Pick-A-Prof drops fees for podcasts of lectures

A Texas-based company that had been selling mp3 recordings of course lectures to students at two universities dropped its $5-per-lecture charge last week.\nThe pilot service, being tested in four large lecture classes at Texas A&M and University of Texas at Austin, now allows students to download those same audio recordings online for free at the Web site [www.Pick-A-Prof.com], said Karen Bragg, director of university relations at Pick-A-Prof. \n"The pilot is still going on and the students are responding well," Bragg said.\nThe $5 fee had been in place to cover the expense of iPods used and server time needed to post the lectures online, she said. Of that fee, 40 percent went to the professors involved and 60 percent went to cover costs incurred by Pick-A-Prof.\nThe bill was dropped based on student feedback, Bragg said.\n"Due to the high response from the students, we decided we would like to make the service available for free," she said. "Since none of the professors had a problem with it being available free of charge, we were able to do so."\nIrene Vlachos-Weber, a lecturer of psychology at IU, who said she has about 250 students in each of her classes, expressed concern about the consequences of such a system.\n"I think we've gotten a little spoiled by technology," she said. "You're paying (tuition) to come to class and receive the lecture. It's not a home entertainment system ... You can't just go to work whenever it's convenient for you ... and you shouldn't be able to just go to class whenever you think it's convenient for you, either."\nThe issue of intellectual property is particularly important to many professors, she added.\n"When lectures are available online and can be distributed to anyone, it's a piece of yourself that's out there and can even be taken out of context," she said. "You're kind of relinquishing control."\nVlachos-Weber provides lecture outlines as a study tool for students but has never provided detailed notes or recordings of her lectures, she said.\n"By taking away incentive to go to class, you make college a much more solitary experience," she said. "A lecture, by definition, is a group experience. And as far as discussions go -- the fewer students who are present, the less discussion occurs, and in the end everybody loses."\nBragg voiced support for the Pick-A-Prof service whether it was free or not.\n"I feel the same about the system whether there is a minimal fee or if it is free," she said. "Having the lectures available online is a great academic resource to students. Coursecasts enable students to retain more information from a lecture and better prepare for the course in general and before exams. It's a great student aid."\nA few professors among the IU campuses have begun distributing their lectures, mostly for distance learning. Between 40 and 50 classes, mostly at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis, make audio or video recordings available to students, said James McGookey, senior digital media analyst for University Information Technology Services' Digital Media Network Services. Students enrolled in those classes can access lecture recordings at www.indiana.edu/~istream.