Technology At City University of Seattle

A study pushed out by the US Department of Education shows that the need for digital content for classrooms is just starting out, and that demand for consumable content is only going to increase as systems become increasingly connected (on and off line) when it comes to student learning.

The need to incorporate digital content into every day classes, along with open source LMS (Learning Management Systems) have been shown to be cost effective at all levels of learning. The report from the US Department of Education states:

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified over 1,000 empirical studies of online learning. Of these, 46 met the high bar for quality that was required for the studies to be included in the analysis. The meta analysis showed that “blended” instruction – combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction – had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly on line was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction. In addition, the report noted that the blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. Source: Ed.gov

The full study can be found at this link right here.

As we grow out our podcasting systems (and we start to integrate into Itunes U), as well as making video content that is meaningful to students we hope to learn if the general ideas continue to hold true. That podcasts, video, and being freely downloadable will be a benefit to teachers and to students. If you want to talk about the podcasts we already have in place, drop us a note here. From what we have observed, the addition of podcasts does improve student learning, it would be cool to find out what you think.

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