Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computers & Education

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compedu

Podcasting in education: Are students as ready and eager as we think they are?
Stephen M. Walls a, John V. Kucsera a,*, Joshua D. Walker a, Taylor W. Acee b, Nate K. McVaugh a,
Daniel H. Robinson a
a
Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
b
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Texas State University – San Marcos, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Instructors in higher education are disseminating instructional content via podcasting, as many rally
Received 28 April 2009 behind the technology’s potential benefits. Others have expressed concern about the risks of deleterious
Received in revised form 15 August 2009 effects that might accompany the adoption of podcasting, such as lower class attendance. Yet, relatively
Accepted 17 August 2009
few studies have investigated students’ perceptions of podcasting for educational purposes, especially in
relation to different podcasting forms: repetitive and supplemental. The present study explored students’
readiness and attitudes towards these two forms of podcasting to provide fundamental information for
Keywords:
future researchers and educators. The results indicated that students may not be as ready or eager to
Podcasting
Post-secondary education
use podcasting for repetitive or supplemental educational purposes as much as we think they are, but
Pedagogical issues they could be persuaded.
Improving classroom teaching Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Media in education

1. Introduction

New technologies have continued to both create excitement and cause concern for educators, as they explore effective ways to use and
integrate them into curricula. The use of Internet-based education technologies (e-learning), such as webcasting (i.e., streaming audio or
video broadcasts over the Web), has become pervasive in our learning institutions and now educators are exploring the use of mobile tech-
nologies to improve communication and learning access for many student populations. Mobile learning (m-learning), therefore, uses wire-
less technologies (including all forms of mp3 players, mobile phones, and PDA devices) to make educational activities more portable and,
assumedly, more accessible in terms of time and place (Evans, 2008). A relatively new technological phenomenon, podcasting, is an alter-
native method of webcasting. A podcast refers to any automatically downloadable audio or audio/video file (commonly in mp3 format).
Whereas webcasting generally refers to streaming or broadcasting real-time audio or video footage over the Internet, podcasting goes a
step beyond by making audio or video footage available for downloading on a computer or digital media device. Furthermore, the option
of subscribing to updated files that are automatically downloaded via a ‘‘really simple syndication” (RSS) feed separates podcasting from
previous pinnacles of convenient dissemination of materials (e.g., posting files to a website or course management system like Blackboard).
Although the primary use of podcasts has been for personal entertainment or information, there is a burgeoning interest in its potential
value for more formal educational purposes. Universities across the globe are implementing podcasting technology with increasing fre-
quency, investing significant resources and money to provide an array of file types to students for educational uses (Mitchell, 2006). Exam-
ples of podcasting uses appear across a wide variety of domains, including nursing and general healthcare (Maag, 2006a; Maag, 2006b),
astronomy and general science (Gay, Price, & Searle, 2006), geography and teacher education (Lim, 2006), computer science (Malan,
2007), and tourism (Dale, 2007). The classic illustration of support for podcasting is Duke University’s widely publicized distribution of
1650 iPods preloaded with orientation-related podcasts to their entire 2004 incoming class (Read, 2005). Since Duke’s initiative, numerous
other colleges are creating similar campaigns (see Apple Education, 2008).

2. Possible benefits of educational podcasting

Instructors have used podcasting in two forms: repetitive (i.e., recording lectures, including lecture slides and demonstrations; Hürst &
Waizenegger, 2006), and supplemental (i.e., providing material like interviews with external resources; Norman, 2004). In spite of

* Corresponding author. Address. Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 6104 Laird Drive, Suite A, Austin, TX 78757, United States.
E-mail address: kucsera@austin.utexas.edu (J.V. Kucsera).

