Students who downloaded the podcast averaged a C (71 out of 100) on the test - substantially better than those who attended the lecture, who on average mustered only a D (62). But that difference vanished among students who watched the podcast but did not take notes.Students who listened to the podcast one or more times and took notes had an average score of 77, McKinney says.
To find out how much students really can learn from podcast lectures alone - mimicking a missed class - McKinney's team presented 64 students with a single lecture on visual perception, from an introductory psychology course.
Half of the students attended the class in person and received a printout of the slides from the lecture. The other 32 downloaded a podcast that included audio from the same lecture synchronised with video of the slides. These students also received a printed handout of the material.
The researchers told the students they would be tested on the material in a week, and they also asked

They were asked to save their notes.Darren Griffin from Kent Uni.To further coax them into the classroom, he gives his students brief quizzes before each class. "I get 98% attendance that way," he says.

I'll need NOT to pass this on to my son upstairs, as will have an excuse not to have to go to uni!!!

ha ha better he takes the notes at lecture and listens too,for best results.At Flinders Uni Sth Au ,many of us went to library for hard stuff like chem/biol to listen to lectures again ze pod-cast was before my time.Hope he,s an "A" student like his old man,cheers.

Education is probably more stuck in the past than any other of our social institutions. Yet I think it is poised to take some great leaps forward.

Put a little Old School together with some New School, shake and mix and I think we might work our way forward to more Cool School.

It is good and necessary at some times to have social involvements and interaction and learning but there's no doubt that lots can be learned on our own more than ever.

President Obama's putting cash into broadband and computers has to be good and his new Sec. of Education sounds like a man who is not only willing to try out new things but then measure them to see if they work or not.

@citizenbfk,,ha ha "MORE COOL SCHOOL" I like that it,s the only way to keep ahead of the competition and in a democracy there is more freedom of individuals to innovate and come up with creative technology,Obama is on right track through as much money as he can at them little X,y whatever generation they are now days,Its good to hear from you again ,good thing you got a thick hide some seems like to give you some stick for keeping a positive outlook.We are still learning too I do lots from likes of ienbar & others, cheers.