Would A Professor Accept A Podcast For Homework?
Submitted by Taran on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 11:55
It is no secret that I think podcasts are inefficient in transmitting information - something especially true when it comes to people downloading podcasts without true broadband. While I'm sitting here in a hotel cruising on a wireless network at speeds which defy anything possible in Trinidad and Tobago (a failure of telecommunications in Trinidad and Tobago - no surprise), I feel no need to download people making guttural sounds in microphones. Indeed, I've been using the connection to read and write more. The greatest benefit of the bandwidth for me has been uploading pictures - something which is an arduous process in Trinidad.
Here I am, in the land of plenty. Text is still more efficient for me.
Only about a week ago, I was text IMing with someone holding a bunch of voice chats in Second Life. Since I have a healthy respect for the person and what that person does, I won't name them - but I wrote something to him which made me think. I wrote:
If what someone has to say isn't important enough for me to write it down, why would I want to listen to it?
This haunted me. Somewhere in my past, someone had said something similar to me, and I still don't remember who it was - but I am fairly certain it was in an academic setting. Perhaps math or physics, subjects where I was notorious for not showing all my working. Either way, the sentence makes a bit of sense - something that I am sure I would have argued at length some time ago.
So, to the title question: Would a professor accept a podcast as homework? Would a professor want to listen to a class of podcasts and grade them? How would one grade a podcast? How does one comment on a podcast?
I see no way that I would consider a podcast as homework unless the podcast was the assignment - and even then, I'm not sure I would want to assign one. 'Umm' a few thousand times gets rather boring.
What do you think?
Non-traditional assessment methods
In the UK, we're required by the DDA to make "reasonable adjustments" for disabilities. This would include things like dyslexia that make writing hard, as well as things like car crashes and two broken arms that might make it impossible (albeit briefly).
Under those circumstances you might be able to claim a need to submit a podcast. In fact if you do NVQs a lot of the material required is allowed to be presented in various forms, including witness statements, observations, professional discussions (which would be podcast these days) etc. For some of them it is required to be in some of these other forms.
Now, questions about whether it is a suitable medium for academic presentations which are traditionally assessed by written work is a whole different kettle of fish. Most people can learn, and are taught (specifically or incidentally) how to write academically. Very few people are currently taught (and always deliberately I suspect) how to use a microphone, set up a speech, present a logical argument in verbal form and so on. Consider radio presenters - they usually sound reasonable over the radio (you may not like what they say, their tone of voice etc. but there aren't long pauses, ums, errs, etc.) but when they talk to the public, forget it... without training our speech is full of pauses, filler sounds and so on.
As a marker of work at a range of levels, up to degree standard sometimes, I would mark a podcast. However, I would strongly advise people NOT to try it unless they really struggle with writing for some reason. The beauty of writing is it allows you to conveniently edit, proofread etc. and make sure your thoughts are actually presented as you want them. Whilst you can do this with verbal presentations it isn't fast - you either train like a newsreader or you rehearse like an actor. And guess what... both of those groups start from the written word too!
Hmm
It seems to me you cannot learn to write by talking, even talking about writing. I don't think you can learn to write by hearing someone else talk about writing. If the lesson requires a written assignment, a verbal one will not do. On the other hand, if it is a class in something, say, like diction (And there should be classes that teach this!) then perhaps a podcast would be handy - but I would much rather have a person stand before me and speak so I can observe mannerisms and other such.
As more and more of our communication takes place on line, it becomes more important than ever to be sure written communication is still a skill among people, and that diction and proper useage is something we must use - and insist that others use- lest we lose it...
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