , even among those who understand the need to show up for class .
“ Podcasting is a bully means of relay information and I support it , ” aver Danny Zach , an Emerson Jnr . “ But you need to go to class to ask motion and to have that classroom interaction . ”
