Podcasting

Reading 1
In the podcast, How creativityis being strangled by the law, Larry Lessig talks about how new technology is being brought about and it is unable to be used to it’s fullest potential due to the fact of the hinderance of laws. Ultimately, Lessig, would like to believe if all individuals were able to use their creativity in conjunction with the technology the possibilities would be endless. One of the key ideas brought about by Lessig’s talk was that of the ReadWrite technology and how the internet revives this thought. In addition this revival brings about the “amateur culture” which is not that of the inexperience but rather the production of something based solely for the love of it rather than the necessity of it. A second key idea was the law not greeting this technology with open arms but instead coining the individuals who are using the technology more as copy right infringers or better yet trespassers. Lessig believes that common sense has not been used to enable this new form of creativity. Lastly, the third key idea was the solution to technology advancing through creativity is the artists need to not be so private with their ideas and creations but allow others to use the ideas as stepping stones and go further with them to create bigger and better things.
The most difficult concept developed in this podcasting was individuals and the law turning their heads to copy right infringement and laws. The laws were put into place for a reason and even though they may be hard to get around in order to use the technology to it’s best capability they are there to protect the individuals who were creative enough in the first place to create.
A couple of questions regarding this podcast are is there another way to get around the laws in order to still foster the creativity without being illegal and do the laws need to be changed in order to allow the creativity or is the creativity already brought about and we are not doing a good job to seeing it.
This reading does indirectly relate to my topic and brings more questions to mind for me to look into. In thinking about social networking and teenagers in regards to online relationships and how weak or strong the ties are maybe there is a missing link of creativity that is being brought about by these ties which is being overlooked. Maybe it’s not about the weak or strong ties between the relationships but more so how creative the individual is being and do these ties bring out more creativity because the individuals are now able to find others who have the same ideas and thoughts through the use of the internet and the online social networking sites.

Reading 2
The article, The Changing Face of Workplace Learning, speaks to the point of training in the workplace and how it is ever evolving. The new wave of workplace training is podcasting and or vodcasting. Podcasting is the idea that employees can download a training session straight to a their PC or in an effort to be more mobile the podcasts can be downloaded to a portable MP3 player such as an IPOD or in some cases a mobile phone or Blackberry. This change in training techniques enables companies to attack all angles of training needs especially in key areas such as the sales force whom are constantly on the go and outside of the office, ultimately unable to receive the traditional type of training in a classroom setting.
One key idea brought out by the reading is the notion of Tivo-ing the radio so anyone who would like to listen to a podcast can do it on their own time instead of at the specific time it is being presented. The idea of Tivo-ing the radio is brought about by the “format’s time-shift capability” which “enables more productive load-balancing during the workday, and the ability to listen on the go while driving to client meetings or work, walking the dow, or running on the treadmill, transforms downtime into constructive time”. A second idea is people being on the move and tailoring the technology to fit the need. Once the mobile learning strategy has been integrated then decisions like, “how long should the podcasts be? How frequently will they be produce? What format best addresses the audience, the company’s culture, and its business needs?” Depending on the answers to the above questions helps to define how the technology can be best used in each individual company’s learning experience in addition to tailoring it specifically to the culture. Lastly, a third key idea is creating a culture which promotes the idea of using podcasting outside of the workplace and on personal time. In order to adopt podcasting as a way of teaching the company needs to motivate the individuals to “devote their personal time to work” and this can be achieved by “a significant change in the company culture” which “means creating a completely new approach to learning”. This idea is a must if podcasting even has a chance of surviving as a way of learning.
The most difficult concept to grasp in this reading was the idea of turning the podcasting and vodcasting over to employees. I understand this approach brings about a type of realism to the employees but I can also see how this can be a liability to the company and would like to explore further how companies deal with this issue.
A couple of questions I would like to explore further is what type of culture does it take to adapt a type of learning technique as this and how would a company go about enforcing this technology on the individuals especially on the older generation who may not be as technologically savy.
This reading particularly relates to my topic of social networking in the fact that through this article a lot of networking takes place in this technology. Especially through the idea of doing podcasting with a follow up blog set up to address any additional questions or concerns an individual may have through listening to the podcasting. This would be a prime area of other individuals who have the same issues to talk them out through the blogging and then form a bond of some type. The point I would like to see through further is whether or not this bond is a weak or strong tie and is something I am currently investigating amongst teenagers but would like to seek out further in the future.