Horizon2007:Shortlist 1d
From Horizon Project
Time-to-Adoption: One Year or Less
Can You Hear Me Now? The Resurgence of Audio
All over the web, new voices are emerging—literally. Recording, editing, and distributing audio has never been so easy, and it is quickly becoming a popular way to express opinions, create parodies, make social commentary, and broadcast lectures and talks. Just one of the many audio-related sites, Odeo (odeo.com), has over two million audio files in mp3 format available free. These clips range in length from a few seconds to several minutes and cover topics from business to music, science to sports, news, television, and more.
These short clips are another expression of the new creative audience. Podcasting was one of the early uses of audio capture and distribution, but we are now seeing new forms, including short interviews, group discussions, synchronous voice-over-IP (VoIP) audio conferences of up to a hundred people, and recordings of keynotes, performances, and courses. Recording equipment is readily available, whether it’s an iRiver, a cell phone, or software that works with a VoIP provider like Skype. We are rapidly approaching the point when any instructor can capture and distribute a lecture online by walking into the room and pushing a button labeled “record this class.”
Relevance for Teaching, Learning & Creative Expression
- Digital audio is portable and has many natural applications, such as foreign language study, access to historical commentary and speeches, and topical review.
- Audio is rich media — and especially appealing to auditory learners.
- Listening to audio can shift time- content can be accessed while people are engaged in other activities- commuting, exercising, etc
- Audio conveys more information than text, including cues to mood and meaning, making it especially valuable to researchers, journalists, and interviewers in any field.
Examples
- A team of professors at the Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis and Saint Mary’s College of California are teaching film analysis via a “serialized academic text” recorded in the form of podcasts: http://outofthepast.libsyn.com
- Science on Odeo provides links to hundreds of free scientific programs produced by NPR, the Discovery Channel, ABC News Medical Minute, the CBC, and more: http://odeo.com/science
- At the University of Cincinnati, a faculty member is providing students with detailed feedback via audio commentaries: http://www.academiccommons.org/ctfl/vignette/digitized-audio-commentary
For Further Reading
Five Steps to Designing Podcasts that Teach(retrieved November 14, 2006 from University of Wisconsin-Madison). This short how-to article explains how to design and create an educational podcast, focusing on the educational value rather than on the technology. engage. http://doit.wisc.edu/podcasting/teachAndLearn/
Beyond Text: Using Your Voice Online (Retrieved November 14, 2006). This project has explored the application of online voice technologies in different learning contexts and with different learner groups to develop models of practice and practical guides for teachers in Australia wishing to move beyond text and integrate online voice technologies into online delivery, assessment and support services. http://btresource.flexiblelearning.net.au/beyond_text_resources/bt/index.htm
More resources tagged at http://del.icio.us/tag/hz07 -- If you have more, add or tag them in your own del.icio.us account with our official tag of hz07
Discussion
Add your thoughts, suggestions, examples to add here, and indicate who wrote it-- e.g. [Alan]
This is the "click generation". Audio is serial. Who has time for listening to audio unless it's music, e.g. SMS over voice mail. [Tom Z]
