Guest Blogger: Piyush Parikh, Case Sense
No two teaching styles are the same. That’s why educational institutions provide a variety of methods to teaching – lecture, case, experiential, etc. Similarly, no two learning styles are the same. Educational institutions are trying different approaches to provide the content of the material using a multi-sensory approach – visual, audio, and touch.
Audio cases provide a complimentary teaching/learning aide to help students in their learning process. Students can read and listen to cases to absorb the material – this is especially true for busy students at the executive level who need to come prepared to classes but just don’t have the time to read everything.
Of course, some cases are more suitable to the audio format than other. For example, quantitative or number-heavy cases such as accounting or finance may not suitable for audio since charts, graphs, spreadsheets can be difficult to translate to audio. However, the audio case may help a student get an overview of the case before he/she tears apart the financial details. On the other hand, qualitative cases bode well for the audio format since, simply put, the cases have more words and very few numbers.
Some users have asked for translations. However, given the IP and possible “lost in translation” issues, this has to be done carefully with the help of the author.
Who uses audio cases?
A majority of current users are students of MBA programs that have made cases an important part of the learning environment. Audio cases have allowed students to:
1. Absorb case material faster
2. Listen to cases during travel and while exercising
3. Assist with pronunciations and speech
This also satisfies the need for better preparation for classes by increasing Speed, Portability, and Convenience of case material. Students are prepared and professors have attentive students ready to contribute to their class.
This is a start down the path of having a multi-sensory approach of learning. Share your experience below about
• How do you use audio (or other multimedia) learning material?
• Why do you like or dislike audio cases?
We look forward to hearing from you! Please feel to free to e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
About CaseSense
While attending the Darden Graduate Business School at the University Virginia, four MBA students quickly realized their colleagues (and the founders themselves) desired affordable, convenient alternatives to access their classroom material. In addition, they noticed that students learned the material not only during their time in the library, but while they were exercising, cooking, traveling, etc. CaseSense LLC was officially launched in 2008 at the University of Virginia to serve this gap by converting existing cases into audio format.
This post is part of a series that will address various aspects of Case Method throughout the month of September. We encourage you to follow the conversation, respond to guest bloggers and share your own thoughts. Follow GBSN on Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date on the latest throughout Case Method Month.
