iTunes U / Podcasting

Description
Podcasting has enormous educational uses. According to EDUCAUSE’s The Horizon Report –2006, podcasting, is “at the leading edge of a wave that will last for the next several years and beyond.” Instructional podcasts can include class lectures, presentations, material complementary to course content, and student reviews for exams. Podcasts work equally well on both Macs and PCs, and do not require having an iPod or other MP3 device to work.

UA on iTunes U provides access to a wide range of UA digital audio and video content via the iTunes Store. Many of the podcasts that were available through the Learning Technology Center's Podcasting at the UA website are included in the UA on iTunes U. Since announcing the UA on iTunes U more members of the campus community have begun podcasting. For example, the UA Phoenix Mars Mission, the College of Engineering and the College of Law are adding outstanding content regularly.

Key Advantages
For instructors:

• Podcasting has little or no costs associated with it
• If you are teaching a distance course, podcasting will connect you in new ways to your students
• Faculty can make special podcasts in which they highlight course content that they want students to master. This can be especially helpful to students studying for exams

For students:

• Podcasting has little or no costs associated with it
• Podcasting enables students to learn outside the classroom
• Students can listen to your podcasts on-the-go by syncing your podcasts to their iPods and playing through their car radio or listening as they walk across campus. In addition, some cell phones now come MP3-enabled

Key Features

• Podcasts can be subscribed to, and played on, an individual’s computer using free, readily available software
• Students can podcast course exercises and assignments
• Podcasting takes advantage of small, easy-to-use devices that people already carry to capture and share personal experiences

Innovative Uses

• A professor in Soil, Water & Environmental Sciences is podcasting reviews for exams
• A professor in Near Eastern Studies is podcasting her lectures
• A professor in the School of Information Resources & Library Science creates weekly podcasts that complement course content, introduces new material, and reviews relevant information from professional literature
• A physician in the Department of Pediatrics has begun “pediatric podcasts” as a curriculum on general pediatric topics relevant to the Continuity Clinic experience

Getting Started
Review the Faculty Podcasting Tip Sheet to decide what sort of podcasts you’d like to do. Contact Stuart Glogoff, LTS Senior Consultant at stuartg@email.arizona.edu to discuss any questions you may have, or complete a Service Request Form to request a Podcast.