Depends on the quality of the iTunesU material and the way it is integrated to the course. Poorly produced, badly integrated – bad. Well-made, skillfully incorporated – good.
iTunesU materials may boost perceptions of quality by seeming to be relevant and contemporary, and therefore as the work of a relevant and contemporary organisation. To some people, though, they may seem trivial and gimmicky, so endangering perceptions of quality and reputation. Perception is in the eye of the beholder.
iTunesU resources may affect approaches to study in positive and negative ways. Positive: accessibility, flexibility, engaging, capacity to illustrate ideas and information in different ways to, say, print materials. Negative: may present learning as a trivial, 'lifestyle' thing, as a commodity, may encourage a fragmented, incoherent, pick-and-mix approach to learning, may diminish the importance of other materials, may establish expectations of future learning, may be a barrier to students without means of access.
2) Impact on teachers' perceptions of context and approaches?
iTunesU may represent a challenge, even a threat, to traditional roles. How do I do this? What do I have to do differently?
May be seen as a threat to integrity of teaching, corrupting its essential coherency by fragmenting and commoditising it into convenient chunks (convenient, that is, for the medium first and foremost, the user second), and translating it into convenient media (convenient for the corporations first and foremost, users second).
iTunesU equally may be seen as an opportunity to learn new teaching and technical skills, to update one's teaching (materials and methods), and to use the medium to best advantage, for example by creating new material to address contemporary developments in the discipline – that is, to exploit the technology to the advantage of the curriculum (rather than enslaving the curriculum to the technology).
3) Assumptions about teaching and learning?
You betcha! Yes, the technology assumes that:
learning may be served by audio and video resources of limited duration
learning can be broken down into convenient (and coherent) chunks
learners require (and teachers recommend) such chunks
learners have equal access to the requisite resources
teachers and organisations have the resources and skills to produce materials in suitable forms and formats
a pick-and-mix approach to accessing the resources is appropriate to learning.
4) Assumptions good for learning and learners?
Yes and no, mainly no (probably). The assumptions are those of the technology (and the corporation behind it), so the bias is towards the technology (and the corporation). The challenge is for educators and institutions to tilt the balance in their favour and use the technology to their own advantage, rather than simply placing their resources in the iTunesU selection box and waiting for learners to find and choose and use them. The challenge is for educators and institutions not to abandon their resources (and their learners) to the mercy of the technology's (and the corporation's) assumptions and interests.
Week 12, Activity 5 (Technology in your context)
iTunesU
1) Impact on students' perceptions of quality?
Depends on the quality of the iTunesU material and the way it is integrated to the course. Poorly produced, badly integrated – bad. Well-made, skillfully incorporated – good.
iTunesU materials may boost perceptions of quality by seeming to be relevant and contemporary, and therefore as the work of a relevant and contemporary organisation. To some people, though, they may seem trivial and gimmicky, so endangering perceptions of quality and reputation. Perception is in the eye of the beholder.
iTunesU resources may affect approaches to study in positive and negative ways. Positive: accessibility, flexibility, engaging, capacity to illustrate ideas and information in different ways to, say, print materials. Negative: may present learning as a trivial, 'lifestyle' thing, as a commodity, may encourage a fragmented, incoherent, pick-and-mix approach to learning, may diminish the importance of other materials, may establish expectations of future learning, may be a barrier to students without means of access.
2) Impact on teachers' perceptions of context and approaches?
iTunesU may represent a challenge, even a threat, to traditional roles. How do I do this? What do I have to do differently?
May be seen as a threat to integrity of teaching, corrupting its essential coherency by fragmenting and commoditising it into convenient chunks (convenient, that is, for the medium first and foremost, the user second), and translating it into convenient media (convenient for the corporations first and foremost, users second).
iTunesU equally may be seen as an opportunity to learn new teaching and technical skills, to update one's teaching (materials and methods), and to use the medium to best advantage, for example by creating new material to address contemporary developments in the discipline – that is, to exploit the technology to the advantage of the curriculum (rather than enslaving the curriculum to the technology).
3) Assumptions about teaching and learning?
You betcha! Yes, the technology assumes that:
4) Assumptions good for learning and learners?
Yes and no, mainly no (probably). The assumptions are those of the technology (and the corporation behind it), so the bias is towards the technology (and the corporation). The challenge is for educators and institutions to tilt the balance in their favour and use the technology to their own advantage, rather than simply placing their resources in the iTunesU selection box and waiting for learners to find and choose and use them. The challenge is for educators and institutions not to abandon their resources (and their learners) to the mercy of the technology's (and the corporation's) assumptions and interests.