The ubiquitous iPod goes to college--iTunes U as an educational toolAs a distance learning student, I am certainly no stranger to the use of technology to support my learning. As compared with the technology that schools like Stanford and Duke posess, my school does not compare. Most learning modules are presented through PowerPoint presentation with a poorly recorded teacher's voice accompaniment on some. Very pedestrian compared to say, Stanford.
iTunes U is accessed through iTunes, naturally. At the time of this post, there are 24 universities that publish podcasts available for free individual download or series subscription. Some of the esteemed universities featured are Yale, MIT, Penn State and Vanderbilt.
Granted, One cannot access all areas that a registered student can access. For instance, Stanford offers 15 courses. Anyone can access the material in these 15 courses for free. Many of the podcasts are video podcasts recorded in the lecture hall, sneezes and all! A student must be enrolled at the school to access specific classes.
Since I'd like to create a podcast in the future I downloaded an iTunes U User Guide. Reading this nice 20 page manual gave me a lot of insight on podcasts and demystified some issues for me to help in writing this post! It can be accessed by clicking here.
Coming back to my status as a distance learning student, iTunes U makes a lot of sense. The interface I use now to access my classes is dated and technologically deficient. iTunes U is sleek and customizable. The use of both podcasts and video podcasts would be a perfect companion to students with a learning disability or differentiated learning styles. I am personally a visual/auditory learner. Seeing someone present information (even via the Internet) would be certainly buoy my ultimate success in a class.
In this I want this done yesterday generation, people want what they want when they want it. School is certainly no exception. iTunes U satiates the educational appetite of just such a user and provides the non-student with an avenue for self-education.
1 comment:
You raise some important points in this posting, TechTank.
I agree that many students would probably enjoy the podcast lectures for individual download, but I wonder if the benefits (reaching learners where they are, offering multiple formats to meet the needs of different learning styles) of providing instruction in this format outweigh the costs (hardware for students and instructors alike, podcast training and support, etc.) The manual you offer is obviously a good start.
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