0360-1315/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.08.018
372 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378

podcasting’s fairly recent emergence as a viable tool, instructors are creating an extremely wide variety of objectives and uses for these two
podcasting forms, including enrichment of distance learning (Fernandez, Simo, & Sallan, 2009; Oliver, 2005; Sloan, 2004), facilitation of
self-paced learning, remediation for slower learners, enrichment for advanced and/or highly motivated learners, assistance for students
with reading and/or other disabilities, auditory support for multi-lingual education (Sloan), and collaboration among transnational stu-
dents (Oliver). Apple’s iTunes U has become a popular platform for distribution of educational podcast content, in both video and audio
formats, including courses from over fifty universities and colleges and spanning a range of institutional classifications.
The rise of educational podcasting, like the explosion of podcasting in general, is easily understood given both the portability and pop-
ularity of digital media devices. The ability to download podcasts immediately and permanently gives students unhindered access to the
material they need (Gay et al., 2006). No longer tethered to a computer in a library, lab, dorm room, or even a laptop, students can listen to
and/or watch educational material anywhere (e.g., on the bus, in the car, at the gym, in route across campus) and at any time (i.e., they can
choose the best time to listen, and can review the same material several times). Portability, however, like any technological provision, is
only convenient if people actually use it. The popularity of digital media devices is evident from the ubiquitous headphones in the ears of
students on college campuses across the country. In a 2006 study, Student Monitor surveyed 1200 students from over 100 US colleges and
found that 73% ranked iPods first on the ‘‘What is In” list, even ahead of Facebook and beer (Snider, 2006). This widespread adoption of
digital media devices provides compelling evidence of podcasting’s enormous potential as an effective educational tool among post-sec-
ondary students (Hargis & Wilson, 2005). Thus, educators who implement podcasting are capitalizing on the portability and popularity
of digital media devices to meet students ‘‘. . .where they ‘live’ – on the Internet and audio players” (Educause Learning Initiative, 2006,
p. 2).
Practical appeals, such as portability and popularity, explain only part of the growing interest in podcasting. Advocates of podcasting
have suggested, and researchers are beginning to find, that this technology can improve student learning outcomes. For example, Oliver
(2005) indicated that podcasting can improve student learning by increasing student motivation and engagement. Empirically, McKinney,
Dyck, and Luber (2009) found that students watching a lecture podcast significantly outperformed a group of students, on average, who
only viewed the lecture in person. Based on qualitative feedback from study participants, these researchers speculated that repeated lis-
tening of the podcast might have been the mediating factor for the result. Mayer’s (2001) cognitive theory of multimedia learning may
support these researchers’ conclusion and provide, overall, an explanation for the educational interest, as well as advocates’ beliefs in pod-
casting technology.
According to this theory, an individual’s information processing system includes separate cognitive channels to process visual/pictorial
and auditory/verbal stimuli; in this respect, learning is obtained by integrating information between such channels (Mayer, 2001). Similar
to most information processing models, this theory suggests that learners have a limited capacity in the amount of stimuli they can process
at any given time in these channels. For example, empirical research has found that if a large amount of visual and verbal stimuli are pre-
sented simultaneously, a learner experiences a cognitive overload and fails to reach an optimal understanding of the content (Mayer). Pod-
casting, however, could provide a solution to this limitation. With podcasting’s ability to provide opportunities to the learner to repeatedly
access content and directly control the speed and pace of the verbal and visual stimuli being offered, students can adequately process con-
tent before subsequent information is presented and lost, and thereby, decrease cognitive overload.
In addition, the cognitive theory of multimedia learning can also explain how podcasts may serve as a better study aid than other learn-
ing resources. Findings from several empirical studies indicate that students learn better ‘‘when corresponding words and pictures are pre-
sented simultaneously rather than successively,” and ‘‘from animation and narration than from animation and on-screen text” (Mayer,
2001, p. 184; also see Moreno, 2006; Moreno & Mayer, 1999). Podcasts have the capability to simultaneously present audio stimuli
(e.g., narration) with visual content simultaneously. Therefore, based on this theory and supporting evidence, podcasting should improve
student learning over other learning resources, such as textbooks, notes taken from class lectures, or even PowerPoint slides.

