Podcast your lectures?

This sounds like it could be beneficial to future students; however, I am left thinking that it also sounds kind of repetitive of how classes are already being taught. As students, we are given text book chapters to read before most classes to prepare us for the lecture. Usually the lecture isn’t really a lecture though if you have actually read the assigned materials before hand, it is more like a review from the teachers perspective with some added notes on occasion. My question is: Are they trying to use these podcasts as a replacement to book reading or as an addition? I do like the idea of being able to meet in smaller groups to further discuss lecture material though. I guess what I am saying is that I think it could potentially be beneficial down the road for larger classes, but I think it would be kind of pointless for smaller classes like Robert’s Style & Design course.

It’s hard to believe the amount of technology that is becoming available daily. A year ago I did not even know what a podcast was, but it is exciting as well. I think this could be very beneficial for students because they could go back and review the lectures at any given time as a study reference. The only thing that worries me is that by providing the lecture as a podcast that you listen to on your own time, it could get overwhelming if you were taking four or five classes. I would love to try this with one class and see how it works, I just don’t know if I could handle listening to four lectures daily and meeting in small groups everyday. Maybe Robert should try it and see how his students respond.

I believe that this would be a good idea provided that the teachers understand that students might not listen to the podcast. There would have to be some incentive for the student to listen on their own time. I know that you mention that the students would discuss the podcast in class, but there should also be a penalty for those who didn’t.
Whenever teachers do outside assignments, there are always those students who do not participate because they do not feel it is worth their “precious” time. I think that if teachers were smart they would give pop-quizzes at random on the content of the podcast. While the idea of a podcast is fantastic, there are always those few students who get the idea would get lost on. I do however think that this will be the norm in the near future and I am excited that I understand the technology before it is required. This is a first for me.

I believe podcasts could be beneficial to introductory classes. Just your standard lecture and tests class. But as you get more in your major I don’t believe this to be as beneficial. As your classes progress I believe you should get more hands on with your major. This is what you’re studying to hopefully have a career in later, so the least you can do is work with it. I believe that it could be beneficial to a certain degree as being supplemental to a class. To still have your traditional lecture but then having the podcast issued two or three days after. This way you still have people attending class and not just relying on something to regurgitate the information. Going to class to listen to lectures is beneficial because you are then able to ask questions about things you don’t understand. So how would the communication work between the professor and students? It seems like it would be more complicated emailing the professor all the time with questions, and then the professor should share the question with the entire class. Otherwise you may have the same question being asked 200 times. So a traditional lecture with a supplemental podcast and possibly a forum for the professor and students to use would be the best method for teaching in my opinion.

Podcasts for lectures is one of the most asinine ideas I have ever heard of. A classroom lecture is more personal and you can ask questions directly. There is more feeling of involvement for students…giving opinions and so-on. Plus, I believe there is a factor of laziness that could arrise for either student or teacher/professor. If professors in our field, PR/Communications, were to podcast their lectures, then each lecture would be contradictory to their subjects. For instance, a professor gives a lecture on proper communication skills; to podcast would not be interpersonal which is the basis of PR and communications. Another factor dealing with lectures by podcast is that students and parents paying such high tuitions would be, in a way, ripped off. We pay so much money that podcasting make it too easy for a professors. If podcasts are allowed, then tuition should go down substantially. There would be no challenge of thought, etc.

I think this sounds like a great idea, however I don’t believe it will work as well in practice as it sounds. It’s no secret that college students are lazy, I don’t believe they will want to listen to lectures outside of classtime and then go to class. Maybe it will work in the beginning, but after awhile students will not be listening to the lectures therefore making the class time futile. This is also more time demanding on teachers and requires them to learn new tools to create podcasts and they will ask for more money. But more than these reasons, I believe it takes away the fun in teaching. Anyone can put pocasts on the internet, but most teachers have a passion for teaching students and seeing them learn and this will take away from their joy of their job. It will also have negative influence on the students because they will learn from their computers and not develop relationships with their teachers. This has a negative impact because builiding relationships is a big part of many professions these days. I think podcasting lectures may take over for some classes, but for most classes it is better to give lectures in the traditional setting of a classroom. I am not opposed, however, to creating podcasts of lectures as an additional supplement to the class.

