Those Coldplay and U2 favorites aren’t the only tunes that can live inside your iPod.
Audio and video of Northwestern’s 2005 Waa-Mu show can now rock your iPod, iTunes or computer with the click of a button.
NU’s School of Communication now offers audio and video podcasts from its Web site. The podcast web page currently offers Waa-Mu for iPod or computer download, but will eventually offer podcasts of campus activities, guest lecturers and performances, faculty interviews and classes, said Dennis Glenn, Assistant Dean for Distributed Education for the School of Communication.
The idea for school podcasts developed when Glenn met with Communication Dean Barbara O’Keefe about a month ago to discuss new ways to reach prospective students, Glenn said.
“I’m an old man and I don’t want to look at how I use the Web,” Glenn said. “I look and talk to people that are interested in coming to our site – students, alumni and new students. They want to know what life is like at NU. How would you get information about Waa-Mu, debate, all of the things we work on? We’re a communication school, so why don’t we start using some of these communication tools?”
There is a “wealth” in podcasting, Glenn said. Podcasting will allow prospective students to learn more about the school by watching NU events firsthand, he said.
“This could be a great vehicle for prospective students,” said Charlotte Tan, School of Communication Web master. Tan keeps the podcasting Web site current.
The Waa-Mu podcast was placed in the Events and Activities section of the Communication Web site two weeks ago, but Tan said updating the site is an ongoing process. Glenn is gathering faculty interviews, and video clips from classes and of guest lectures, he said. These will become available within the next several months.
“The whole idea is that you might want to take something with you and watch it later when you have time,” Glenn said.
Glenn raised the possibility of podcasting lectures for students who miss class due to illness. But he cautioned that video technology should not become a replacement for attending class.
“We have a strong face-to-face relationship between students and teachers, and classes are designed for that communication,” Glenn said. “The verbal exchange between students and faculty is necessary to learning.”
Some Communication Web sites already offer interactive video.
The Communication theatre and dance programs offer streaming video interviews with faculty members. The Communication Systems Strategy and Management Program, a Communication master’s program, currently streams video of classes and slides on its Web site, Glenn said. This allows students from around the world to “come into the classroom,” he said.
The number of students who have used the Communication podcast thus far is unknown, Glenn said. Numbers will be tallied as the site is updated, but information about the podcast has not been made public yet, he said.
Reach Margaret Matray at
Podcast web site:
www.communications.northwestern.edu/events/podcast
