Pragmatic Podcasting: Facilitating Podcasting in developing Higher Education Institutions

MLCAT is a desktop content authoring application that is used to record lectures and presentations for educational purposes. It does not only record the audio of the speaker but also their Power Point presentation. It is able to record, encode and save the presentation in various formats. The result is one synchronized multimedia video that can be played back on a variety of feature phones. Apple has a big success with the release of podcasting solutions, iPod series and accessories. They enable the user to carry around music and videos, play them back while on a bus or even use it as a digital multimedia library. These products have been trialled and used in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the developed world. Developing world HEIs such as those in Africa have limited diffusion of these technologies due to their relative high cost; infrastructural limitations, technical skills shortages; digital divides and cultural and socio-economic issues. This paper describes a pragmatic podcasting approach and how instructors can author and supply the learner with mobile-ready lecture recordings in order to enable mobile learning “anytime – anywhere”. Our solution has been implemented and is being made available for lecturers and students to examine and evaluate. The feedback will be analyzed and enhancements to the system proposed