UW's downloadable lectures have iPods playing a new tune

Along with more entertaining tunes, the University of Washington senior has downloaded his instructor's lectures to his iPod. Now he can learn all the about the world's oceans at home, in the gym or anywhere else on campus.


		Joshua Trujillo / P-I
	UW student Mike Jensen listens to a lecture by Richard Strickland during an oceanography class on campus. He's also able to hear the lecture by iPod.

"You're right there," he said. "It's almost like you're in class."

The course podcasts -- available through a UW pilot program -- have helped Jensen cram for tests while doing other things -- such as riding a stationary bike.

"When you're running around, it's easier to listen to the lecture," said Jensen, whose schedule these days is jammed. He's a forward on the Husky basketball team.

This quarter, oceanography instructor Richard Strickland and two other UW lecturers are offering podcasts -- allowing students to subscribe to the classroom sessions on their computer and transfer them to a portable listening device.

The podcasts have been downloaded more than 2,100 times since the program started a few weeks ago, UW officials said.

The university has long recorded lectures on audiocassette tapes, but students had to visit the library to listen to them. With podcasts, they're available any time and anywhere there's a computer with an Internet connection.

With iPods and other MP3 players becoming ubiquitous among college students, podcasting is a hot higher education trend -- only a year old. A growing number of universities across the country, including Stanford, Duke and Purdue, are podcasting some of their courses.

"We have a great audience, and everyone basically has their own listening equipment," said David Aldrich, the UW's pilot program director.

Fans of the program say the technology supplements the notes students take in class and won't replace face-to-face interaction. Although the availability of lectures online could tempt students to skip class, faculty members say they haven't seen a drop in attendance.


		Joshua Trujillo / P-I
	Oceanography instructor Richard Strickland shows the digital audio recorder he uses to create podcasts of his lectures at Kane Hall at the University of Washington. Strickland is one of three lecturers at the UW offering podcasts of class sessions.

Podcasts are currently available for only a few courses: Strickland's "The Changing Oceans," along with Matt Barreto's "Introduction to American Politics" and Douglas Merrell's comparative history of ideas class, "The Question of Human Nature."

The menu will be expanded in the future, Aldrich said. The basic technology needed to record a lecture costs about $700 per room.

During his Wednesday afternoon oceanography class, Strickland stood before a room of more than 80 students, Jensen included, to discuss how life formed.

Students can subscribe to the podcast lectures for free through the university Web site. The podcasts are automatically delivered to their computer through a free program, such as Apple Computer's iTunes or the open-source iPodder software. Like thousands of other podcasts available, they then can be played on a computer or transferred to an iPod.

The public can hear them, too. The podcasts are currently not password protected, officials said.

Some students are discovering how valuable the podcasts can be.

When sophomore Andrew Pugmire, 22, was sick and missed a political science class, he caught up by listening to the lecture on his computer.

"You don't miss a beat," he said. "It's the exact same thing as being here, except it's more comfortable at home."

The pioneering faculty members have found the podcasts helpful, too.

Barreto, an assistant professor of political science, thought he might have covered too much ground in a recent lecture. He listened to his recording and decided to review some of the material in his next class.

"It's a nice way for the faculty to audit their own lectures and get some feedback on themselves," he said.

Fellow lecturers said they don't expect podcasts to become a virtual classroom, replacing lecture halls. Some of the material they provide in class isn't available online, they noted, and class provides an opportunity for discussion and questions.

Sophomore Rohan Singh reviewed Barreto's lectures in preparation for this week's midterm.

He said he's not tempted to cut class, even though he could obtain the information with the podcasts. The 17-year-old said he likes to participate in class discussions, and it's easier to attend class than to remember to listen to the lecture later.

"I don't think I'd have that sort of discipline," he confessed.

Although podcasting has only been around a year, universities are already adopting the technology.

Duke was one of the first, distributing iPods to its entire freshman class last year. There, not only do faculty members podcast lectures, but students podcast discussions and interviews -- and even turn in audio responses in lieu of written papers.

"In a year's time, this has just exploded," said Casey Alt, who helps run Duke's information science department.

The UW is also experimenting with video streaming faculty lectures online, but Aldrich expects podcasting to become more prevalent. Video streaming requires someone to videotape the class, but equipment used in podcasting can be programmed at the beginning of the quarter to automatically record.

Within the next few weeks, the UW will start a podcast tour of campus written and narrated by students.

It will include about 15 segments on campus and a music sample from Seattle radio station KEXP, said Vice Provost Louis Fox. Prospective students will be able to download the podcast from the admissions Web site and listen to it on their MP3 player while at the UW.

The university plans to follow the campus tour with another podcast on student life, Fox said.