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Today’s colleges are doing as much as they possibly can to enhance their online classes. One of the biggest advantages to taking classes live is that you can see and hear the professor. This interaction makes learning more effective. Online course podcasts, while not a substitute for a live professor, take the online student’s learning to the next level by providing a complete lecture and explanation of the lecture that goes beyond reading a textbook.
If you’re new to technology, you may have never heard of podcasts. Podcasts are simply recordings that are saved as a digital media file and distributed via the Internet. The professor records the lesson on his computer, saves the files, and uploads it to the class shell. This allows him to explain topics beyond the book’s explanation, give additional examples to the students, and answer typical questions that many students may have.
There are several ways to present podcasts. One way is to record the material in manageable bits. For instance, a professor may take one topic and record a 5-7 minute “talk” about that topic. Many instructors prefer this approach because the student can pick and choose what he wants to review. If there’s one concept that gives the student more difficulty than others, he can simply go back to that particular podcast to review that topic.
Other instructors prefer to record the lecture in one sitting. They may do this in their offices while sitting at their computers, or they may do it in the classroom so they can include questions from the students. Either way, once a lecture is recorded, the online student can reference it time and time again to study for the test. Many professors are making podcasts available to their live students, as well, so they can have access to the material for review. It’s also convenient for students who are absent because they can still access the material.
Once the podcast is recorded, the student may listen to it on her computer or download the presentation into an iPod. This way the student can take the lecture anywhere, even if she has to go out of town. An added advantage is that students can play these iPod lectures through their car radios so they can listen to the lecture on the way to work and back. For students who must travel for business, they can listen to podcasts during travel time without falling behind in their classes.
Distance learning technology has come a long way from the basic correspondence class module. Today’s students can listen to online course podcasts wherever they go and whenever it’s convenient. If you’re apprehensive about taking online courses because you’re an auditory learner, it’s worth your while to investigate different online college programs to see if they use podcasts. While podcasts will not replace the experience of having a live professor in the classroom, they will certainly enhance your learning experience by taking it one step beyond textbook learning.
