"Audio/Video
/ Podcast: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners."
I
love podcasts for catching up on news stories and other commentary that I
missed on another broadcast. It is very convenient to listen to at my desk
while doing other tasks, and often during my short commute to work I will catch
part of a story and go to the website to see if there is a podcast of the
story. I grew up with radio, so this is
a form of communication I am very comfortable with.
CNN Money has a list of about 30 different podcasts that
can be subscribe to, which is a good way to get reliable information about the
latest financial news and trends. There
are countless news/information stories and videos available from almost every
news outlet and numerous independent sources such as Vimeo and YouTube. Videos are being used in the classroom covering a wide array of topics, from historic speeches, such as the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, to current events. Many families benefit from the content on one of my favorite sites www.khanacademy.org, which offers video tutorials from basic to advanced levels of math and science. Their library grows every day and many parents I know rely on this site to help them help their children.
On Podcasting in the Classroom there are many videos
available. The one listed below (from
EdTech Conference, February 2009, Podcasting in the Classroom Using Thought-Provoking
Dialogue) correlates Podcasting to Bloom’s Taxonomy and focuses on the higher
levels of learning (i.e., synthesis and evaluation).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL1bX1gepEc
From the beginning of the medium, the most popular
podcasts have been related to learning.
Statistics show that from 2005 -2009 8 out of 10 top podcasts are language-learning
podcasts (King & West, 2001).
An area where teachers and students alike must tread
carefully is in regard to copyright and other legal issues. Fair Use principles for classroom use of
media do not apply to digital media and the information will continue to
transform copyright, patent, and intellectual property practices and laws. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to
have current knowledge of what is and is not allowed (Lafferty & Walch,
2006; Vogele, Farlick & The Berkman Center, 2009). This is a good lesson to include as part of
an assignment for a podcasts or videos.
In today’s fast-paced world it is easy to get confused about plagiarism
and what is considered another’s intellectual property.
King, K. P., & Cox, T. D. (Eds.). (2011). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology.
Charlotte,
NC: Information Age Publishing,
Inc.
Lafferty,
M. & Walch, R. (2006). Tricks of the podcasting masters. New
York: Que
Vogele,
C., Garlick, M., & The Berkman
Center (2009). The podcasting legal guide.
Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://wikicreativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide
Podcasts I enjoy:
Just about anything on NPR, I had actually listened to the one about the Wikipedia
editors; I used it as a reference in a paper I had written in a previous course.
As a stress release I often watch pet and other funny videos on YouTube!
Nice post! I really enjoyed how you incorporated your favorite podcasts and other types of podcasts that are available into your blog response. I can see how individuals who grew up in the radio era would like the audio podcasts. I grew up in the video and instant gratification era so audio podcasts are difficult for me to get used to. The video podcasts are what really catch my attention. I enjoy having the pictures there even if I don't stay 100% focused on the video. I wish I had that khanacademy.org website when I was learning math. I'm sure it would have helped tremendously. Great work!
ReplyDeleteI echo with Kelli that the www.khanacademy site you shared is really a great math learning resource. Thanks for sharing, Lynn!
ReplyDeleteKang
I am glad this course has reintroduced me to audio podcasts. I really wish I could listen to them while I work! I have a road trip in a few weeks that is 5 hours one way. I have already found two podcasts I want to download and take with me. I have always wanted to take an astronomy class for fun and one of the podcasts is just that. Cool!
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post this week, and I appreciated your comments regarding personal audio and video favorites. It appears podcasts are a technology you are very familiar with and one you enjoy. For me, podcasts are not a technology I am familiar with. While I occasionally search videos on YouTube for educational purposes, I hardly ever listen to podcasts. I guess I am more of a visual person/learner and I just prefer to see what is being discussed. But, like you mentioned, preferences are really just what you get used to and if you are used to radio you probably enjoy audio podcasts.
Do you currently utilize podcasts professionally? If not, is there a way you could incorporate this technology?