Collegiate Times

The University of California, Berkeley, has found yet another way to use the widely popular video-sharing site, YouTube, by incorporating it into university classrooms as an important teaching tool.

At the same place where any video can be shared online, college lectures are also now available.

The school announced last Wednesday that it had begun posting course lectures on the Web site. Physics, chemistry and biology lectures are the courses currently available on YouTube, as well as a lecture on search engine technology by one of the Google cofounders. Initially, physics teacher Richard Muller and other professors at UC Berkeley agreed to have their lectures videotaped as an experiment the university was conducting. "I was asked by the university to try an experiment," Muller said. "They were eager to find new ways to use the Internet, and I agreed because this was for the convenience of my students."

UC Berkeley is the first university to offer full course lectures on YouTube, and Muller thinks other schools will follow their lead. "I think (posting lectures on YouTube) is an exciting development and other schools are likely to do the same," Muller said. Although Muller and his colleagues offer their lectures online, attendance is still necessary in his class for the benefit of in-class learning.

"My students still come to class because they want to learn and because I require them to," Muller said. "I think the in-class experience is more beneficial to them."

Like many schools, UC Berkeley is trying to advance its technology to further convenience its students. Virginia Tech assistant professor James Ivory sees this teaching application in Tech's future, but to be used with caution.

"Virginia Tech has always tried hard to deliver content to students with online applications and helping faculty create Power Points for lectures," Ivory said. "I can almost assume Virginia Tech will be more forward with this technology, and I hope they will take into consideration that video lectures changes the dynamics of teaching interaction. Even little things like technology can change how a message is received."

While the message of a lecture may not be received in the same way, it doesn't seem to affect the number of YouTube users subscribing to the Berkeley link. More than 2,000 people have already accessed the site within the past week.

UC Berkeley also posts videos from outside the classroom on YouTube. Footage from campus life, course lectures and athletic events are also available. There are currently over 300 hours of course lectures and campus events accessible on the Web site. This isn't the first time UC Berkeley has digitally distributed its lectures. Since 2001, guest speeches, course lectures and special events have been recorded and posted on the school's webcasting system and made available to anyone on or off campus.

In 2006, the university began an audio podcasting program with more than 25 courses available. Recently, the university has also made it possible for anyone to download lectures onto iTunes for free.

"The school's intention is to keep the lectures on an access-free basis," said Janet Kodish, chief administrative officer at UC Berkeley. "I certainly hope other schools will follow in our lead now. They have in the past with offering lectures on webcasting and iTunes."

The videos available on YouTube are much longer than the 10-minute limit that the site specifies. The owners at Google made an exception for the university so that they could post longer videos to include their entire lectures.

Muller supports the new experiment the university is trying out and hopes that by making his and other course lectures easily accessible, more people will find it easier to learn.

"I think this is a wonderful idea," Muller said. "We don't know what this will be like in five years, but many people around the world are now able to educate themselves, and as someone who is passionate about teaching I find that very rewarding."