OCR Text |
Show but they don't know exactly what it is. After surveying about 100 of the students in the communication 3550 class I took in spring of 2007, the results were shocking. When asked how many students have ever downloaded a podcast for usage, about 25 out of the 100 students raised their hands. Of those students, only four used them on a weekly basis. Students said some reasons they do not want to use pod-casts now or in the future are because podcasting seems too complicated, they don't have time, and because they can get the information from other places. They said they don't want to wait for things to download to their audio device (even if it is automatic) because they have other outlets that will allow them to view similar information whenever they want, and they don't have to wait for them to be downloaded. They also said that they would rather listen to music on their audio devices than a lecture or speech. Paul Rose, a professor in the communication department, said he knew what podcasts were, but was not a big fan, especially for using them as lectures. He doesn't think that many people, including himself, would want to take time to download podcasts to their portable audio device. As for lectures, he likes the teacher-student interaction. "There's something about face-to-face instruction that I like," he said. Rose is not totally against podcasting. He thinks it's beneficial. "It's just another outlet. If you're going to create a message, you may as well use it as a podcast," he said. Smith said that the generations of people over the age of 35 are considered technological immigrants. Technological immigrants are those people who are fairly new to the developing computer world. Smith considers himself in this category. He said that technological immigrants can "navigate fairly well, but it's still new to us." Younger students could probably pick it up a lot faster. "Young people now days ...they don't even think the same way I do because of the way technology has changed," he said. The way younger students look at the world, they way they relate to the world, the way they relate to each other has all changed, he said. "[Podcasts] are harder for the teachers," Smith said. Technological natives, who consist of college and high school students, are people who grew up using new technology and are familiar with it. Smith said, "[Computer technology] is a part of their lives from start to finish. For me, podcasting is an add-on." That's why it's harder for teachers. "That's why the students are usually [three] steps ahead of faculty and administration when it comes to things like [technology]," Smith added. When I asked students what they knew about podcasting at the U, many of them thought it was part of the U's KUER radio station. It's true. KUER does podcasting of their own just like the U's College of Humanities, but the central port for podcasting (which is the Web site developed by the marketing and communications department) focuses more on lectures, interviews and discussions that go on at the U. Students and faculty are welcome to submit podcasts to put on the marketing and communications department's Web site. For more information on podcasting or to submit a podcast, call Jason Smith at 801 -581 -3862 or e-mail him at jason.smith@ucomm.utah.edu. 26 lessons | fall 2007 |