iTunes U: "better than going to class"?

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Sarah Perez posted recently about a study she’d heard about, by Dani McKinney, a where a podcast loaded to iTunes U proved more successful than the actual Face-2-Face delivery – iTunes U proves better than going to class.

In the article she highlighted the fact that “half the students (32 of 64) skipped the class and listened to the podcast only. The other half attended in person, where they also received a printed handout. ”

One week later the students were tested (unknown format for the test, but probably an MCQ) on the content of the session; “… students who downloaded the podcast alone averaged a ‘C’ (71 out of 100) but those who attended class averaged a ‘D’. And those who listened to the podcast and took notes did even better – their average was 77. ”

While no one is suggesting that this will mean that the classrooms will empty in favour of MP3 downloads, it does beg a few questions:

  • As podacasts are considered a ‘passive’ tool, can it really replace the F2F experience?
  • Can a learner really get the best from themselves and the Institution in this manner, or will we always have F2F interaction?
  • Can an entire Institution ‘sign-up’ to this kind of delivery, or is going to be limited to keen ‘pioneers’ from different Schools and Programmes?
  • Can this benefit the learner if the tutor does not fully embrace the technology and provide a ‘stimulating’ podcast?
  • Did this work because the students were bribed, or did it work because the technique truly worked?
  • Is the back-up (administrative as well as technology) readily available for this approach?

Response

My reply posted to the article, was:

Whatever ‘study’ comes from this initial realisation must take into account the changing face/perception of the new generation of learners (both teens as well as mature learners) as well as the preferred learning approach. Some will always learn better sat at home or on the bus with headphones on, and some cannot learn unless they are sat in a structured and traditional learning environment.

There is clearly an advantage for those who both attended and downloaded the podcast as the podcast will enable them to re-listen to a section (or two) where they glazed over or just plain missed something – it will enhance their F2F experience. Those who only listen to the podcast will always miss the subtle nuances in body language and ‘direction’ of the tutor, as well as the ability to put questions into the mix during the session and/or meet the tutor immediately afterwards to clarify anything that either did not make sense or needed clearing up.

Roll on the results from a full study.

PS. this doesn’t have to be limited to supplying the audio files through iTunes U. In fact it should be maintained by the Institutions own VLE / LMS in simple MP3 that is playable on all devices that the student may use.

Additional

Since publishing this post I found this article on the Guardian Newspaper website: “Lecturer adds value with iTunes” by Bill Ashraf. Points of note:

“Increasingly students, especially from overseas and a number with dyslexia, were asking to record lectures for note-taking and revision.”

“… my students now benefit from enhanced podcasts either as a lecture replacement or as a useful revision repeat for the lecture they listened to last week or even at the start of term. Adding value is simple. I can embed metadata into each slide, so clicking it takes students to hot topics on the web or even PDF files of relevant research papers available online from the library. Quick, easy, current and available anytime, any place, anywhere!”

“Possibly the biggest surprise for me has been student reaction. Critics in the academic community, and in some areas of the media, argued that students would stop attending lectures when they became available on line. In fact, I’ve experienced the opposite. When I tell the students the lecture they are in is going to be available as a podcast, they engage even more than usual and start asking questions in the full knowledge that what they say will be available on iTunes.”

Final Word

All in all I am finding good and positive ‘noises’ about the use of audio downloads for academic study .. providing it is meant to supplement and enhance the face-to-face experience, and not replace it.

However, if the students are purely online learners ( as I work with) then I would recommend the use of something like Echo360, a lecture-capture system, which enables you to capture the audio, video and screen (whatever you show on the PC), for publishing online (or on a DVD to post out). This then forms the lecture and revision audio files (or enhanced audio) for the learners to use as they see fit, when they see fit.

Exciting times are ahead as we see more people realise the benefit of this technology.