I think this is no different than having a class that is taught online. Perhaps, the method the material is discused is going to be different, but really it seems no better or worse than allowing students to take online courses. An instructor may face a challenge with getting his students to continue listening to the podcasts after a certain amount of time has passed. College students seem to have the attention span of a hummingbird and a professor may face problems with getting and keeping the class’ attnetion throughout the semester. Overall, I think it is a positive idea that would work.

At first I thought podcast lectures would be very beneficial. If you missed class, you wouldn’t have to stress about it and it’d be a great tool to study for tests along with your lecture notes.

But the idea of not having class took me by surprise. We all know most students are lazy. Students wouldn’t ever have to go to class anymore and would have to listen to the podcast on their own time. As a student, it would be harder for me to find time to listen to a podcast than actually go to class.

It would make class completely technological…there would be no face-to-face interaction! People skills are a necessity in our world today and it is constantly disintegrating.

If you aren’t as tech-savy, are you just left in the dust?

I think it’s a good idea in theory. Students can listen and review lectures on their own. You would no longer have to worry about if you got ever single word the professor said, you could just play it back.

It would be a stretch in responsibility for the average student. They could no longer being able to show up for class with the only requirement being awake, but now have to actually have the responsiblity to listen to the lecture.

In reality, I think some students won’t listen at all and this is a huge downside. I know I have a dozen french CD’s that have made great coasters. But, in retrospect I also made a C in the class, which is exactly what I deserved. I didn’t put in the time that was expected so I got the grade to show for it.

Another downside is the human aspect of lectures. My favorite classes to go to have been the ones where the teacher has been animated and engaged with the students during a lecture. One of them says he has to make constant movement for our ADHD minds to pay attention. And he’s right…funny, but right. These classes are the ones I don’t let the information just fall out of my head onto the paper and then it’s lost forever. I think podcast lectures with a later group discussion would just be boring.

I think that podcast lectures are potentially great tools for University classes, not as replacement for books or a complete replacement for traditional lectures necessarily, but as supplemental instruction. Podcasts would open a world of possibility to academia. Students could download the podcast to an ipod and take their lectures anywhere. It would be great for commuters, online classes or just your average on-the-go student. At first, I was concerned with student willingness, but think about it… do you think more people would read their text or listen to a more succinct podcast-lecture on the subject.
On that note, podcasts would not only be good for convenience sake, but also for the sake of true higher education. First of all, I am an audio learner. I would love to have podcasts of particularly difficult lectures to go back and re-take notes and further my studying. Also, I think that by providing podcast pre-traditional lecture, professors would spare those who do the outside work in class the painful regurgitation of the readings. Professors and classmates could truly challenge their minds and be challenged by others and participate in class discussions like class discussions were designed to be. Granted, you will always have students who do not get their moneys worth from college classes. What can you do? I do think that podcasts would shift their indifference and provide a higher qualilty education for all.

I actually wrote a blog about this last semester, from one of Robert’s Style and Design lectures about podcasts and how they were changing the face of classrooms and teaching methods used.

Personally, having a lecture solely based on a podcast has its ups and downs. As far as the positive’s go, there are a couple. First of all, this method of lecturing could be extremely useful for non-traditional students or those that are taking night classes, while working a full time job. Podcast lectures allow for the student to listen to the lecture at their convenience and the student can listen to the lecture over and over again. This makes for a great study tool for tests and final exams and for taking notes. Plus, when a student gets tired of listening to the lecture, he or she can take a and break and come back to it, which allows for better retention.

However, there are some downsides to this technology as well. For starters, although this professor is using class time to discuss the podcasted lecture, it can be assumed that class attendance will be low for many “traditional” college students. Let’s face it, it is difficult to get students to come to class when professors are lecturing about information that will be on a test. By providing the lecture to them, without the student even having to come to class will ultimately decrease class attendance. Plus, I think there is something to be said for having a lecture with discussion involved. When the lecture is podcasted, the student losses something by not being able to immediately ask a question or for clarification.

