iBethel

Opened to the public in 2007, iTunes U is now being used by universities across the nation, including Bethel, to make education portable.

Winter 2009 | by Heather Johnson with contributions from Kay Wible and Kevin Hendricks

Kim Werner is in class…in her dorm room. On her iPod, she’s listening to a lecture by Professor Chris Gehrz for her Modern Europe History class—while she’s also cleaning her room. The junior, double majoring in history and social studies, is able to download Gehrz’s lecture from a Bethel web page called “iTunes U” and then listen to it when and where she wants.

For his fall semester class of 15 students, including Werner, Gehrz replaced nine lectures with 60- to 70-minute podcasts—recordings uploaded to the internet. In addition to the traditional class content, they usually feature period music and tongue-in-cheek interviews with “guests” from history. Gehrz compares them to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

Werner and Gehrz represent a growing number of students and professors around the world—both on and off campuses—who are benefitting from iTunes U. After you read how, put those white earbuds in for a sampling. 

Class in Your Hand

Unlike the regular iTunes store where songs are 99 cents, audio clips, video clips and pdfs in iTunes U can be downloaded for free to a Mac or PC and then loaded onto an iPod—those wafer-thin stereo systems smaller than a slim deck of cards. iTunes U acts as a free distribution channel that schools use to disseminate “content” (programming) that can be made private or public.

At Bethel, iTunes U usage has increased exponentially in the past year. In November 2008, 950 percent more people (2,364) downloaded Bethel’s content (lectures, chapel speakers, sports games) than in January 2008. Furthermore, the number of those who browsed the content without downloading increased by 1,400 percent during the same time period.  

One reason for the increased interest is iTunes U’s ability to make knowledge more exciting. Gehrz tries to spice up some of the more mundane material that his historical survey class is obliged to cover. “He makes sure to change topics every 15 minutes. He interjects fun ‘commercial breaks’ that include historical figures’ birthdays or thank yous to historical ‘sponsors,’” says Werner. “Breaks like that make a 70-minute podcast much less intimidating and more enjoyable. It also helps me concentrate better when we get back to the more intense historical details.”

Caleb Graff, also in Gehrz’s class, agrees. “[The podcasts] provide us an option to regular class, and I think they give me a greater understanding of the material we’re discussing,” says Graff, a junior double majoring in social studies education and history.

In addition to making content more appetizing, podcasts are convenient. Werner can learn about 19th- and 20th-century Europe when and where it’s most convenient for her. As long as she has her iPod along. Gehrz generally provides the podcasts on Fridays or Mondays, so students have the weekend or several weekdays during which to listen.

“I think the podcasts are very effective,” says Werner. “If I miss something that’s said, or if I want to hear it again, it’s very easy to go back and listen to a portion again. And I always feel well prepared for the quizzes.”

Extra, Extra

Rather than replacing portions of class time with podcasts, some Bethel professors are adding them to—or supplementing—time spent in lectures.  Gehrz, along with Political Science Chair Stacey Hunter Hecht and Academic Enrichment and Support Center Director Sam Mulberry, created the CWC podcast to bring life to the general education class Christianity and Western Culture. 

The weekly podcast is entirely optional listening, a 30- to 40-minute radio show during which Gehrz and Mulberry talk about Christianity and pop culture. Launched in the fall of 2006, the lively show includes guest interviews, a “patron saint” of the week, and a sampling of current pop culture—from American Idol to NCAA basketball. Currently about 60 people download the show each week. “Bethel is highly relational. It’s a place where faculty and students really connect,” says Hunter Hecht. “I think the real challenge with this type of technology is using it in a way that complements and augments the things that are already so good here.”  

To that end, the departments of political science and history produced a special podcast—“Policast”—during the presidential campaigns to engage students in political discussion. The podcast didn’t replace any class time, but hopefully added meaning through current event analysis.

“You should never try to abandon the community aspect,” says Michael Vedders, director of web technology, of the student-to-student and professor-to-student relationships formed during a typical Bethel education. “But when you marry iTunes U with the community aspect, it just makes learning that much more robust.”

For Bethel and Beyond

Bethel podcasts are traveling beyond campus too. They’re in the ears of parents and potential students who can get a feel for the school by listening to chapel speakers or downloading condensed video of football games, band performances, and Welcome Week videos. They’re also in the ears of alumni who live far away or are unable to attend certain events such as Homecoming.

Like most schools, Bethel does limit access by requiring users to log in, but it also offers select content to the general public. And Gehrz is drawing an audience never before connected to Bethel. His podcasts are often among the most popular on iTunes U’s history page. In fact, his “Liberalism and Socialism” was ranked No. 9 on the “Most Downloaded” list (downloaded nearly 1,000 times).

“I’ve received e-mails from non-Bethel listeners, ranging from a graduate student in Denmark to a naval officer in Virginia,” says Gehrz.

In this way, iTunes U acts as both a promotional tool for Bethel and a public service. Some listeners have even emailed Gehrz, sharing why they liked his podcast or asking for the syllabus to his class so they can read books from his reading list.

“This is another chance for us to become salt and light,” Vedders explains. “We can distribute content, but we can also critique other content from a Christian perspective.”

Last April, Bethel’s three-day Journalism through the Eyes of Faith conference featuring Ray Suarez, senior correspondent for “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” was highlighted on iTunes U’s home page, making Bethel and its values visible—and audible—to people across the world. “The more public we become, the more impact we make,” says Vedders.

On and off campus, Bethel’s growing presence on iTunes U is both convenient and educational, and its combination of the latest technology, great education, and a commitment to faith is creating a new venue for ministry.

You on iTunes U

Want to download Bethel content? Go to bethel.edu/its/itunes-u/. If you have a Bethel username and password, you can log in. If not, you must use a guest account.

Interested in other content? Visit http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning/?ref=http://itunes.com. And be sure to watch for Professor Chris Gehrz in the history category.