Why go to class when you can get the same lecture in podcast form?
Various media outlets have picked up the lecture podcast meme, the most recent being the Chicago Tribune. In "More undergrads playing hooky when the classes go online" the author noted that the advent of technologies such as podcasting has actually decreased attendance of many classes. This unsurprisingly has caused consternation among some faculty members who have started pulling the material offline in order to restore regular attendance.
To this end, Forbes recently had a discussion on free podcasts from Stanford, why pay the $30k+/year when you can get it for gratis? In fact, this audio lecture system has been formally streamlined in Apple's new "iTunes U" endeavor which includes several other colleges including the University of Missouri, Brown, Duke, University of Wisconsin and University of Michigan. See also Ars' .edu findings including the Educational Podcast Network.
And speaking of money, as a follow-up to 'Going Broke By Degree' (regarding the relatively high costs of attending) see the recent "Huge college loans eating up salaries" article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which suggests that graduates are: Rich in education, poor on student debt.
Lastly, 'Growing trends in higher education' documents the recent pattern of brick-and-mortar schools to offer many programs via distance education and sometimes exclusively online through technologies such as podcasting. This was a follow-up to last weeks article "Will the University Survive?"
Comments (6)
As a senior in college who graduates in May, as someone with 40k+ in debts to various loan corporations as well as the federal government, and as someone who has spent countless hours in the last three years receiving an informal education in economics almost exclusively through www.mises.org's resources, I must say that nowadays it feels like what I'm really paying for is the piece of paper.
Although, I don't know how marketable I'd be with a resume sans a B.A. (not that studying in the humanities has made me that attractive!)
Published: February 1, 2006 12:04 AM
LOL! Why go to class if you can listen for free? You don't go to class to listen to the lecture. You go so that the educational institution will certify that you passed and thereby signal your (difficult to measure) labor value as being greater. Employers tend not to trust claims of "oh, I listened to the Stanford lectures and I totally understood them!"
Published: February 1, 2006 8:22 AM
clearly, in any course of study worth following you're going to need to ask questions of the instructor to learn well. And, as was mentioned by others, you want the piece of paper.
Still, these can be good for busy professionals who have an honest desire to pick up some extra knowledge on the cheap.
Published: February 1, 2006 9:17 AM
HZ, this is the beauty of a _formal_ distance learning class. The lectures are pre-recorded, questions from registered (paid) students would be accepted and the professor would release their answers to the questions as another file.
Or, a real-time question/answer time could be arranged, again for paid students. Whether a recording of this would be made available is a question for those who put it into action to decide.
"This Friday, from 1 to 3, I will be taking questions concerning Lecture #3. Skype "austrianhistory101" or email your question to austrianhistory101@classes.mises.org. As usual, all email comments on topic are welcome, only questions and calls from registered students will be addressed directly."
I could easily see this done today. One caveat, the personal interaction that I see pictured and discussed when there are stories about "Austrian Scholars Conference" and "Mises University" would be lost. That would be a very bad thing, and so perhaps this distance learning thing would be best applied to the more well-trodden paths of "Econ 101" and the like.
Still, we are at the point where instantaneous communication from much the world can be accomplished rather cheaply. What an astounding thing all by itself!
Published: February 1, 2006 2:49 PM
Curt,
As far as discussion goes you could come close with an online discussion room setup to support real-time video (webcams, etc.)
So the scenario could also include "Today @ 1-3 there will be a discussion session for registered students at [url here]." For example these type of systems can be implemented in Flash with no install required on client machines besides the Flash player (which pretty much everyone already has).
These video discussion sessions could also be recorded and made available in a sort of discussion archive.
Published: February 1, 2006 3:34 PM
>>One caveat, the personal interaction that I see pictured and discussed when there are stories about "Austrian Scholars Conference" and "Mises University" would be lost.
Great point. We are still social creatures. As businesses adopt more telecommuting and doing business with counterparts around the globe this is also an issue.
But there are solutions. I just did a quick trip to meet face-to-face with some of my key vendors. Now we can do business via phone and E-mail for the next 12 months having made that personal connection.
I think events like the Mises University will endure and are actually a better model for the future. Fellow students and researchers can meet face-to-face at such events and then interact remotely for the rest of the year.
There is no need to share a campus for 9 months at a time.
Again, in business, we have trade shows and conferences where we can meet periodically, but we no longer need to do business exclusively with people in our own city.
Published: February 3, 2006 2:04 PM