Although there are some ups and downs, podcasting lectures could be a beneficial supplement to a lecture given in the classroom. They are a great idea and will probably be seen more and more.

I think there is definitely benefit to having lectures submitted as podcasts. This will provide the students with a “hard copy” of the material so they can listen to it as often as they need in order to fully understand the material. However, I think the negatives far outweigh the positives on this. For example, it’s hard enough to get some students to go to class, read the material, take notes, etc. Providing the lectures as podcasts would give students even more reason to not go to class and not put in the time expected to do well in a class. I’m pretty sure that if a professor simply posted links to podcasts of lectures, the students would not go to class, not listen to the lectures right away, and would choose to have a day of lecture right before the exam when they would listen to all the podcasts back to back and use that as their form of studying. And for those students who are visual learners rather than audio learners (and it seems that more and more students are, thanks to television) this wouldn’t do them any good, because I don’t know many students who would actually take notes on an audio lecture, esp. if they could listen to it as many times as they wanted. But back to the upside, things are changing rapidly with teaching methods, so it would seem true that so do learning and study methods. So maybe the students would adjust and adapt to the new methods.

Interesting thought. Probably not the first time this has been considered. If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that students are to listen to the podcast outside of class and then when they come to class they work in small groups based on the lecture they are expected to have listened to. Again, interesting thought. If we’re talking about one lecture a month that is discussed each day in class then I think it’s great. If we’re talking 3 different lectures a week and then coming to class to talk about a different lecture everyday then I think it’s no good. That means I would need 6 hours credit for my 3 hour class. I understand it would be considered “homework,” but it seems like this would be putting twice the amount of strain on the student.

Students come to college and gain an education in many areas. While academics is at the forefront of everyone’s mind when this is said, I feel what is learned in the classroom is, and should be, the primary reason for attending college. However, it is only a small part of the knowledged gained during a students tenure at collge. Two essential life skills that are practiced at a university are time management and social skills. I believe that podcasting lectures would minimize the importance and practice of both of these. Attending lectures benefits the student because it forces them to learn to prioritize and manage their activities, while also causing interaction with fellow students. Required class participation, group projects and the opportunity to hear new, and possibly opposing, opinions are all examples of what can only be learned in a classroom setting. Don’t get me wrong, I have spent many hours in many classrooms asking myself, “why I am here,” but by spending my time in those classrooms instead of at home watching t.v. or throwing a football has helped teach me how to get the important things done first and then better interact with the people I am spending time with.

Should they consider it.? Possibly, but only if they realize podcasting may not be the best technique in every classroom. Take for instance some of the freshmen classes, such as World History. In my case I was in a room with over 200 people and there were no time for Q & A. It would have been great if I could’ve played the lecture from the confines of my home and with the freedom to stop, rewind and playback points that I missed. I guarantee I would focus better than if I was in a classroom with other freshmen girls. (I’m just being honest)
It might, however, not work as well with classes that require in-depth conversation, such as your philosophies and English classes. But I do like the idea of having a supplemental tool for classes, like podcasts, to allow more time with students in classroom and giving them the responsibility to learn at home, or wherever they choose to listen. The quality would be better, students would feel more comfortable than crammed together in one class, and it evokes change for institutions, which can be a good thing.

Ahhh… see? You guys constantly pay yourselves and your fellow students out for being lazy, but if you were truly interested in the subject, you’d pay attention, wouldn’t you? You’d even let your gaze occasionally wander from the freshman girls back to the lecturer… But having the ability to replay lectures where you and 200 other souls were fighting for the right to either stay awake or ask a question is something to fight for. Just because you currently think you won’t use it doesn’t mean you won’t use it when exam times come.

