I was recently cleaning out my inbox when I came across the Jan. 16, 2008 edition of Campus Technology's Smart Classroom newsletter and the lead item was an interview with Rice University's Jeffrey Daniel Frey about podcasting and education. Mr. Frey offers some sound advice for individuals who are looking to get into the podcasting.
Two of his observations jumped out at me.
Campus Technology: Let's start by talking generally about podcasting in education. You've done a lot with podcasting, and you write and speak and consult on the topic. What do you see happening out there?
Jeffrey Daniel Frey: One of main thrusts is people who say that they need to podcast, but why? Doing something for the sake of technology doesn't work. The first thing I look at is the "why?" I ask people, what's the benefit? What are the metrics out there? What are you trying to say?
This is definitely an important question to be asked, not only for podcasting, but also for the use of any communications tool. Too often people want to jump onto the latest fad especially in the learning world.
His other comment is also something that gets lost in the rush towards the latest trend in content delivery.
CT: So it goes back to one of the basic rules about Web sites: it's really about content, not the medium.
JDF: Yes, know your audience, and start with the content. That's what we tell people when we're building a web site for them. Once we know that, we can figure out what the architecture should be around the content, then we can figure out what the delivery method for that content is.
Food for thought during this lunch hour posting.
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