It can be tough to imagine a world before Facebook, text messaging and mp3 files. Think of how much longer it would take you to write that 10 page paper if you couldn’t type it up on your word processor and print it out on your ink jet printer.Yes, technology has some really fantastic uses, especially when it comes to education. But Ed Board has noticed more than a few professors taking advantage of newfound technology, and the trend is disturbing.Podcasts, for those out there not in the know (and we know you’re out there, so don’t be embarrassed), is defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary as a “digital recording of a radio broadcast, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.”Podcasts are a pretty cool development. You can listen to your favorite comedian, or even listen to SMU’s radio station, KPNI, via podcast. But some SMU professors are abusing the podcast.Podcasts can be handy in the classroom. Here’s an example of the way a podcast should be used by professors:”If you want some supplementary information on what we discussed today, you can download this week’s short podcast off Blackboard. That information might show up as a bonus question on a future test.”And here’s how podcasts are currently being abused by professors:”In addition to doing the reading, download this week’s 90- minute podcast. Take notes because it counts as an extra lecture period and the information will be on the exam.”Ed Board thinks this is unfair. For one thing, professors are assuming that everyone has access to a computer and to podcasting technology. While most people have a computer, not all are guaranteed to have a media player capable of podcasting.Also, if professors are having to add extra lectures via podcast, Ed Board has to wonder what they did two years ago before this technology existed. We’re betting they managed to make what they wanted to teach fit into the times they were allotted to do so. Just because professors are now apparently unable to fit everything they want to say into a lecture period doesn’t mean the students should have to do extra work.Ed Board isn’t opposed to additional work. We do the readings, we take the quizzes, we even attend the study groups-you can test us on all of that. But podcast material should be supplemental, fodder for extra credit questions.This is especially relevant when you consider how much more difficult it is to learn from a podcast. As much as Ed Board loves iTunes, we can’t ask it a question about the podcast we’re listening to and expect it to answer. It also doesn’t provide visual aids to really explain the material. Ed Board thinks professors need to stop taking advantage of podcasts. Teach what you want to teach in the time you were given, and use podcasts for supplementary purposes.