Oh, and Matt: don’t EVER lose that honesty, mate! It might get you in a bit of bother in politically-correct circles, but down here in Australia, where we call a spade a spade, you’d be right at home!! I remember being a 34-year old undergraduate (I was ‘mature entry’, it wasn’t because I failed my first year 16 times!) and sometimes finding it difficult to concentrate when someone startlingly beautiful glided into a lecture theatre. And when crammed into a lecture theatre with a hundred other sweaty souls who had found the siren call of the very cheap student bar the night before too hard to resist, catching a waft of expensive perfume was almost heart-stoppingly mesmerising.

I think it is a very clever idea to post podcasts of lectures. But I wouldnt recommend using the pod casts instead of class. For me, I already have to try to keep up in my style and design class, and if the teacher was not available for me to ask my many questions to then I would just continue to fall more and more behind. But I suppose it depends on the class. Like a history class, there really isnt any questions that have to be answered to build your knowledge of what happened next. So there are many ups and downs to this. Some of the ups would obviously be the convenience. You can sit in the privacy of your own home and play the pod cast over and over and write down as many notes as you want without saying, “will you say that again.” But I think that it also depends on how many pod casts the student is supposed to be responsible for in a given time. Lets be honest, college students are somewhat lazy. If they are asked to watch three-to-four pod casts a week and then come to class on top of that; I think students would really struggle with that.
Although I think the technology these days is very impressive, I am not to fond of this pod cast idea. It could be good for some classes but I am afraid some teachers would really abuse it.

On the surface, podcasts for lectures seem like an appealing idea, however, my instinct is to stand behind the importance of attending classes. To be competitive in today’s job market, we must become experts in our field of study. For this to be possible, both learning by lecture and hands-on learning are crucial. For classes such as Robert’s, podcasts may be effective for supplemental instruction, but there is no way to sufficiently learn his material without class instruction and interaction. While podcasts may provide more flexibility and convenience, I feel in many ways it’s more beneficial for lecture to be a primary teaching method. Plus, if we’re in a field of study we enjoy, shouldn’t we want to be interactive and learn more?

I think that podcasting lectures is something that should be considered. It could be beneficial to students if used properly. It would ease the stress of taking notes and reduce hand cramps, especially in history 100 and other courses where there are lots of notes and not much else. Plus it would keep students from having to buy a recorder.

On the other hand, I think it could cause some students to think that they didn’t need to go to class. I don’t think it would be as effective in upper level classes either. When you start to get more hands on with projects and things class becomes more important.

Ultimately I think podcasting lectures would be effective for freshman and sophomore level classes, especially the ones with 300+ students crammed into an auditorium. i think that it is something we are going to see more of in the future.

I wanted to say that while I agree with Mary I think that there could potentially be a benefit for both smaller and larger sized classes experiencing a podcast type of lecture. It would certainly gurantee that students could go back and recover any information that they might have missed. And as a student myself, I can attest to day dreaming during a lecture or two. I do think that Mary makes an excellent point in that with all of the technology available today, a podcast lecture is similar to many things already out in the classroom.

I do not agree with podcast lectures. First of all, this would defeat the entire purpose of classroom lecture sessions. If a lecture is put on a podcast, students would never go to the class and only listen to the lecture on their own.

A student would not be obligated to get to know their professor or other students in the class, which would harm the student.

Teacher-student relationships are important and podcasts would begin to eliminate these relationships. I have had many teachers with whom I admire and enjoyed listening to in the classroom and I would not want to simply listen to these teacher’s voices on my Ipod.

Also, if I only listened to podcasts on my own, I would not get to know the students in my classes. I have learned from other students and I enjoy classes in which opionions are shared. I have made many friends in classroom settings and I would not want to lose this opportunity because of podcasted lectures.

In addition, I disagree with podcast lectures because of censorship. I have had many teachers who showcase their personality in class and share their personal opinions with the students. If lectures were podcasted, I think many teachers would feel pressured to keep their lecture straightforward and they would not include commentary which could potentially get them in trouble. Professors’ would feel threatened by the fact that any one in the world could listen to their lecture on a podcast. Therefore, they would keep the lecture clear-cut and basic, which could in turn bore the students and make class less exciting.

