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Clearly, the note-taking factor contributed to the overall scores. As someone who was in college before podcasting became popular but after sending students home with PowerPoint printouts became all the rage, I know from experience that many students think that printed slides are merely notes in prepackaged form.

McKinney acknowledged that the students who downloaded the podcast simply seemed to do better with taking notes and paying closer attention to what was being said, as they were able to go back and repeat parts of the lecture they had trouble understanding. "It isn't so much that you have a podcast, it's what you do with it," she told New Scientist.

As for whether podcasts can replace professors, McKinney stops short of suggesting that all classrooms become virtual. She refers to them as a supplemental tool to a traditional lecture that can help students gain a better understanding of the material and also help free up professors from answering repetitive questions. The takeaway? Go to class, take notes, listen to the podcast, and take more notes.

The weaknesses of using a tool like Gabcast are few.  First, the recording quality that you'll get from a cell phone or a landline doesn't match the recording quality that you'll get from a microphone and a program like Audacity.  What's more, while it is possible to edit a Gabcast recording----by downloading the file, working with it on your computer, and then uploading it back to Gabcast----it's not easy!  That means your recordings will lack the "bells and whistles" that more polished podcast programs have

The solution:  Begin your podcasting efforts using a free podcasting service like Gabcast.  What makes services like Gabcast so valuable is that student recording is done over the phone----whether that be a cellphone, landline or computer-based connection.  Users dial a 1-800 number, enter a specific code that identifies their podcast program and then begin recording.  It's as simple as that!   What's even better is that your recordings are automatically posted on a Gabcast webpage, where listeners can access new content and comment on the recordings that you've added.  Teachers who start with Gabcasting essentially get an all-in-one home for their podcasting efforts---no special tools or skills required (other than a telephone----and if you don't have one of those, ask your students.  I guarantee you that there's a cell phone or two in a locker on your hallway right now!)

But for me, the weaknesses are nothing when compared to the benefits of Gabcast.  With little trouble, my students can record on any topic from anywhere.  If we're on a field trip and they want to record their reflections, it's no sweat.  All they have to do is dial a 1-800 number from their cellphones.  If we're in the classroom and I want small groups of children to comment on a topic that we're studying in class, it's done.  "Kids, go get your cell phones and working with a partner...."    (Needless to say, that's one of their favorite parts of our day.)   What Gabcast offers is immediacy.  Students and teachers using Gabcast to record can begin podcasting today without having to take any continuing education classes or begging for resources to buy new digital tools.  That kind of flexibility is what literally defines the work of the 21st Century----and it is the kind of work that teachers should be emphasizing in their classrooms.    (If Gabcast is blocked by your school district's firewall, consider checking out Gcast or Podomatic.  Both are similar services that may be of value to you in your efforts to get plugged in.)

“we need to look to the piece of writing itself to suggest its own evaluative criteria” – a truly radical and provocative suggestion.

Thus, the dilemma:  Either our instruction and our assessment remain “out of synch” or the instruction gets worse in order that students’ writing can be easily judged with the help of rubrics.

In fact, when the how’s of assessment preoccupy us, they tend to chase the why’s back into the shadows.