The genesis and the evolution
Profiles in Success: University of Adelaide
In commenting on the role Apple has and will continue to play in podcasting, Carrington states: "Apple has inspired and encouraged people to experiment and investigate the whole podcasting world and is now light years ahead in providing people with an environment in which creating, producing, delivering and playing podcasts is integrated and seamless."
In the education environment specifically, Carrington believes that the entire Apple podcasting environment is highly relevant to what he refers to as the "Net Generation". "When you look at the Apple hardware and software," he says, "it relates directly to they way they learn and function.
This is a generation that relies heavily on computing for their social networking. In the Apple environment they have a digital hub concept where they can grab a photo and audio recording, throw it together in GarageBand and get it out to their friends or to anyone else in the world who might be interested in what they have to say on a subject.
— Allan Carrington, University of Adelaide
The ease of podcast creation sentiment is echoed by Meredith, who comments: "In many cases after delivering a lecture, I import Keynote slides to GarageBand, add in some audio commentary and push it out as an enhanced podcast for all my students. It's a straightforward process with a benefit that far outweighs the effort required."
The integration of podcasting in education is a passion for both Carrington and Meredith, with the latter having coined the term "podagogy" this new wave of imparting and sharing knowledge. Meredith explains: "Essentially, it's an approach to building and using podcasts that teach - integrating podcasts as a fundamental component of a larger educational strategy.
"At Spring Arbor, lectures are recorded and placed on-line for subscribers. Adding to that is a separate 10-minute podcast prepared by the lecturer, which might typically cover additional information or pose particular questions or problems to the students.
"What this achieves is a change in pedagogy - engaging students outside class time and getting them to think harder and longer. Hence, the term podagogy." Carrington has developed an interactive learning module (i) with Meredith, which explains this "podagogical model".
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