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Podcasts of University Lectures?
theslashdot asks: "I'm working at a major university in the US, and have been charged with posting pod-casts of class lectures on the internet. The problem is whether or not posting the videos would allow students to skip class and just download the lecture, instead. I guess the problem is trying to strike the right balance between allowing good students to take advantage of this resource, but discourage bad students from staying at home all the time and watching all the lectures right before the exam. So what methods can be used to provide these pod-casts for the students who actually attended class? In terms of when the lecture should be posted, what would be a good time-frame? Immediately after the class? 24 hours? One week? One class behind schedule?"
"In terms of trying to prevent this, here are some possible solutions I've come up with:
- Post the lecture with authentication based on the class list for those enrolled in the course, although this would not really discourage truancy.
- Post the lecture with authentication based on those who attended the class (student cards would have to be barcode-scanned at the beginning of class); this would prevent those who missed the class from downloading the lecture, but presumably they could receive a copy from a student who did attend the class. Additionally it would create a major hassle for all students to ensure that their attendance is registered.
- Post the lecture with a single password that the professor distributes to the class during the lecture. This would discourage students from missing the lecture, but likely those students missing class could simply obtain the password from another student who did attend the class."
- Post the lecture with authentication based on the class list for those enrolled in the course, although this would not really discourage truancy.
- Post the lecture with authentication based on those who attended the class (student cards would have to be barcode-scanned at the beginning of class); this would prevent those who missed the class from downloading the lecture, but presumably they could receive a copy from a student who did attend the class. Additionally it would create a major hassle for all students to ensure that their attendance is registered.
- Post the lecture with a single password that the professor distributes to the class during the lecture. This would discourage students from missing the lecture, but likely those students missing class could simply obtain the password from another student who did attend the class."
"I welcome all the responses telling me that I'm an idiot or whatever, that's fine. "
How about whining and mildly racist narcissist? "Idiot" would seem inappropriate in light of your obvious cleverness. Portraying your superficial and contemptuous attitude towards learning as some form of superior intelligence is no mean feat, and you might succeed if that attitude wasn't so recognizably common.
An educator's job is to engage their students in the topic they teach, and while they won't always succeed, they never will if not given the opportunity. If a student can't be arsed to make it to class, then why should the teacher pass them? There's no way of knowing how well they understand the material through testing unless the subject is extremely technical in nature. Learning how to read a textbook right before an exam and learning where to find information doesn't mean you deserve to pass most courses. If you show up consistently and are attentive, but the teacher fails to interest you in the subject, then perhaps it is the fault of the teacher (and not the "girl two rows away.") On the other hand, if you can't make an attempt to take anything more from a class than a "rubber stamp" and view attendance as a chore, perhaps the fault is yours.
Tags != Comments, and -1 (Troll) != -1 (I Would Respond Angrily To This Poster So They Must Be Trolling)
Control freak professors don't care if you learn or not, as long as you sit still, obey, and shut up while they are speaking. The control freak professor wants to control not only how you learn, but what you learn. The control freak professor considers you as something to have information programmed into, for whatever agenda. If you aren't in class then you cannot be taught to obey. If you aren't in class you cannot be late and punished. If you aren't in class you cannot be graded by how you look, by gender, race, etc. If you aren't in class you cannot be told how to learn.