Podcasting
The UA supports podcasting through its participation in Apple Inc.'s iTunes U, a resource to thousands of free educational audio and video tracks. Over 400 colleges and universities in North America and around the world are participating. Podcasts can be audio or video recordings of classroom lectures, a series of videos on a particular topic, and presentations using Powerpoint or Keynote that are exported to Apple's iTunes U format.
Key Features
Podcasts use RSS feeds to push new tracks to subscribers.
Advantages
Recorded lectures enable the UA to fulfill ADA guidelines by aiding students with disabilities. They give students additional opportunities to learn new or difficult material. Faculty may create podcasts that complement course lectures in which they discuss more complex problems, real-world experiences, and other topics that further engage students in learning.
Sample Uses
A UA professor teaches a course on general microbiology to approximately 200 students. He records audio of his lectures on a digital recorder and uploads each lecture to iTunes U. Students listen to all or parts of the lectures to prepare for exams or better understand course content. A survey of UA faculty podcasting their course lectures has found no real or perceived increase in students cutting class.
A faculty member in the Linguistics Department records guest speakers giving presentations at the department's lecture series. There are over 120 lectures recorded between fall semester 2007 and spring semester 2011. The first week that a new recorded lecture is added it is downloaded over 250 times. Consider the exposure your department's lectures will receive on iTunes U!
Getting Started Documents
What is the UA on iTunes U, UA on iTunes U FAQ, OIA's Podcasting website
Contact an OIA consultant to discuss how you can use podcasting in your courses.
Outside Links
Visit Apple Inc.'s iTunes U