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  • NPR and Higher Ed

    By Joshua Kim March 21, 2010 8:57 pm EDT

    NPR is kicking our ass. Technology wise. Should it bother me that a bunch of elitist, left-wing, fair-trading, latte sipping, radio bloviating NPRians have figured out how to leverage the power of social media while us geniuses in higher ed remains stuck somewhere between the 21st and 11th centuries?

    Two of the essential sources of news and content for people working in academic computing are the NPR Education and Technology podcasts. (Some day I hope we get big enough that NPR starts an educational technology podcast!) NPR has been smart enough to realize that: a) their content can be remixed and repackaged, and b) podcasting allows listeners to time and device shift.

    The fact that I pay yearly membership dues to NPR is solely because of their willingness to repackage their content into podcasts. Each week the wonderful NPR education and technology stories are automatically synced to my iTunes and my iPod. In a sea of content related to education and technology, I never miss what NPR serves up. They have my attention.

    The fact that NPR has been way ahead of higher ed in leveraging technology to deliver its content, in innovative ways across new mediums, is particularly striking given public radio's funding structure. NPR's national programming (Morning Edition, All Things Considered etc) is primarily paid for by local stations (affiliates) sending fees and dues for the programming. Local stations, in turn, raise most of the money required to pay for the national programs (and their local programming) through on-air fund raising campaigns. Understandably, the local affiliates are concerned that if listeners can bypass the local radio stations and download NPR content via podcasts the result will be a reduction in contributing radio listeners.

    Wired Magazine, writing about the podcasting and NPR, put it this way:

    "While most NPR programming has been streamed online for several years, the portable, time-shifted, on-demand nature of podcasting affords a new level of convenience and access. Yet, at the same time, it can turn ears away from local stations -- possibly for good -- which could be a problem for affiliates that rely heavily upon member donations to pay the dues to air some of the same programming listeners can now get free as MP3s."

    In this context, the decision by NPR to provide its content via podcast seems particularly brave. In higher ed we are still figuring out ways to disaggregate, unbundle, and remix our content. Prospective students and existing students, alumni and lifelong learners may be have a high demand for the teaching and research produced in our classrooms and labs, but the opportunities to get at this content remain limited. We can debate what part of our knowledge production should be disintermediated from our campuses, and repurposed for various platforms, but surely some of what we produce would qualify.

    The other area where I'm jealous of NPR is how far ahead of us they are in mobile apps. Have you checked out the NPR iPhone/Touch app? It totally rocks! Could you imagine an app this good for your college or university (or a consortia of higher ed institutions), one that allows students (or lifelong learners) the ability to instantly find and interact with all the knowledge being produced on your campus?

    Come on everyone ….. are we going to keep letting NPR eat our lunch when it comes to technology and social media?

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Comments on NPR and Higher Ed

  • What NPR cannot do
  • Posted by Sherman Dorn , Professor at University of South Florida on March 22, 2010 at 4:30am EDT

  • I love NPR, but a podcast is not a class. You show me the NPR podcast that explains a concept to a student the thirteenth way... the way that the student finally understands... and then maybe we'll call it a class. You show me the NPR podcast that gives feedback on a draft paper, and maybe we'll call it a class. You show me the NPR podcast where the majority of listeners get to contribute, and maybe we'll call it a class. Until then, it's a wonderful public resource, but it doesn't replace me or any of my colleagues.

  • What NPR adds
  • Posted by Dr. John Gostan , Professor, Social Sciences at New England Institute of Art on March 22, 2010 at 7:45am EDT

  • Sure, NPR has its limits. It is a media force and not an institution of higher education. It will never replace a comprehensive educational experience, nor is it attempting to. It is a true gift to educators, students and the community at large. Specifically, I have guided students for several years to incorporate NPR content into the discussion for the courses I instruct. Each time we find content specific to class topics, I get a "guest speaker" or two, as well as ongoing commentary such as callers and others who challenge or support the topic at hand. I have been very surprised by student reactions as well. In this way I fortify the class experience with real world, real time discussion. It is a truly amazing resource that quite frankly we could use more of. As the professor it is my job to challenge each student and give as much information and exposure as possible. My guests from the current and archived NPR broadcasts, invited by hyperlink or podcast are priceless...

  • Show me a student with the time to do all the reading?
  • Posted by Seth Gordon , Associate Director of Enrollment Services at Antioch University McGregor on March 22, 2010 at 10:00am EDT

  • Podcasts, from NPR or otherwise, are great way to get content to students and have them listen to it their cars or otherwise. Few students I know (including myself) ever have time to fully engage with the material, specifically assigned readings etc... Podcasts can offer a wonderful way to allow busy students, both traditional or non-traditional, to have access to the material and fuel that all important class discussion with more than blank stares and unrelated comments.

  • Posted by Barbara Cole on March 22, 2010 at 12:45pm EDT

  • I encourage you to encourage higher ed folk to include/question/use appropriate any and all technology but name calling "latte-sipping, ...has little to do with the argument. Leaving out such denigrating comments (perhaps intended to be humorous???) would have found your article much more useful.

  • Posted by George K on March 22, 2010 at 3:45pm EDT

  • There's a gee wiz quality to the tone of this piece, something I believe Lewis Mumford referred to as "the rhEtoric of the technological sublime" i.e, as explained by James Carey, the idea that every new technology appears an unblemished breakthrough initially, offering us a hyperbolic promise of blessings; later, the promises are deflated and all the hype see for what it is. The major piece in last Sunday's NYTimes is a more sober view of all this increased accessibility of stuff that's supposed to make us all so much smarter.

    Caveat emptor.

  • Remaining relevant
  • Posted by Paul Baker , Communications agent at Wisconsin Ctr for Education Research on March 23, 2010 at 10:45am EDT

  • I have long felt that Higher Ed lags behind the for-profit sector in adopting social media, so this post spoke to me. I do agree with John G.: Rather than holding up NPR as an example of an educational institution, Joshua discusses how it, as a news medium (with education as a component of its mission) has made great strides in adapting social media to extend its outreach and to remain relevant. I take Seth G.'s comment to advocate podcasts as a supplement to, not a replacement for, other curricular materials. And Joshua's over-the-top "latte-drinking" barb surely pokes fun not at NPR, but at those who caricature it as such, just as he pokes fun of "us geniuses in higher ed".
    Much of NPR's recent technological evolution can be credited to Andy Carvin http://www.npr.org/templates/community/persona.php?uid=1830547 , and I enjoy following his Twitter stream: @carvin

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