[LINK] University of Missouri to require iPod touch or iPhone for Journalism students

[Tom Worthington]

At 07:45 PM 22/05/2009, Ash Nallawalla wrote:
>... students would be better off being pointed at a list of 
>professional recorders, which will work out
>of the box and save to MP3 files. ... "School of Journalism to 
>require iPod touch or iPhone for students", Beverly G. Rivera, 
><http://www.columbiamissourian.com/p/about/>Missourian, May 7, 2009 
><http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/05/07/school-journalism-requires-ipod-touch/>

This seems to say that students are being told to buy overpriced 
digital audio players to make up for poor quality instructional 
techniques at university.

The article quotes a dean of Journalism saying that "Lectures are the 
worst possible learning format" but  "... if a student can hear that 
lecture a second time, they retain three times as much of that 
lecture.". If lectures are a poor learning format, then I suggest the 
sensible thing to do is stop giving lectures and use good educational 
techniques instead.

Digital audio does have a place in university education, but there is 
no reason for the university to recommend a particular brand of 
device. Students can make their own choice. It may be appropriate to 
buy a netbook for example (for around the same cost as some audio players).

The use of Apple's proprietary music store for distributing lectures 
does not appear a good idea. Instead the university could provide the 
download of audio files, via its Learning Management System and as 
Podcasts. No registration with Apple is required for this and no 
particular brand of device or software is needed. The ANU does this, 
for example, with its new "Wattle" system using Moodle.

ps: I gave "My Last Lecture" in 2008: 
<http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2008/08/my-last-lecture.html>. "Green 
ICT Strategies" COMP7310 is offered from July 2009 by the ANU using 
no lectures, online education and optional seminars 
<http://cs.anu.edu.au/students/comp7310/>.



Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd            ABN: 17 088 714 309
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617                      http://www.tomw.net.au/
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Australian National University