Podcast vs Lecture

Once again we are reading about the death of the classroom. I'm not sure where this paranoia comes from. When I read the headline, "Podcast trumps lecture in one college study Researcher: Students who listened to a lecture via iTunes U outperformed those who attended in person -- pause button a factor" in eSchool News and found this obvious.

When I was in college in the early 70's, we classmates shared our class notes since no one student could get all the notes given. Later in my advanced studies, I brought a tape recorder to class to record the class or lecture for later use to fill in the missed notes, correct misspellings, and otherwise hear the class or lecture a second or even third time. It only made sense to listen multiple times just as I read and reread plays, poems, short stories, handouts and most everything I had to read for class as a teacher or as a student. I'm not sure I understand the uproar over the use of podcasts. Teachers have video taped their classes in the past for repeated viewing. We have access to books that we can read and reread, so why not use the technology to replicate a lecture or class, so that the students can get everything out of it they can. Isn't that the point of class? Why are we hearing an uproar and even a request not to do this? It really doesn't make any sense. It is also very sad that those arguing against the practice speak to the negative aspects which won't be born out by its use and as this study in Fredonia shows. I love the irony that this study was done at Fredonia.

I wish we could find a good compromise where technology augments our instruction instead of fighting the technology, which is all around us. It seems as if we are spending too much time fighting technology instead of using it wisely and even incorporating a Zen idea about technology.