Reasons not to use mobile multimedia

There are pedagogical benefits to sustained silent reading.

Reading a transcript of a lecture or interview is often more time-efficient.

Students can't listen to podcasts in certain places conveniently (library, computer labs, etc.) without headphones.

Complex material on a slide or whiteboard might not translate well to a smaller screen.

Larger file sizes of video or audio clips tax computer memory and connectivity.

With traditional text, search engines and digital archives can provide certain forms of cataloguing automatically.

Any form of distance learning sacrifices the dramatic impact of live pedagogy and the shared experience of face-to-face interactions.

Mobile multimedia can capture embarrassing as well as edifying moments - the Remix Factor.

Reasons to use mobile multimedia:

Mobility increases "time on task."

Mobility allows for multitasking.

Mobility allows for time-shifting.

Record and replay capability means that you can get more pedagogical mileage out of guest speakers, such as Maxine Hong Kingston.

Sound may be important for the course content (capturing an oratorical performance, recorded music, etc.).

Sound may be important for situations where pronunciation matters; pronunciation obviously matters in foreign language learning, but correct pronunciation modeled in the diction of academic elites is part of cultural literacy as well. (See a novel use of the pronunciation feature by Siva Vaidhyanathan here.)

Atmospheric noises or pans of the space in video recordings convey site-specific information that slides can not: St. Michael's Church and the Tomb of the Capulets.

Sound or video can be useful for record-keeping for word-for-word accuracy.

Sound and video captures occasions: Carleen, Karishma, Lakshmi, Genevieve.

Multimedia includes other constituencies.

Multimedia personalizes discourse.

Basic Dos and Don'ts

Organizational Issues

Use metadata

Break long sections into identifiable chunks of audio or video

Thinking Rhetorically

Don't try to be a broadcaster

Don't try to be a documentarian

Use genres that you know

Have a specific audience in mind