July 28, 2005
Podcasting and habits of mind
Educause recently held an online professional development event with the topic of “Narrowcasting 101: Using Blogs, Podcasts, and Videoblogs in Higher Education.”
Nick Noakes, one of the presenters (and a good friend of mine) made an interesting comment that I’d like to expand with regard to Podcasting itself. He noted that students arrive at the university with “habits of practice” deeply embedded in their daily lives. The ubiquitous cell phone attached to the ear; the telltale tangle of white cables that indicates an iPod concealed somewhere on the person. Instant Messaging might be another example; text-messaging with one’s cell phone.
But he noted also that these habits of practice do not include critical thinking or reflection, two key skills essential to success in the information age (weary cliché). Those of us responsible for educating students or for supporting the faculty who work directly with students in the classroom, both virtual and physical, might do well to take this distinction to heart.
I’m a dedicated listener to podcasts of all kinds. I believe that we can offer instructors strategies with which they can engage their students and shift them from habits of practice to habits of mind which will lead to greatness, or at least a rise above mediocrity.
Categories: Mobile Learning
July 19, 2005
Podcasting and iTunes
Safari for the Tiger operating system has RSS feeds built into the browser in a seamless way that has greatly facilitated my use of RSS technology. With the recent release of iTunes 4.9, Apple has integrated podcasting into the iTunes interface in a way that makes it almost intuitive to find and subscribe.
My strategy:
1. Preview: I visit Podcast Bunker. The beauty of this site is that you can preview a podcast by hearing 30 seconds of it.
2. Grab a single podcast: If you decide you'd like to listen to the whole podcast, simply drag the RSS-Podcast button into the new podcast area of your iTunes. The program will download that single podcast from that site.
3. Subscribe: if you wish to subscribe so that the podcasts from this site will automatically download into your iTunes, and then onto your iPod, I go to Apple's Podcast Directory, enter the name of the podcast into their search box, let the Apple store locate the podcast and offer me a "subscribe" button.
Is radio coming back? Stay tuned.
Categories: Mobile Learning
