General Discussion

greymattermom

(5,807 posts)

73. podcast

Tue Feb 19, 2013, 12:31 AM

Feb 2013

All of my lectures are podcast, and only about 30 students out of a class of 175 attend the live performance. One professor whose lectures are used every year is no longer employed by the University, but his podcasts are still assigned. Students speed them up, so speaking slowly and clearly makes no difference. I expect that my lectures will be used for years after I retire, but I won't be answering the email questions then. All exams are multiple choice questions given in a testing center. We entered the questions years ago and don't know what questions the students will see each year. That makes it hard to change the lecture content. Ever. This is in a medical school. Even more creepy, many students are taught in two off site locations hundreds of miles away, so we see giant video screens of empty classrooms while lecturing. The offsite students don't attend the lectures either, and the University spends a fortune on video technology.

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Professors at research universities prefer teaching with old-fashioned whiteboards [View all] HiPointDem Feb 2013 OP

Hey! Mr. Professor, outsourcing is coming, they are going to outsource you. bemildred Feb 2013 #1

This message was self-deleted by its author HiPointDem Feb 2013 #2

"Distance learning," in one manner or another, has been the university initiative since the 1950's alcibiades_mystery Feb 2013 #6

There is nothing wrong with distance learning, as such. bemildred Feb 2013 #8

This new technology is going to radically alter education beyond recognition ... eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #10

Cost of reproduction and the shift to learning, rather than teaching, will change education FarCenter Feb 2013 #12

"shift to learning v teaching" = baloney. shift to corporate control of all education & information HiPointDem Feb 2013 #16

Far Center: the DIY education strategy works well for simple, discrete skills, not for deep learning GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #19

I had similar thoughts, but couldn't put it so succintly. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #22

The vocation of teaching has been so devalued over the past 30 years that GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #24

Dang, you mean we can't blindly apply mass production methods and get good results ? eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #30

Uh, no. GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #37

No offense intended ... eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #43

Oh.. GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #54

IF you have JavaScript turned on, just click on "smilies" when posting. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #59

Thank you GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #60

I can't recall physics or chemistry as being particularly interactive FarCenter Feb 2013 #29

Actually, this a huge problem with universities now GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #38

This was back in the early '60s, but tuition was $114/quarter. FarCenter Feb 2013 #42

Obvious solution: cancel all classes with low enrollment. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #45

The great lecture hall profs should be allowed to be live in lecture halls GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #53

What, no recitation/conference sections ? That sounds like a bad setup. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #41

IIRC, there was a grad student or two that had posted hours; commuter students used them FarCenter Feb 2013 #47

This/\. Ed Suspicious Feb 2013 #58

Professors provide context and a framework organic discussion. Ed Suspicious Feb 2013 #57

Well, that obviously proves they must be in error then. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #51

So it is ok to outsource a professor's job but not yours? redstatebluegirl Feb 2013 #52

Many classes have a policy forbidding anything beyond a four-banger calculator on exams. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #63

I am an academic and I come from a family full of academics. bemildred Feb 2013 #68

My father in law who exboyfil Feb 2013 #3

Yes, nothing beats chalk. Or paper and pencil. bemildred Feb 2013 #5

+1 Blue_Tires Feb 2013 #61

It has it's down side, but when you are working on a problem, nothing beats it. bemildred Feb 2013 #67

We have the big chalk board from my wife's work in our house. hunter Feb 2013 #13

"going to throw it away" -- **choke**gag*** eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #56

Except whenever I have a class with one I live in fear of that noise, you know the one. It's Ed Suspicious Feb 2013 #64

For anyone that wants a laugh, life long demo Feb 2013 #4

I don't know about this. LisaLynne Feb 2013 #7

I work in IT in K-12 and the biggest whistler162 Feb 2013 #21

in my daughters K class d_r Feb 2013 #33

LisaLynne, for old timers who've been teaching the same courses for years... GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #28

"Old-fashioned" whiteboards ? Whiteboards SUCK. Blackboards are far more practical. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #9

I MUCH prefer whiteboards to chalkboards duffyduff Feb 2013 #14

not to mention, SCREECH SCREECH!!! alp227 Feb 2013 #18

Chalk screeches at a frequency that can only be heard by bad students. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #46

That explains a lot. I hate that sound! Ed Suspicious Feb 2013 #65

There is such a thing as hypoallergenic chalk (Google), and at least some of what I have used ... eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #62

Good summary of the reasons writing out on chalkboard exboyfil Feb 2013 #17

I admit I suck at Smartboard - my penmanship goes undecipherable jpak Feb 2013 #35

I used to teach using Power Point and other eye-catching technologies mainer Feb 2013 #11

I may come kidnap your students. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #48

Don't they know whiteboard markers have toxic fumes. They injure health. Coyotl Feb 2013 #15

Whatever you do, don't look up the ingredients in the whiteboard *cleaner* .... eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #49

As a translator, I have come to the conclusion that the business world still thinks Lydia Leftcoast Feb 2013 #20

The problem is that corporate messages are limited GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #25

Not just at universities. LWolf Feb 2013 #23

"Clicker" technology: can you get more Skinnerian? GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #26

From the student perspective, I've had a few classes w/ the Clicker. backscatter712 Feb 2013 #31

And the higher-ups are certainly all about data. nt LWolf Feb 2013 #34

Yes. they have almost a religious belief in data of any kind taken under any conditions GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #36

No calling out individual DUers, especially not Skinner. eppur_se_muova Feb 2013 #50

Oh, gee, get me in trouble with the management! GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #55

White boards are old fashioned? Deep13 Feb 2013 #27

you can do a lot more than pass out your syllabus d_r Feb 2013 #32

What class do you teach? GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #39

education d_r Feb 2013 #70

Education actually lends itself to multimedia and video GiaGiovanni Feb 2013 #72

For my undergrad they used the heck out of Blackboard. tammywammy Feb 2013 #69

Worse, both the teachers and the students tend to get wrapped up in the technology Egalitarian Thug Feb 2013 #40

^^^This^^^ Viking12 Feb 2013 #71

That could be treestar Feb 2013 #44

As an art teacher, I love the new technology. kwassa Feb 2013 #66

podcast greymattermom Feb 2013 #73