Podcasting syndication services and university students : Why don't they subscribe?
- Authors: Lee, Mark , Miller, Charlynn , Newnham, Leon
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Internet and Higher Education Vol. 12, no. 1 (2009), p. 53-59
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- Description: Partly owing to the status of podcasting as a buzzword and subject of much recent media attention, educational technology researchers and practitioners have been using the term very loosely. Few studies have examined student perceptions and uptake of "podcasting" in the true sense of the word, whereby a syndication protocol such as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is used to allow students to subscribe to podcast feeds or channels, facilitating the automatic download of new content as it becomes available. The small number of studies that have covered this aspect of podcasting suggest that students generally do not tend to make use of this functionality, but instead prefer to simply download the media files manually. By drawing on research into the usage of RSS and podcasting both inside and outside the field of education, as well as extant literature on university students' usage patterns and behaviors with respect to information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet, the authors postulate a number of possible reasons why podcasting syndication services have not experienced substantial levels of uptake among students to date. They argue that it is premature to dismiss RSS as a distribution mechanism for digital audio content in teaching and learning, and describe a number of examples of educational applications that could potentially make the use of such services worthwhile and valuable to both teachers and students. The authors conclude with suggestions for research to test the theories set forth in the article. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
RSS and content syndication in higher education : Subscribing to a new model of teaching and learning
- Authors: Lee, Mark , Miller, Charlynn , Newnham, Leon
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Educational Media International Vol. 45, no. 4 (2008), p. 311-322
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- Description: While blogs, wikis and social networking sites are enjoying high levels of attention as tools to support learning, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) remains the 'poor cousin' of these technologies in the higher education classroom, with relatively low uptake amongst educators and students. In this article, the authors argue that the affordances of RSS and content syndication can be used to deliver rich, active, social learning experiences that promote a high degree of learner personalisation, choice and autonomy. They describe a number of ways in which the potential of RSS can be exploited to transform pedagogy in ways that are congruent with emerging theories and models of learning, and that are consistent with the philosophy and ethos of Web 2.0 and networked society at large. The article concludes with a consideration of some of the issues and limitations facing the uptake and use of RSS for teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Description: 2003006292
Podcasting and education : Time to start listening
- Authors: Newnham, Leon , Miller, Charlynn
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 23rd Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education: Who's Learning? Whose Technology? University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW : 3rd-6th December 2006
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- Description: Universities are constantly challenged to seek methods to improve student engagement. Leading edge technologies such as podcasting may be one of the most effective ways to accomplish this engagement, particularly for those students aged between 18 and 25. Students within this general age group have been termed by many as Generation Y or the iLife generation. This is due to this group being attracted to new technologies, particularly Apple's iPod®. This attraction to multimedia based technologies may indicate that podcasting, an online multimedia delivery method, could become a valuable educational technology for Generation Y tertiary students. This poster will present findings from a pilot study which aimed to measure student perceptions toward podcasting as a teaching and learning technique. Students of an introductory information system unit were provided with an educational podcast. This podcast included short discussions each week which would supplement lectures. The students in this unit were then surveyed to determine their perceptions of the technology, including whether they believe it enhanced their educational experience. Over 90% of enrolled students completed the survey, while over 90.2% of those respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that lecture material was easier to understand as a result of the podcast.
Student perceptions of podcasting to enhance learning and teaching in an information systems course
- Authors: Miller, Charlynn , Newnham, Leon
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 14th International Conference ALT-C 2007: Beyond Control. Learning Technology for the social network generation, Nottingham University EMCC, Nottingham, England, UK : 4th-6th September 2007 p. 104-115
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- Description: Universities are challenged to seek methods to improve student learning. Leading edge technologies, such as podcasts, that put the focus on learner-chosen activities may be one way to accomplish this. This study explored student perceptions of podcasting as a learning and teaching tool in a first semester information systems course within an Australian university. Students were provided with a short podcast to supplement face-to-face lectures. Students were then surveyed to determine their perceptions of the impact of this podcast on their learning. A high number of respondents agreed that they used the podcast, that it increased their understanding of the lecture material and that it assisted their learning in the unit overall. The findings in this preliminary study lend support to the concept that podcasting can enhance learning when used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods.
- Description: 2003002687