Published: 2009.06.01

Speaking at the recent BruinTech seminar, three professors, two from UCLA and one from UC Berkeley spoke about their experiences using podcasting and webcasting in concert with their lectures.

Professor Tim Groeling, UCLA Communications Studies, said that he is able to integrate podcasting into the teaching process to the extent that only a couple of simple steps are added to the lecture process. He demonstrated by podcasting his presentation as he spoke. There is minimal post-production and the lecture can be posted immediately after class. Syllabus materials (made by converting presentation slides into Acrobat PDF files) are available for students to print for taking notes, allowing them to concentrate on the content of the lecture while in class.

Professor Jay Phelan’s life science lectures are produced and posted by UCLA OID’s Bruincast service. He finds students have less stress about following the lecture accurately or having to miss a class and are relaxed and more engaged while in class. Office hours work at a higher level because students can focus less on what they might have missed in class and more on the substance of the topics presented. He also felt that watching himself teach had improved his teaching, partly by eliminating mannerisms in speech and movement that detract from his presentation.

Professor Richard Muller, author of "Physics for Future Presidents," has his physics lectures recorded by audio-visual staff at UC Berkeley. He described how the lectures that are posted on Berkeley’s iTunes U area let the public enjoy the same education students are receiving. He discussed the ongoing debate about the value of the lecture process. Use of these materials reflects people’s hunger for learning, that they want the content, and that they find the offerings valuable. Berkeley is studying the possibility of allowing non-students to enroll, either as auditors or fully credited students, creating a true distance learning opportunity from the podcasts.

During the Q&A, all mentioned the difficulty of quantifying the effects of adding podcasts and webcasts but agreed that they thought that their teaching had improved, that office hours were more profitable for both them and their students, and that the increase of absenteeism is not the problem it’s made out to be. Taking attendance, giving pop quizzes and other methods help keep class turnout high. Dr. Phelan said that absence rate of his classes, which run 200-300 students, was about 5-7% per lecture before podcasting and that it’s risen to 10%. He felt benefits outweighed that slight increase.

Videos of the speakers are available on UCLA on iTunes U using the link under Related Information.