Sara E. Fogie teaches bacteriology at the University of Alberta. She has developed podcasts that includes among other things, songs about bacteriology. You can read the entire article at the Chronicle of Higher Education: Bacteriology

The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses the length of a lecture when capturing for online use. I would be interested in opinions on this article and what you believe the correct length is for a lecture both online and face-to-face. The link to the Chronicle article is Chronicle of Higher Education

The answer is yes! There are a number of steps that you can take to make sure your students find value in attending class. This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education provides some good hints for assuring attendance. The Lectures Are Recorded, So Why Go to Class?

Labels: podcasting attendance

EduCAUSE is an excellent resource in the instructional technology world. They have recently released a report on podcasting. The report is comprehensive and includes information on what constitutes a podcast, several case studies, and discussions on learning as well as some future predictions for the technology. This article is available by clicking on the following URL: ELI Discovery Tool:Guide to Podcasting

There are some issues with accessibility on iTunes U. Apple is working to resolve those issues. If you are interested in learning about accessibility on iTunes U here are two links of interest:

Apple Accessibility
iTunes U and Accessibility

The University of Wisconsin has a nice tool for creating QuickTime text tracks. The tool is called "World Caption". You can check out this tool at World Caption

eSchool News reports that podcasting of lectures is now a staple at institutions of higher education. Creating or viewing a podcast is quite easy. Podcasting is technology that is easy to use and very reliable. The entire article is available at 'Coursecasting' now a higher-education staple

Apple is pleased to announce several updates to the iTunes U service, including:

Enhanced File Upload Support


Enhanced File Upload Support
iTunes U now provides a complete redesign of the Upload and Manage Files webpage, including adding the ability to edit file metadata. To see the new Upload and Manage Files webpage enhancements:

Click Upload And Manage Files in the Tools area of a Course page.
Click a tab to indicate the group where you want to upload, delete, move, reorder, or replace files, or edit file metadata.
Do the following, depending on your task:
To upload a file, click Add New File and select the file.
To delete files, select the files' checkboxes and choose Delete Files from the Choose Action pop-up menu.
To move files to another group, select the files' checkboxes, choose Move Selected Files To from the Choose Action pop-up menu, and then choose the destination group from the pop-up menu.
To reorder files within a group, select the file's checkbox, and then click the Up Triangle button or Down Triangle button to move the file up or down one position in the list.
To replace a file, select the file's checkbox, click the Arrow button, and then select the updated file.
To edit file metadata, select the file's checkbox, click the Pencil button, and then type a new title and artist. Click the Checkmark button to save your metadata changes.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each group in the Course page.
Click Done.
Notes:

There is no longer a Trash group within Course pages. Deleting files is now a one-step process. Previously, you moved files to a Trash group and then emptied the Trash. With this update, iTunes U immediately removes files from within a group when you choose Delete Files from the Choose Action pop-up menu.
If you previously moved files into a Trash group to delete at a later time, iTunes U temporarily saved the files in a new Recovered Trash group to help prevent unwanted data loss. If you no longer need the files, delete them from the Recovered Trash group. When the Recovered Trash group is empty, iTunes U permanently removes the group from within the Course page.
Replacing a file rather than deleting and uploading a new file is important if you want to save previously defined bookmarks and iTunes U popularity index entries associated with a file. You can replace the existing file using the Arrow button in the Upload and Manage Files webpage.
You cannot use the Upload and Manage Files webpage to work with files within a Smart or Feed group. iTunes U dynamically generates the contents for Smart or Feed group types. To modify these group types, use the Course page tab editing features within iTunes U.