Webcast fluster!

Quite randomly last week had to edit together and upload a number of Webcasts to Tulip. I did this by my classic method of CSS styles HTML web parts, but it could equally have been done by using the Windows Media Video web part (however would have lacked my custom background shapes).

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Using Web casts as part of your general teaching can enhance your teaching on many levels. I shall attempt to offer some reasoning behind this but fear Ray Jones might be reading and don't want to embarrass myself here! Right well here we go:

One of the main benifits of any form of Electronic learning is that users are able to access it where ever and whenever in the world. Students can log into your Teaching and Learning sites (Tulip or Emily) and access the resources you've put on-line and learn from these resources in a comfortable and unintimidating environment, at any time during the day. However normally they are then forced to come onto campus (sometimes travelling a far distance) to see an hours worth of lecturing only to return home again and read up on what was said in the lecutre.

What if students could witness these Lectures wherever they are in the world. This is the barrier Web casts break down. Students can take part in these lectures (watch or contribute) in their own spaces. Although this doesn't eradicate the time based problem it does mean for an hour lecture only an hour of the student (and lecturers) time is taken up since it only takes a couple of seconds to log in as opposed the time it takes to get ready to leave the house, then to travel to the lecture and back again.

Another benifit of using the Webcasts are the ability to have faceless discussions, students can log in as their own names or an Avatar (made up name or their online name) and take part in the discussions, these discussions work far better than in real life since, when all poeple are talking the discussion gets shown on the screen in a linear format, where's when people are talking in the real world all at once its just a mess of sound!

The last benefit of using Web casts is that they can be recorded, and the whole thing can be used as a resource on your Teaching and Learning site, so it then unlocks all the time benefits of students being able to watch a full length lecture where ever and whenever... just like the bbc Iplayer!