A preliminary study of podcasting in developing higher edcuation institution: A South African case

Purpose - The goal of our work is to report on Podcasting experience by faculty and students in a South African Higher Education Institutions, identify issues, limitations and discuss implications for the design of future tools. Design/methodology/approach - This work consisted of two parts: semi-structured interviews with lecturers, content/curriculum developers and a student survey. Findings - Rogers‟ diffusion of innovations theory provided the framework for this research including determining how new innovations are disseminated, their rate of adoption, the five stage decision making process for adoption and the characteristics an innovation must possess to be attractive to adopters. The methodology used relied heavily on descriptive and qualitative data analyses in order to determine the current podcasting practices and experiences. Results reveal that by assuming some of the respondents are “Innovators” or “early adopters”, they are still in the early stages of the decision making process. Research limitations/implications - Some instructors who are identified as “early adopters” are experimenting with Podcasting as an add-on to existing lecture resources. However, innovations and their subsequent adoption require an understanding of lecturers‟ and students‟ perceptions, opportunities and challenges. Originality/value - Podcasting in developing HEIs and the tools therein to support the process has not been given much attention. The context of this study is the first kind of empirical research in this area. The findings from this exploratory research will be valuable for podcasting users

An Opencast Mobile learning Framework for Enhancing Learning in Higher Education

Producing e-learning contents through recording of lectures can be relatively easy and flexible to produce than through the conventional Learning Management System (LMS) due to improved technology. Recording lectures can serve as supplementary, substitutional or creative materials to a conventional traditional lecture. With the popularity and evolution of powerful mobile devices like PDAs, mobile phones, iPods and iPads, which are light and portable it is easy to integrate these devices into the mobile learning system. This paper describes the evolution of pod casts to opencast and a mobile learning opencast framework that helps postgraduate students in higher education adapt educational resources from Opencast Matter horn to their mobile devices which can be used anytime and anywhere