Fa unes setmanes, Enrique Dans, feia referència a un article publicat a la revista Computers & Education, titulat “iTunes University and the classroom: Can podcasts replace Professors?“

L’article recull una experiència d’ús dels podcast (a través de la plataforma iTunes University) el resultat de la qual indica que els alumnes que van rebre la classe via podcast obtenien puntuacions significativament més altes que aquells que van rebre la classe de forma presencial.

Podria semblar una conclusió controvertida; aprendre més sense el professor?? però anant més enllà, destacaria la utilitat del podcast, no com a substitut, sinó com a complement. I com indica Dans, por donar indicis de com reorganitzar la classe presencial, potser donant-li una altre enfocament metodològic, aprofitant la interacció, etc. i utilitzant el podcast per enregistrar els continguts…

En aquest altre blog, Learn out Loud, recullen una selecció del què consideren el millor de iTunes University.

Tony Bates també recollia l’abstract d’aquest article, que requereix subscripció per tenir-lo sencer.

Abstract

iTunes University, a website with downloadable educational podcasts, can provide students the opportunity to obtain professors’ lectures when students are unable to attend class. To determine the effectiveness of audio lectures in higher education, undergraduate general psychology students participated in one of two conditions. In the lecture condition, participants listened to a 25-min lecture given in person by a professor using PowerPoint slides. Copies of the slides were given to aid note-taking. In the podcast condition, participants received a podcast of the same lecture along with the PowerPoint handouts. Participants in both conditions were instructed to keep a running log of study time and activities used in preparing for an exam. One week from the initial session students returned to take an exam on lecture content. Results indicated that students in the podcast condition who took notes while listening to the podcast scored significantly higher than the lecture condition. The impact of mobile learning on classroom performance is discussed.

McKinney, D., Dyck, J. and Luber, E. (2009) ‘iTunes University and the classroom: Can podcasts replace Professors?’ Computers and Education, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 617-623