Educause recently held an online professional development event with the topic of “Narrowcasting 101: Using Blogs, Podcasts, and Videoblogs in Higher Education.”

Nick Noakes, one of the presenters (and a good friend of mine) made an interesting comment that I’d like to expand with regard to Podcasting itself. He noted that students arrive at the university with “habits of practice” deeply embedded in their daily lives. The ubiquitous cell phone attached to the ear; the telltale tangle of white cables that indicates an iPod concealed somewhere on the person. Instant Messaging might be another example; text-messaging with one’s cell phone.

But he noted also that these habits of practice do not include critical thinking or reflection, two key skills essential to success in the information age (weary cliché). Those of us responsible for educating students or for supporting the faculty who work directly with students in the classroom, both virtual and physical, might do well to take this distinction to heart.

I’m a dedicated listener to podcasts of all kinds. I believe that we can offer istructors strategies with which they can engage their students and shift them from habits of practice to habits of mind which will lead to greatness, or at least a rise above mediocrity.