The Academics of Podcasting

This story in the Guardian U.K. titled "Will podcasting finally kill the lecture?" gives an interesting glimpse into the future. It was written by Dr. David Hearnshaw who lectures in computing studies at the University of Westminster.

Lectures via podcast seems to be quite an interesting application. Schools of higher learning that adopt an on-demand content platform may be the model for the future.

Perhaps the core lecture content is not entire way to go as I would hate to think that tomorrow's students will avoid the torture most of us had to endure. As the article suggests, a picture is worth a thousand words, so those crazy scribbles on the blackboard may be hard to replace. Also, the social setting of a class on campus is a huge part of the learning environment that can't be replaced by an iPod or MP3 player.

I believe the niche can be found in supplemental course material. Perhaps even "student-casts" to explore the discussions around topics and reading materials. These areas may be interesting avenues as this genre evolves.

Now the real question is, if the lecture itself goes the way of the dodo, where will students get that pre-requisite nap required for the all night parties?

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