Middlebury College’s Alex Chapin provides an interesting analysis, quite technically detailed, of how podcasting via iPods and iTunes could be part of a robust student-centered knowledgebase. Alex shared this information in a recent presentation at NERCOMP.
Some of the information is a little out-of-date, not surprising given the rapid pace of change and development in this area: after all, we’ve gone from version 4.9 to version 6.x of iTunes in about four months, during which time two major iPod product introductions have also occurred. I also want to explore more thoroughly the issues surrounding display of metadata on the portable device. There are HCI issues with density / quantity of information on the small screen as well as sheer usability concerns when the layers of operability grow beyond a certain point. That said, the real value here is the depth of Alex’s thinking on mobile audio as a campus-wide learning platform. The audio capture ideas are particularly inviting, especially now that the new video iPod can record at redbook CD quality (16 bit / 44.1 khz), a fact I learned from Adam Curry, not Apple.
Thanks, Alex. Recommended.