Overall, I feel these negative effects of podcasts showcases why the technology should not be used in the classroom.

I know that some students are concerned that podcasts would be treated exactly like textbooks and not actually listened to, but I think I disagree. At least for a short time (until it became the norm), I think students might find it almost…cool that their profs are so in touch with the trends, and listen just for novelty’s sake if nothing else. If that really were the case, then I think podcast lectures with in-class discussions are a great way to delve deeper into the subject matter than normal lecture time would permit. I’d totally be up for it. After all, you can take it anywhere. That’s a much better option than a heavy (not mention dull) textbook.

I like the idea of professors using podcasting as a way to give the lectures to the students. It gives the students the ability to review the lectures as much as they would like. It also gives the professors the ability to focus their class time on questions and assignments that can help benefit the students. I think it is a wonderful idea as long as both the student and teacher do not make the podcast the only material they focus on.

Podcasting lectures is such a great idea in theory. I think that if all students were up on the latest technology and you could count that everyone is going to be comfortable using the software and technology involved it could be great. But I don’t think we are there just yet. It also puts a scene in my mind of a sci-fi movie where the teacher is nothing more than a fuzzy hologram. Is that what this kind of technology could lead to? I think that the professor-student relationship is such a crucial aspect in college that I don’t really see whole lot of room for this idea in upper level classes. Perhaps in core classes such as history, science and math the podcasts could come in very helpful if they are used as an additional tool instead of a primary source of information. If the students are asked to listen to the podcast and come to class with questions and topics for discussion, that could lead to a very fruitful learning experience. I think these new technologies are so great, but also need to be handled with caution and not used without knowing the full consequences of replacing the real thing.

I believe that podcasts could be a good supplementary tool for major classes, but a great tool for introductory classes. In big lecture classes, it does not seem beneficial to go sit in a class of 400 to listen to the lecture. To have the lecture available on the internet would save time and also would make it available to go back if you were confused about something.
When getting into your harder classes designed for your major, I believe that a regular meeting with a class and a teacher is vital. I have gotten several ideas from my peers during open classroom discussions. With podcasts, you do not get this discussion. My peers also can clarify things sometimes for me if things seem unclear. It would also make me less likely to ask questions and explore things that I do not understand.
Podcasts could be a great tool for the larger intro classes, but as a rule of thumb, I would use them only for a supplementary tool.

I personally like the one on one contact I have with my professors in a normal lecture situation. I think they get to know their students a lot more quickly when the classes are smaller and more intimate. Knowing my professors makes me more comfortable when asking questions or making comments in class. Hearing a lecture over a podcast does not seem as personal as a normal lecture. I do like the idea of meeting in small groups, but as far as my PR classes go, they are already so small that a small group meeting would be about 4 people. It may be more beneficial for people in larger classes, such as at the business school where they have classrooms full of 300 or more people.

This is a good idea in theory but in reality would students actually watch every lecture. I know that I would wait until the last minute and to watch the lectures. This may cause students to get behind on material. Also what if you have a question during the lecture if you do not understand something the professor has said. That means the lectures would have to be very through and leave no room for error. If students do not get this one-on-one contact with their professor in their class they are less likely to go to the professors offices to get help. Podcast lectures might work if they were suplemental to the actual lecture. If they allowed the professor to give futher information that he/she did not get to say in class.

I think this is a very good idea.this product could help the student to prepare before the class begin.This note can be a very valueble notes to review anywhere at anytime.

I think that podcasting lectures could possibly be a very effective tool for professors, but only if it is used correctly. It professors used the class time as a small group discussion type setting, I believe that a deeper understanding of the material being presented could be achieved. Many times, when I don’t understand something out of a lecture, I simply look over my notes and try to figure it out. I typically don’t consult anyone in my class. If students were put into the position where they could easily interact with one another and discuss the information presented in the podcasted lecture, I believe it would be extremely benficial to those who participated.