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Why Podcasting is an Effective Instructional Choice
Podcasting as an instructional tool has great potential. A variety of the uses for podcasting can be seen to fit into a couple of different learning models: Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction and Keller's ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) Model:
Graphic source and more info at: http://blog.podagogy.com/?cat=23
A podcast can be used by an instructor to effectively gain the student's attention, often simply by providing a different means of information access, and by presenting information in a manner to which many students are becoming increasingly accustomed. A podcast at the beginning of the study of new material can help guide student attention to focus on the relevant information to be covered and what the essential elements and objectives of the lesson are. Instead (or in addition) the instructor could create a podcast that reviews the material recently covered and reinforces to the student the main objectives of the lesson. Utilizing audio for student feedback can also help reinforce the relevance of the material, increase student confidence that they are getting the correct ideas out of the material, and help satisfy students' need to understand where and why errors may have occurred in their performance within the course or on assessment. Overall, the use of podcasting can be an effective additional way to insert instructor presence into the online environment.
So, utilizing podcasting can be done in an effective manner, but there needs to be planning:
The implications for the use of audio in e-learning are multiple. First, the audio information should make connections to what is happening in the immediate environment in a way that reinforces an organizing framework that is being developed. Second, the content should help establish connections between past, present, and potential (or future) information so that when new knowledge is acquired, it is organized in a retrievable way. In short, the audio should be classifiable into categories, and of sufficient flexibility to allow cognitive processes to store, retrieve, and organize information. - Susan Smith Nash: http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com/2005/08/podcast-theory-gap.html
Utilizing a podcast to connect present material with past and future ideas is an excellent idea that can also aid in constructive learning for the student. Determining how to set up your podcast should be based upon how you want your students to classify and categorize the information being presented. For example: you may wish to cover the current material being studied in one podcast at the beginning of the lesson, then, as a review method, create a podcast to discuss how the current material relates to previously learned ideas, and give the students some idea of how this information will be important in the future ideas studied.
In addition to supporting different learning theories, podcasting can also help support different learning styles and abilities:
Podcasting can really enrich the educational experience and can be a tremendous help to non-traditional learners. Allowing users to play-back lectures at their leisure recognizes the diversity of learning styles. People learn differently. Some are auditory learners, where listening to a lecture is great, but looking at a page full of notes is a nightmare. Students with learning disabilities or ADHD might learn better through repetition, and with podcasting, they could replay lectures to their heart’s content. If professors were really interested in the medium, they could even offer extra lectures or audio content for interested students. It would prevent educators from teaching to the lowest common denominator or teaching over their heads to the highest achievers.
- Meredith Farkas: http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/index.php?p=186
In addition to assisting auditory learners, or students with learning disabilities, podcasting could also be beneficial for ESL students who may have trouble keeping up with the lecture during class, or who could benefit from an additional way to address the reading material being presented for the class.
Podcasting can also be implemented into a course as a medium for student work. Many schools are implementing student podcasting blogs, newsgroups, and a variety of other activities and assignments that incorporate student podcasts into the learning environment. Because learning to work in this audio medium is relatively simple, it could create a variety of new learning avenues for students and instructors to explore together.
For more information on podcasting as a learning tool:
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