Earth: Mostly Harmless

‘The Podcast Revolution’

This is a story I wrote for publication in my University’s student newspaper. It went out in the 16th October edition of the Strathclyde Telegraph. My thanks go out once again to all my interviewees.

South Kent College has become the latest institution to issue MP3 players to students. The college is issuing iPod nanos to enable learners to download lectures and other content from the college through podcasting technology. Podcasting, for the unfamiliar, is a system of distributing audio or video via web ‘feeds’, where new content is made available automatically to feed subscribers with ‘podcatching’ software such as iTunes or Juice.

Typically, this content is then synchronised onto a music player for listening. Mark Hunter, creator of the popular tartanpodcast (http://www.tartanpodcast.com), is enthusiastic about the medium’s educational potential. “Versatility is embedded in what podcasting is - user-created content. That means that every user can create content unique to them: their tastes; their passions; their vision; their message”.

South Kent is not alone in recognising the power of podcasting: many educational institutions now have podcasting schemes. Some, like Stanford and Wisconsin-Madison University, have set up ‘iTunes U’ sites with Apple’s assistance. Others, such as the University of Western Australia have created bespoke systems: UWA’s solution is now marketed commercially as ‘Lectopia’. By all accounts, both types are extremely popular. Indeed, the Wisconsin-Madison programme was initiated as a result of student and staff demands.

The policy of institutions distributing MP3 players to students is more contentious. The first institution to do so on a large scale was Duke University in North Carolina, where media reports suggested that students and staff were failing to take full advantage of the devices. A report in Duke student paper ‘The Chronicle’ even contained a plea for the programme to be scrapped, according to Christian Science Monitor. Beginning with the current semester, Duke will instead lend the devices to students, with a fee charged to those wishing to retain players after term.

Meanwhile at Strathclyde, some academics have been pushing forward with podcasting. Kevin O’Gorman, PhD student at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, is creating ten video podcasts based on BBC archive material thanks to Higher Education Academy funding. The ‘Talking Hospitality’ collection takes in such themes as the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the indigenous hospitality of the Bedouin peoples. The BBC programmes were sourced through Spoken Word Services at Glasgow Caledonian University (http://www.spokenword.ac.uk).

Does this new technology pose risks to the traditional relationship between lecturer and student? Hunter sees podcasting as a way to “augment traditional learning” rather than replace it. O’Gorman concurs, seeing the mechanism as “another space for learning and teaching”. Lack of appropriate written evidence on subjects of interest led him to look elsewhere, and “constructing podcasts from BBC programmes has been a particularly rich theme”, he attests.

A wider podcasting strategy at Strathclyde is currently in development, according to Prof. James Boyle, Academic Champion for Teaching & Learning Through Technology. “Mobile devices, including the ability to work with podcasts, will have a major role in the future”, Prof. Boyle explains. He notes that Strathclyde has plans for deploying infrastructure to support technologies like podcasting: “Learning Services also recognise that their existing Streaming server (for streamed video and audio) should be extended to allow podcast downloads”.

The opportunity to be Scotland’s leader in academic podcasting is still within reach, if staff and students are willing to embrace the medium soon. Persuading them to do this shouldn’t be hard: Hunter suggests that part of the appeal of podcasting is the masses of free content for MP3 players. And who could say ‘no’ to that?

By Graeme West


9th October 2006

Northwestern

I’m still trying to get my (possible) trip to Northwestern University organised. It’s been a little stop-start from the beginning, but despite the obstacle of limited time (it’s now less two months until I am supposed to go), I’m feeling relatively optimistic about the prospects of it happening.

I’ve been reluctant to post anything here related to it, partly because the proposal has never been concrete, but also because I don’t want to say anything which might prejudice my chances of being able to make it happen.

Regardless, I now seem to have Strathclyde in the right frame of mind about the whole thing: they are now happy to approve me going over, course choices permitting, now that they’re clear that I’m not actually asking them to do anything actively - just to rubber-stamp the proposal. I would need to defer taking my January exams until the resit period in August, but that’s no biggie, I think.

I’m waiting for various responses from Northwestern at the moment.

The rough plan is that I go in January and take 4 classes there during the Winter and Spring terms, and do research work for Professor Goldman and Spoken Word while I’m over there (unpaid most certainly - which is fine).

If I want to take Honours History or History as part of a Joint Honours course when I come back, I have to figure out a way of taking Strathclyde’s Historiography class remotely (not likely to be possible). But I’m leaning towards Politics anyway so I’m willing to forgo that option to make this all happen. I could also defer honours till the next year after I come back in order to be able to take that class in semester two next term and give me the history option.

If the visit happens, I’m sure it’ll be amazing. If it doesn’t, it will be very disappointing, as I’ve been trying to organise this for a while. But I have my eye on other things as well.

Either way, I’m going to buy myself a Core 2 Duo MacBook

It’s a university, but not as we know it

Aidan spotted this Guardian article on the Saltire Centre, our new learning centre/library at GCU. Yup, folks, this is where I work

There are a lot more photos of it on Flickr - the ones by BigRedBall are mine. This set by JISC InfoNet is particularly good.

It’s a university, but not as we know it:

The Guardian featured our new Saltire Centre in its recent Educational Supplement (published Tuesday the 19th of September). The review is a very positive one and highlights on how the building is changing the way in which students interact with each and how the building is a sign of things to come and is paving the way for other Universities employing such a forward thinking approach to student learning and learning environments.

The Saltire Centre, a futuristic but people-friendly learning space at Scotland’s fourth largest university, has a serious purpose. But its impact on visitors and users, from the talking lifts to the inflatable igloos, is anything but solemn. It lifts their spirits and makes them smile.

Read the full article here.

(Via Spoken Word Matters).