HE rarely takes notes during his engineering lectures, yet barely misses a detail.

And if the lecturer makes a point he doesn't understand, all Mr Yeow Xian Ching has to do is go online.

The 22-year-old mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) can watch videos of almost all his lectures from the comfort of his room in the residence hall.

He said: 'It allows for more flexibility. If I'm sick and have to miss a class, I can always catch up with it online.'

He seldom misses classes, but watches webcasts about once a week to review his coursework.

Mr Yeow said webcasts are not a substitute for attending lectures.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Jan 22, 2008

He said: 'I don't want to think I can just watch the lectures later, and accumulate too many unwatched lectures.

'It may get hard to catch up later.'

He says the best thing about webcasts is being able to play specific parts of lectures over and over again, at his own time.

He said: 'If I want to review a certain slide, I don't have to play through the entire lecture.'

With the help of custom software, lecturers are able to split their lectures into segments which coincide with each slide.

Students only need to select a particular slide to view the corresponding part of the lecture.

Assoc Prof Daniel Tan, director of NTU's Centre for Educational Development, said the university has been webcasting selected lectures on its e-learning portal, edventure.sg, since 2000.

Today, about one-fifth of the university's lectures are available to enrolled students via webcast.

Assoc Prof Tan said NTU students have racked up about 40 years of video viewing time since it began webcasting lectures.

To date, the university has invested about $1 million in providing webcasts for its students.

'It's remarkable how popular the webcasts are with the students,' he said.

NTU lectures are restricted to students enrolled in the respective courses, but Assoc Prof Tan says it is 'a matter of time' before they are made fully public.

He said: 'One of our schools - the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences - is already considering opening their lectures to the general public.

'But it's a process that will take some time.'

The National University of Singapore started webcasting selected lectures in 2000 on its NUScast portal.

Last year, 229 course modules were webcast over the school's intranet.

Now, the university even offers podcasts of lectures which students can download into their MP3 players.

Said an NUS spokesman: 'When a lecture is webcast, students can listen and focus on the lecture instead of spending time taking notes.

'It allows students to revise closer to the exams and play back any part of the lecture to reinforce learning.'

GLOBAL AUDIENCE

Top universities from around the world are now making their courses available to a global audience through streaming videos and podcasts.

In 2006, Apple launched iTunes U, a platform which allows universities to distribute audio and video content online.

Footage of lectures, presentations and debates are available for free downloading through the platform.

Though local universities say they do not have plans to open lecture webcasts to the general public yet, 28colleges and universities, including Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) and Yale University have started making selected courses available for free download on iTunesU.

Some, such as Yale University's Open Yale Courses (open.yale.edu), are dedicated websites broadcasting videos of popular introductory lectures across several fields.

These include an Introduction to Political Philosophy and an Introduction to the Old Testament of the Bible.

And it isn't restricted to students of the various universities - anybody can download the material to their computers or MP3 players.

Just like music downloads, top downloads on iTunes U are featured prominently on the portal's main page.

These have included a philosophy lecture by UC Berkeley professor Hubert Dreyfus and a physics lecture by MIT professor Walter Lewin.

Universities have also formed partnerships with video-sharing site YouTube to stream their content online.

These varsities, which include the University of Southern California, UC Berkeley and the University of New South Wales, all have official YouTube 'channels' where videos of lectures and events are uploaded regularly.

It's time to share with the world

KNOWLEDGE is for sharing.

And educators should embrace this spirit of generosity when it comes to making course material available online.

Top universities from around the world are doing it - renowned professors no longer remain hidden behind their ivy-covered walls.

A physics lecture at MIT is just a click away, as is an introduction to psychology at Yale.

And as our local varsities strive to compete on the global front, perhaps it is time for them to do likewise.

Webcasts of lectures in local universities are now available only to students enrolled in the relevant courses.

These webcasts are a convenient, practical resource for students who may occasionally miss a lecture, or who want to review their lessons.

But why restrict lectures to a limited audience, when there are millions hungry for knowledge?

MORE EXPOSURE

Public webcasts may seem altruistic; even excessive. But making selected lectures available to the general public may do the universities a lot more good than they think.

With a larger audience, professors at our universities can gain more exposure and recognition on an international level.

They may also benefit from feedback from international viewers. This may even present possibilities for collaborative work.

Of course, there are those who believe webcasting will discourage students from attending lectures altogether.

But if implemented properly, webcasts could complement live lectures rather than substitute them altogether.

Students can attend lectures and actually pay attention, without being too concerned with manic note-taking.

And careful selection of broadcast material is key - universities could start by making their most popular classes available online to the public.

A friend told me recently that an elective on forensic science is a runaway favourite with students at Nanyang Technological University, with far more applicants for the course than there are available spaces.

Making popular courses publicly accessible will give students outside the course - as well as prospective students - a taste of the lectures.

This will also be a valuable resource for those who want to attend lectures at the universities but do not have the opportunity to.

It could take just an introductory lecture by an inspiring professor to unlock the mind of a teenage maths whiz, or keep an older working person committed to lifelong learning.

And with sharing platforms like YouTube, iTunes and Google Video, cost should not even be an issue.

We've done inter-university exchange programmes for years.

Perhaps it's now time for the knowledge exchange to go online, too.