3. Possible limitations of educational podcasting

Numerous disadvantages or limitations of using podcasting in education have been offered. For one, the cognitive theory of multimedia
learning (Mayer, 2001) might hint at a potential negative outcome of offering podcasting as an additional resource for students who are
already utilizing multiple resources for learning (e.g., textbook and lecture slides). If students do not utilize or do not realize the benefits
of the self-pacing multimedia characteristics of podcasting, then the resource becomes a more likely contributor to cognitive overload.
Additionally, although many students might own or have access to digital media devices, they tend to use them primarily for entertain-
ment purposes. It may take time before students view them as a tool for studying and learning, in contrast to their desktop and portable
computers. For example, a study with 194 British undergraduates in Business and Management showed that 20% accessed podcasts using a
digital media player (14% iPod, 6% other mp3 player), while 80% accessed podcasts through a website using a personal computer (PC)
(Evans, 2008). These results are similar to another study which suggested that 29% used iPods and 71% used PCs to access podcasts (Malan,
2007).
Others have argued against the use of podcasting, particularly the repetitive podcasting form, based on the assumption that easily acces-
sible lecture recordings would justify and excuse absences from class. Weatherly, Grabe, and Arthur (2002) found that the decrease in aca-
demic performance of introductory psychology students who were provided lecture slides in advance of class might actually have been the
result of a decrease in-class attendance by those students. In contrast, in 2005, Harvard University podcasted a computer science course in
both audio and video formats with the goal of providing portable access and involving students in technology; Malan (2007) found that
students in this course valued podcasts more as a vehicle for review (45%) than as an alternative to attendance (18%). In addition, Maag
(2006b) found similar results when surveying students and tracking attendance in three different semesters for a nursing course: 50%
of students reported listening to over half of the lecture podcasts, most students used the podcast to review specific concepts before exams
or assignments, and most students reported the availability of the podcasts had no significant effect on class attendance – which was con-
firmed by instructor attendance counts. Several other researchers have used self report methods to investigate attitudes, effects on atten-
dance, and student usage, and have reported similar findings (e.g., Bongey, Cizadlo, & Kalnbach, 2006; Copley, 2007; Frydenberg, 2006;
Lane, 2006).
 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378 373

4. Purpose of this study

Although research has provided benefits and limitations to podcasting in general, no research has yet to compare repetitive and sup-
plemental podcasting forms, leaving some questions unanswered. Are students ready for these technologies? Have they experienced sup-
plemental podcasting? Which one do they find more valuable? The purpose of the present study is to examine students’ readiness and
attitudes towards repetitive and supplemental podcasting. A secondary interest is to contribute to the research debate of whether repet-
itive podcasting can affect student attendance.

5. Methods

This study was designed to capture data from two undergraduate classes in the spring semester of 2007 at a large public university in
the southwest. The classes represented two educational domains, an upper-level business elective and an upper-level required education
course, and were taught by two different instructors. Both instructors were also investigators, but neither was given access to the data until
the end of the semester. The classes were fairly equal in terms of final enrollment, with 50 students enrolled in the business course and 49
students enrolled in the education course. The classes also had a similar gender imbalance, compared with the overall university enroll-
ment (51% female, 49% male), with more females than males enrolled in both courses (66% female in the business course and 73% female
in the education course).
Each instructor used a different podcasting content type, supplemental was used in the business course and repetitive was used in the
education course. All podcasts in both classes were available in audio and video formats and students could download and watch them on a
computer or mobile device. Because some students did not own or have easy access to a mobile device (a finding discussed shortly) and
because some of the technology used to store and download the podcast files did not allow us to track activity, the research team inves-
tigated the use of the podcast files on any device the students chose. Therefore, many students chose to only watch or listen to the podcast
files on their desktop or laptop computers and did not download them to a mobile device.
The business course utilized podcasts already publicly available and originating from either BusinessWeek.com or TED.com to supple-
ment and complement the course topics. All podcasts for this class were also available at no charge on Apple’s iTunes. Eight podcasts were
scheduled fairly evenly across the semester. The education course provided recorded in-class lectures via the instructor’s website in audio
and video format to students after class to reinforce the lecture content and to make the content available for students who may have
missed the live class session. Ten podcasts were recorded and posted fairly evenly across the semester. In both courses, students were
shown how to access the files and encouraged but not required to view or download the files.
Pre and post questionnaires (Appendix A), developed by the authors, were administered to both the business and education courses at
the beginning and end of the semester. Two interim questionnaires were also developed and administered only to students in the educa-
tion course (Appendices B and C), because repetitive podcasting is usually the most used method in education, as well as the method most
argued to influence student attendance. Each of these interim surveys was administered immediately after in-class quizzes and was fo-
cused on how students made use of or were influenced by the respective podcasts, such as with attendance.

