War of the Worlds

We were talking about Podcasting at work today and an older teacher was describing old radio/audio shows that people would listen to before TV was big.  The Orson Wells "War of the Worlds" broadcast was taken too seriously by some, I wonder if there is a lesson here...

Personally, I think this is hilarious.

Podcasting, when Visual Aids are not needed, or impossible.

I have always viewed the use of audio and video aids for learning to be highly valuable to learners because it is, essentially, a transmission of information that is NOT dependent on the learners ability to comprehend written text.  Naturally, I believe all students can and should learn to read, but in some cases the ability to understand printed text is not as efficient for all learners as listening or seeing visually.  The article, "Podcasting for online learners with vision loss" (2013), is an excellent example of how information can be transmitted without text.  Information can be delivered to people who are either not capable of seeing, or who's ability to see restricts the amount of information they can absorb.

In some cases step by step written procedures are not nearly as handy as being able to SHOW a user how to accomplish a task.  For example, this is a quick video on how to use K-State interlibrary loan procedure to request books, documents, and learning media from other libraries around the country.  The video is efficient, and although it has no sound, is able to demonstrate to users exactly how to operate the interlibrary loan program.  I personnaly have used youtube to learn things that written instructions might make complicated, like how to repair the hard drive in a MacBook Air, or how to replace a garbage disposal in a kitchen sink.

I see two potential problems with audio and video podcasting.  Audio podcasting maybe cheap and easy to deliver with his compacted bitrate and therefore quick downloads, but if visual cues are necessary and absent then learning is diminished.  While studying at the University of Northern Colorado I studied the history of the middle east in great lengths, without visual representation of objects, and practices that were completely unlike western culture I was not completely grasping the subject of the audio podcast.  If audio podcasts are to be used, more descriptive language is needed.  Listening to the news without the visual images to accompany it is not effective.

The second potential problem is that learning takes some interaction.  King and Cox (2011) touch on this subject on page 37, if a learner is simply reviewing information they may retain little of it, there must be some purpose, some objective, and then an assessment or check for understanding.  If education was just watching media presentations, we would not need teachers and classrooms would be taught by recordings only.  There must be some instruction as well as presentation of information.

King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Kim, D. (2011). Incorporating podcasting and blogging into a core task for ESOL teacher candidates. Computers & Education, 56(3), 632-641.

Whetstone, K., Mayberry, Ed, Czelusniak, Vernon, & Hartshorne, Richard. (2013). Podcasting for Online Learners with Vision Loss: A Descriptive Study, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Interview video

A few notes.  This video interviewed only 1 person who works as a Sylvan Learning center in Michigan.  The other people contacted me too late to contribute to this assignment.  Two interesting things that did not appear in the video.

1.  Some Sylvan Learning Centers do NOT offer just the online portion of the ACT Prep class because it is so ineffective.

2.  The standard rate for the Sylvan in Michigan is $50 per hour, and the minimum number of hours required for the ACT Program is 30-50 hours.  The online program is being sold at some locations as low as $300.

I spend most of the video talking about the specifics of the ACT program, but my conclusion is very simple, without due consideration of the context of the student, the self directed'ness of the learner, and the understanding of the technology being implemented the technology implementation alone will NOT increase learning.