Week 2c

Activity 8a
Make some notes about the two audio case studies, focusing on these questions:

• What was the rationale for using audio in each of the case studies?
• What educational purpose(s) was audio intended to serve? Did these change over time?
• What audiences were served by projects?
• Was the experience for learners synchronous or asynchronous? And was it individual or group-based?
• How would you characterise the roles of teachers and learners in the programmes described?
• What model(s) of learning was/were primarily involved?
• How active or passive were learners expected to be?
• How was the use of audio ‘interactive’? Did this change over time?
• What educational limitations of audio were identified?
• How did the projects described in the case studies relate to formal education provision within their respective countries?

Finally, summarise what you think were:

• the main advantages or benefits that audio offered for education in each of the case studies
• the main disadvantages or limitations (for learners and teachers) of using audio for education in each of the cases.

Activity 8b
1. Now that you have had the opportunity to consider the two case studies, what have you learned about why and how audio has been used for educational purposes?
2. Do you think that it is possible to generalise your findings to other educational developments or innovations involving the use of technologies?
3. To what extent were there similarities between the advantages or benefits that you noted for each case study?
4. To what extent were there similarities between the disadvantages or limitations that you noted for each case study?
5. What do you think were the primary reasons for using audio in the two cases?
6. What assumptions about (or models of) teaching and learning underpinned each of the cases?

• Note any implications for you as a teacher or as somebody who uses technologies to support learning (e.g. does it make you think differently about what you do?).
• Post your notes to your tutorial group forum and read the contributions of other students (this will spread over a few days). What can you learn from their experiences?