Microlectures and Student Learning

The “microlecture,” a 1-5 minute audio or video lecture that students can access online, is technologically easy to create, and has become popular enough that the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a cover story in March on microlecturing: (http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i26/26a00102.htm). Last year I recorded a number of audio microlectures for one of my courses, focusing on useful background information that would help students understand the course materials. I will talk about how students have used these, how they have shifted what we do in class, what I do and don’t like about the microlecture idea, and when microlecturing might be useful for other faculty.