EDUCATION BLOG

When researching different Web 2.0 tools for distance learning, I came across a site I had never heard before.  Innertoob is a tool that allows your podcasts to be marked at certain points.  This allows listeners to be more engaged.  I would recommend watching the Toobcasting video tutorial to learn more about this if you currently employ podcasts in your classroom. 

This has great implications for distance learning.  Interactivity between instructor and student would be more readily possible with Innertoob.  Podcasts are a great tool for distance learning instructors to use for auditory learners.  What would be even better though is to ask questions at certain points of the podcast easily without disrupting the flow of the podcast or having to tell a specific time during the podcast in which to pay closer attention.  With Innertoob, this would be simple because it creates a timeline or tracking device at the bottom of the page.  Certain sections could be marked with probing questions for students and they would be able to refer back to a section in the podcast more easily.  I think the ability to ask more critical and higher level thinking questions would be possible with this tool. 

In addition, I believe that this would be easier to talk about sections of the podcast in discussion.  A teacher could say, "refer back to the _____ section of the podcast" and with Innertoob that would be possible with its easy marking system and less confusing than specifying a time.  This tool should be further investigated for use in distance learning programs.