Podcasting rewards Technology Innovator

Hear David Miller’s podcast about how he uses the medium. Click here.

Psychology professor and associate department head David Miller, who has pioneered the use of podcasting in his introductory psychology courses in CLAS, is one of Campus Technology magazine’s 13 “Technology Innovator” award winners for 2007.

Miller is cited in the August 2007 issue for “sophisticated use of podcasts, precasts, and postcasts to enhance course material and facilitate learning.”

Campus Technology this year had more than 330 nominations for Technology Innovator awards.

Miller uses podcasts, which are audio files that students can download to a portable iPod or MP3 player or hear on their computer, to broaden the opportunities for students in his 315-student General Psychology class to interact with him and one another.

Precasts are podcasts that preview material before lectures, and postcasts are short, topical podcasts that re-explain concepts in more detail.

Miller created iCube, a weekly one-hour discussion of course material with a group of students who meet with him and ask questions. The sessions are recorded as podcasts and made available to all students on Miller’s Web site.

“Some students have even switched to psychology because of their active participation,” Miller told Campus Technology.

“We not only discuss course material, but also any other topics of interest related to psychology,” he said.

Miller’s podcasts were recently rated No. 1 in the education category on the DigitalPodcast.com Web site. They are available free through the Apple iTunes store and have rated highly as a popular download from Apple.

Miller will present a poster on how podcasting can enhance a course at the January 2008 National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology Conference.

Visit Campus Technology’s Web site to learn more about the 2007 Technology Innovator winners: http://campustechnology.com/articles/49211/ . To learn more about Dave Miller’s podcasting, click on http://campustechnology.com/article.aspx?id=49206.