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From NetSpeed Leader Volume 33, May 2007
By some estimates, more than 22 million American adults own MP3 players and iPods, and more than 29% of those users report that they've downloaded podcasts. In 2007, we're watching the iPod/MP3 craze begin to change the culture of learning just as it has changed the culture of listening to music.
While audio learning is not new, the advent of mobile devices opens up a new delivery channel. The most common uses of podcasts in training are for the development of management and sales skills.
While it's true that more learners take in information visually than aurally, podcasting offers a new tool to complement existing training delivery channels. Neurologists know that the information we hear actually stays in our minds five times longer than the information we see. Our minds retain the memory of sound for five seconds before it begins to fade; the memory of what we've seen disappears in a second. That's one reason multiple eyewitness accounts may differ substantially when they attempt to describe what was seen. But those same eyewitnesses are able to describe what was heard with remarkable consistency.
Let's look at some of the benefits of podcasting:
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Asynchronous
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Reach out to people any time
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Mobile
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Reach people where they are
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On Demand
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Reach people whey they're ready
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Cost-Effective
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Reach people with a low-cost delivery option
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Easily Updated
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Reach people quickly as information changes
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If podcasting is not blended with other learning tools, however, you simply have a one-way, linear information channel. To make the learning experience rich and robust, podcasts must be combined with blogs, online posts, articles and collaborative tools designed to encourage participation and interaction.
Enter NetSpeed Fast Tracks™, a fresh learning service offered by NetSpeed Leadership. NetSpeed Fast Tracks combine podspots (2-minute podcasts), articles, blog postings, and expert interviews in a searchable database that puts critical information at the learner's fingertips.
What sets NetSpeed Fast Tracks apart from other podcast services?
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The use of avatars (animated characters) to deliver podspots at your desktop
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The Fast Track Community where users can write and record their own podspots
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The flexibility of both individual subscriptions and corporate licenses
Organizations can subscribe to NetSpeed Fast Tracks for as little as $2 per person per year. We're introducing NetSpeed Fast Tracks at the 2007 ASTD International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia (June 3—6). If you are planning to attend, visit us at the EXPO in Booth #1505. While there, record your own podspot, choose an avatar to represent you, give your podspot a title, and we'll upload it to the Fast Track Community. You'll be able to email your podspot to friends, co-workers, and, even your boss.
Where your training ends...NetSpeed Fast Tracks begin!
Answers. Anywhere. Anytime.
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