6. Data analysis

Descriptive statistics were computed for both the pre- and post-surveys for both courses to explore students’ readiness and attitudes
towards podcasting technology for repetitive and supplemental content. The overall response rate for the pre-survey sample was 89% (86%
business, 92% education) and 84% (92% business, 76% education) for the post-surveys.
Students’ readiness was measured by 14 closed-ended items measuring three different sub-scales: students’ access (four items); pro-
ficiency/familiarity with podcasting (five items); and habits/experience (five items). Students’ attitudes about podcasting were measured
by three closed-ended items and four open-ended items. The response scales for the items differed due to the nature of the item stem.
The procedures for data analysis were as follows:

1) Compute frequencies for both pre/post-surveys with classes aggregated to report general findings of students’ readiness and atti-
tudes towards podcasting forms.
2) Compare differences from pre/post-surveys to explore any differences in readiness and attitudes from intervention (i.e., use of pod-
casting technology).
3) Explore interim surveys to understand how students made use of and were influenced by repetitive podcasts.
4) Compare differences between supplemental and repetitive podcasting types to explore technology differences in students’ readiness
and attitudes.

7. Results

After frequencies were calculated for survey responses, general findings of students’ readiness and attitudes of podcasting technology
were explored. Differences between supplemental and repetitive podcasting types were also explored. Because responses on most ques-
tions varied very little across podcasting type and from pre to post administration of the survey, results represent both podcasting types
and both administrations of the survey, unless otherwise noted.

7.1. Students’ readiness

7.1.1. Students’ access and proficiency/familiarity

A majority of the students (72%) reported owning a portable device that can be used to play mp3 files. In addition to audio capabilities,
close to one-third of students (31%) had video capabilities on their portable devices. Therefore, although portable devices are certainly per-
vasive among this group of students, almost one-quarter did not yet own or have easy access to them. Further, the vast majority of the
374 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378

students only had the capability of listening to audio files and were not able to view video files on their devices. Other than portable de-
vices, students most often used a laptop computer (67%) or desktop computer (34%) to play mp3 files.
Regarding the types of activities for which students used their portable player, most students (78%) used them for listening to music,
with 17% listening to music at most once per month and 61% listening to music at least once per week. Students used their portable player
far less often for listening to all other prompted activities, including recorded books, speeches/interviews not related to their college
courses, class lectures, and other information relevant to their college courses. Similarly, a small percentage of students (26%) reported
using their portable player to view television shows, short video clips, movies, class lectures, and other video materials related to their col-
lege courses, much due to the prior finding that most students do not have video capabilities on their portable device.
Not too surprisingly, results indicated that familiarity with podcasting technology drastically changed from beginning to end of the
semester. From the pre-survey, 48% reported being familiar with podcasting, whereas 91% reported being familiar with podcasting in
the post-survey. When asked to rate their depth of knowledge, 74% of students reported in the pre-survey of being ‘‘not at all knowledge-
able” or ‘‘a little knowledgeable” with podcasting/podcast technology, while only 46% of students provided those responses on the post-
survey as more students moved up to either ‘‘neutral” or ‘‘fairly knowledgeable” responses. No students reported being ‘‘very knowledge-
able” with podcasting/podcast technology on either survey administration.

7.1.2. Habits and experiences

A small shift was detected among the supplemental students in their frequency of downloading podcast files to any of their devices.
From the pre-survey, 55% of students from both the repetitive and supplemental classes reported that they never downloaded podcasts
and 21% of students reported that they downloaded podcasts ‘‘not very often.” Only 10% of students reported downloading podcasts more
frequently. The percentages for the repetitive students were fairly similar in the post-survey administration. In contrast, only 12% of sup-
plemental students reported in the post-survey that they never download podcasts and nearly 70% reported that they download podcasts
‘‘not very often.” The more frequent download choices also increased slightly for the supplemental class as well, but not nearly as dramat-
ically across the other response choices (‘‘neutral,” ‘‘fairly often,” and ‘‘very often”). Both classes reported a slight increase in their podcast-
ing subscriptions from pre-survey to post-survey administration. In the pre-survey, 72% reported having zero podcast subscriptions and 6%
reported having only one subscription, while in the post-survey, 67% reported have zero podcast subscriptions and 23% reported having
only one subscription.
Students were also asked about the number of classes in which podcasting or audio files were used as a class resource. In the pre-survey,
almost 50% of students reported that none of their previous classes had utilized podcasting or audio files, 36% reported having at least one
class, and 7% of students reported having two or three classes. In the post-survey, only 1% of students reported that none of their previous
classes had utilized podcasting or audio files, 66% reported having at least one class, and 24% of students reported having two or three clas-
ses. Presumably for most students, this increase in frequency was due to the class included in this study.

