2008 Woodie Awards
Podcasting could be wave of future for class lectures
By: Ryan Martin
Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: News
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The idea may sound too good to be true to the typical student whose busy schedule usually consists of juggling school and work, but it's not. The new technology, called podcasting, is a way of delivering audio and video MP3 files via the Internet.
Podcasting is different from downloading audio files in that it automatically downloads new files to subscriber's computers.
Users subscribe to files, which are delivered regularly, and hear or view them when they wish. The individual who sends out the subscription uses a special file format called Really Simple Syndication (RSS) to deliver the files. Users can subscribe to the feeds using an aggregator, which is software that periodically checks for and downloads new files.
"We are working with podcasts and RSS," said Daniel Bell, instructional designer and developer for Webster. "I work with faculty members to implement technology into the classroom for the purpose of improving teaching and learning. One of the projects we are working on deals with podcasting for the purpose of pushing audio recordings."
Some other universities have also begun using podcasts.
In an e-mail interview, Richard Strickland, professor of the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington, said this is his first semester using podcasts.
"It's very helpful," Strickland said. "I have recorded lectures and posted them online as streaming audio for two years without administrative help. Now they do it for me and the podcasting mechanism delivers the audio automatically to the computers of the students who subscribe. The downloads are in the thousands, which suggests the students like it too."
University of Washington professor Douglass Merrell reinforced the idea that students enjoy the benefits of podcasting.
"It has been very popular with the students in my course who use it in a variety of ways to supplement the lecture sessions and to review for exams," Merrell said.
Alan Norman, dean of information technology at Washington University in St. Louis, said the school is now beginning a project which will allow the students to podcast many events.