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Independent Music Online, a music service based on FLOSS, recently started offering the online lectures of a North Carolina State University Professor. On campus, there has been a mixed reaction by both the University and the Students.
[There's a note on the music site that the professor has, for the time being at least, removed the lecture files. Keep your eyes peeled. - dcparris]
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For Robert Schrag, downloading audio means more than just music.
The professor in the Department of Communication sent his students an e-mail Sept. 7 notifying them that lectures from their 75-minute communication and technology class were available online for $2.50 each. The Web site allows students to "buy now" and hear the lecture, in an MP3 format, as often as they like.
The idea of offering lectures online has been running through Schrag's mind for a number of years, he said.
"The technology and online distribution systems finally matured to the point to make it possible to offer the service to the students swiftly and efficiently," Schrag said.
Schrag explained that $1.50 of the money goes directly to ind-music.com, the host of the Web site offering the service. One dollar then goes to Schrag to offset the cost of recording and editing the lengthy lectures.
"These are the costs that make the popular notion of 'free music downloads' both a myth and illegal," Schrag said. "The University agrees that each professor owns the words that he or she speaks in the classroom and can do whatever they wish with them - put them in a textbook, on a CD, sell them as MP3s - whatever."
According to Schrag, he wants to serve three "markets." The first is comprised of students who question their ability to take quality notes in the classroom. Students that are interested in doing well in the class can, therefore, use the online lectures as a study tool in preparation for tests.
Schrag said he is also concerned about the increasing number of international students on campus. The second market is for these students who may have difficulty understanding lectures from an English-speaking professor and would prefer to review lectures at a slower pace.
The third market, he said, is for students who prefer not to attend class.
"This addresses the conflict that can result from my assertion that if you don't want to be in class, I don't want you to come," said Schrag.
"Your tuition buys you access to the lectures in the classroom. If you want to hear one again, you can buy it."
At the cost of $2.50 each, some students, such as Tacola Johnson, a sophomore in public and interpersonal communication, said this service can become expensive over time.
"Some students are struggling with paying tuition, or better yet with having spending money left over," Johnson said. "Some students may have the desire to buy them, but can't."
The success of the service is still yet to be determined. Since the site was created, five students have purchased lectures.
"Obviously all the students can get the lectures for free by coming to class," Schrag said. "I guess you could see the service as a safety net designed to help the students get the content when life gets in the way of their getting to class." Full Story |
