Podcasts increasingly used by faculty
By Liz McAvoy | September 23, 2010An increasing number of faculty and staff members at the University of Richmond are using podcasts and other forms of technology to supplement typical teaching settings. Fred Hagemeister, coordinator for academic technology services in the UR Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology, said the CTLT liaisons work with faculty and staff each semester in workshops to teach about podcasts. Hagemeister said that although podcasts have typically been a way for professors to give students access to course information or lectures outside the classroom, the small-class setting at Richmond has led to the development of more interactive uses of podcasts and other technologies. Scott Bray, director of technology for the education department, assists education minors with learning to create podcasts for their student teaching classrooms. "We look at different ways students can integrate technology into the classroom," he said. Bray also said he thought the Technology Learning Center and related departments had provided a variety of opportunities to faculty for professional development around podcasting. Senior Emma Hines, an education minor, created a podcast in her Education through Technology class with Bray. "We were required to create a podcast that could be used in an elementary classroom lesson," Hines said.