Audio interview

This is an interview with the Director of E-learning at Gulf Coast State College. I am going to provide some of the highlights from the interview and some links and then the audio portion of the interview:

Position responsibilities for Dr. Arifa Garman:

• Update Florida Shines website with Gulf Coast State College online courses Florida Shines
• Provide professional development for faculty
• Maintain Faculty Resources page Faculty Resources
• Provide best practices for engaging online learners

Types of technology used:

• Voki uses an avatar with your voice Voki 
•  Powtoon Powtoon
• Camtasia
• Snagit
• Google Docs
• Blackboard Collaborate

Challenges to introducing technology in the classroom:

• She is the expert and faculty feel incompetent compared to her and sometimes unwilling to try new technology 
• She must research and then learn how to use the technology
• Budget constraints

Success Story: 

• Natural science division had low success rates in online science classes about 60% success Natural Sciences
• Trained faculty to add camtasia video/audio to courses
• Raised success rates to 90%

Failure:

• Developed an online peer tutoring system
• Started strong with a lot of student usage 
• After the 1st year usage began to fall
• System cancelled 

Future?

• Look for early adopters among faculty and train them on new technology
•  Have them train the other faculty
• Look for new technology
• new tablets coming out that integrate with smart phones

Here is the interview:

Pros and cons of audio/video/podcasts in adult learning

The inclusion of audio/video/podcasts into courses are used to increase student engagement. Blooms taxonomy of learning domains provides theoretical base to support the addition of audio and video into courses (Oomen-Early, et al, 2011). This theory proposed three types of learning: cognitive, psychomotor and affective. The affective domain involves feelings and attitudes and "learning, retention and intrinsic motivation is positively impacted when learners are emotionally engaged"(Oomen-Early et al, 2011, p.54). The other theory that supports the use of video/audio in courses is social presence. Social presence states that social engagement connects instructor to learner and learner to learner. The use of audio/video in a course allows the instructor to provide verbal feedback which gives a perception of social presence (Oomen -Early, 2011, p. 54).

There are several pros and cons to the use of audio/video/podcasts in courses. Some of the pros include:

• Cater to different learning styles (King, 2011, p. 36).
• Students with hearing or attention deficits can play back recordings for review (King,2011, p.37).
• Content is accessible 24/7
• Students take initiative for their learning and become independent learners (King, 2011, p.39).

There are also several cons for the use of audio/video/podcasts and they include:

• Learners gain nothing except review of content (King, 2011, p.37).
• Podcasts could just be lecture webcasting (King,2011, p.37).
• Quality of education could be compromised (Oomen-Early,2011, p.51).
• Not all students have access to internet and software.

I have used different podcasts for both education and pleasure for many years. There was a radio personality located in Chicago who I listened to for many years. When he was fired from the radio station, he provided daily podcasts of his show which I downloaded to my iPod. I would then listen to them every afternoon. I do believe he still has them available. Another podcast that I use and recommend for my students is Kahn academy. They provide excellent short clips that can explain concepts for students. The site is especially helpful for math concepts.

I think the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to adding audio and video to courses and presentations. I have been attending a conference this week and have paid close attention to the presentations and all of them had some type of audio or video clip. The engagement of the audience was evident.

References 

King, K. (2011). Podcasting learning on demand and content creation. Eds. King, K. & Cox, T. The professor's guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC, Information Age Publishing, Inc. p. 33-50.

Oomen-Early, J., Bold, M. & Gallien, T. (2011). Using online asynchronous audio communication in higher education. Eds. King, K. & Cox, T. The professor's guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC, Information Age Publishing, Inc. p. 51-66.