Trying to evoke old 70’s TV shows is a full-time job. I’m sure that someone, somewhere is drawing a nice salary doing so. Me, I’m just trying to get the caffeine past the blood/brain barrier.
Which brings me to this interesting article from the Seattle Times, by way of the reliably interesting Podcasting News. Seems that lots of Seattle colleges and universities are finding podcasts very much to their liking. Some quick points from the article, with even quicker comments:
“Podcast lectures at UW have been downloaded 37,000 times. At both UW and BCC, the general response from students has been: Thank you!” Podcast lectures have real value for students, not just if they’ve missed class, but if they want to review the experience. Listening to a lecture again after a day of classes and activities, Freshman Amy Somermeyer notes, “It’s nice because I can do it whenever I want…. “You’re sitting in your room, but you feel like part of the classroom at the same time.”
Students don’t use podcasts just to skip class. “UW professors worried that students would be more likely to skip class, but attendance has either stayed the same or improved.”
Even if students do use podcasts to skip class, the benefits still outweigh the drawbacks: “Richard Strickland, an oceanography professor at the UW, said the podcasts do make it easier for lazy students to skip his 100-level class, which is in a large lecture hall. But ‘the amount of help it gives to good and responsible students, who need flexibility,’ outweighs the drawbacks, Strickland said.” Important point: design the environment and craft initiatives to support good and responsible students, not to put the disengaged under surveillance.
The community wants this material, too. “The first few months of the program at UW produced some surprises: A notable portion of the lecture downloads were coming from people outside the UW community.” Unfortunately, copyright concerns have led UW to put its material behind an authentication barrier. My own concern is that colleges and universities will miss one of their greatest opportunities to connect with the public that, directly or indirectly, supports its efforts. As much as we can, we should keep our podcasts and other intellectual content open.
The overwhelming majority of students are listening to podcasts on their computers, not on their mobile devices. I see this as perhaps changing in the next year or two, but the stats here are very interesting, especially if they suggest that residential students seek stable locations–a desk, a study area, a library–for thoughtful engagement with this content. (Non-residential students would probably use their car stereos more often, I’m guessing.) The point here is that colleges and universities provide learning spaces that don’t just replicate life outside their campuses. In some respects, I’m thinking, students are still looking for some kinds of sanctuary within the academy, some sense of being set apart for a special purpose.
Professors are receiving public speaking instruction, with particular attention to speaking “like a radio broadcaster.” Calling Bart Prater of WROV Roanoke. Your lecture is waiting.
Related
I am waiting for the reincarnationiteration of radio theater in podcasts.
Gardner, if Forrester is right, and something like one percent of Americans listen to podcasts, is academia actually helping lead the way?
Forrester’s figures are definitely a minority report, but as you point out, if they’re right it may be that academia is indeed leading the way. A lovely thought. A consummation devoutly to be wished!
When I listen to academic podcasts I find I need to be sitting and focusing on something even if it’s a blank pad of paper. So I tend to listen to podcasts on my computer and save my 40G iPod for Stevie Wonder’s music!