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Schools all over the country have
flocked to podcasting as a new medium to assist
the teaching profession. Professors are using
podcasts to instruct students and get their messages
out. Podcasting is not restricted to one educational
sector, professors at prestigest colleges from
Bentley to Purdue have flocked to this medium.
A growing number of professors are
recording their lectures, the term coursecasting
has been adopted in academia. Podcast lectures
are used as study tools, and are available for
students who might have missed class. Some podcasts
are password restricted to students who are enrolled
in that specific class. While other institution's
publicly post their podcasts and offer non-enrolled
students insight into the class material.
Why has podcasting been embraced
by the educational field? The adoption of RSS
is likely in part due to the demographic higher-education
attraction. Most college students are young and
well educated. Because of their age the students
have embraced technology, they have always had
technology as a component to their life. This
demographic have grown up with computers their
entire lives, technology has always been an integral
tool in their education.
Bentley initially adopted podcasting
in the course IT 101, to introduce students to
the concepts of technology as they relate to business,
ethics and social responsibility, global commerce
and culture. Students are not only required to
listen to podcasts, but also to produce their
own podcasts. Bentley, understanding the importance,
influence and power of technology felt that students
would benefit by obtaining a complete and thorough
understanding of the podcasting medium.
Certain subject material lends
itself to podcasting more than others, for example:
foreign language lessons are ideal for podcasts
because students can listen to accents, intonations,
and speech patterns. Students listening to foreign
language podcasts are able to hear and experience
the language outside of the classroom.
Some educators are using videocasts
to demonstrate science labs and experiments. The
portability of the videocasts make it easier for
students to review labs, when critically analyzing
their data.
Educators are known for their philanthropy
and desire to share their knowledge. Technology
and podcasting as a communication medium have
made it easier for educators to collaborate, share
and provide material in a portable format. Podcasting
allows professors to extend their reach outside
the classroom. With the hectic pace today's students
keep between classes, commuting and employment,
podcasts fit, allowing students to maximize their
commute and use their time efficiently while juggling
it all. Just as home computers have become an
integral tool in the educational field, todays
hectic lifestyles make the need for educational
podcasts and videocasts only more evident.
Additional Resources: How
Podcasts and RSS are Used in Education http://www.small-business-software.net/rss-and-academics.htm
Locate Educational Feeds
Educational Feeds - http://www.educational-feeds.com
Educational Podcast Network - http://www.epnweb.org/
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS
feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages
marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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