7.2. Attitudes

Of those students who utilized podcasting technology in the classes under study as well as in previous courses, the responses on the
extent to which they believed the podcasting content contributed to their learning were fairly positive. A majority of students (95% repet-
itive, 76% supplemental) indicated that podcasting contributed a little to quite a bit to their learning, with students who utilized the repet-
itive podcasting reporting a larger contribution. Table 1 displays the percentages for these post-survey responses including details for both
the supplemental and repetitive courses.
Further, using open-ended responses, students in the repetitive format more often reported that podcasting helped them with review-
ing and reinforcing course content than students in the supplemental class. Students in the repetitive class more often indicated that one of
the limitations or weaknesses of this technology is that it could decrease motivation to attend class. In the post-survey, the majority of
these students (89%) also indicated that podcasting would be useful for lectures and PowerPoint slides compared to approximately 60%
of students in the supplemental class, although this was not a substantial change from the pre-survey (82% and 63%, respectively). In addi-
tion, 14% of students in the repetitive class indicated that podcasting would be useful for supplemental material, compared to 57% of stu-
dents within the supplemental class. This did actually represent a substantial change from the pre-survey for the students in the repetitive
class (34%) and a slight change for the students in the supplemental class (49%). Students exposed to the supplemental material appeared
more confident that supplemental material would be a useful podcast resource than students not exposed to supplemental material in pod-
cast format.
Finally, students were asked about the activities or circumstances during which they might be likely to use podcasting or audio re-
sources if offered in a class. Again, the results were remarkably similar across pre- and post-survey administrations and the results are pro-
vided in Table 2; the most often cited activity to use podcasting was ‘‘on a computer while studying”.

7.3. Additional findings from repetitive podcasting format – results from interim semester data

Three major questions were of interest with the data from the interim surveys: (1) to what extent did students use audio, video, and
PowerPoint, repetitive podcasting files to study; (2) to what extent did students download these repetitive files to their portable mp3
player; and (3) were students who used these repetitive files more or less likely to miss class or spend time studying course material.

Table 1
Contribution of podcasts/mp3 files to learning: post-survey results.

Podcasting Type Really did not contribute (%) A little bit (%) Somewhat (%) Quite a bit (%) A lot (%)
Repetitive 4 27 34 34 0
Supplemental 24 32 22 22 0

Note. Percentages are based only on respondents who utilized podcasting material.
 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378 375

Table 2
Activities or circumstances during which students are likely to utilize podcasting.

Podcasting On a computer while During down time On an mp3 player while While traveling or While exercising While eating
type studying (%) (%) studying (%) commuting (%) (%) (%)
Repetitive 82 34 32 30 16 8
Supplemental 53 45 29 45 35 10

Note: Respondents were allowed to indicate more than one category and therefore, the percentages do not equate to 100%.

Data from both interim surveys (n = 83) were collected to address the first two questions. Whereas only 20% of students reported using
audio files and only 14% reported using video files, 52% of students reported using PowerPoint files to study. Very few students downloaded
files to their portable players (5% audio, 1% video, and 7% PowerPoint).
Data on attendance and study hours were only collected on the second interim survey, which reduced the sample from 49 to 45 stu-
dents. In order to examine the data related to question three above, a dichotomous variable was created indicating whether or not a stu-
dent used a file (either audio, video, or PowerPoint) to study. Correlations were computed between that dichotomous variable and self-
reported number of absences over the previous 2 weeks (r = .22), total absences (r = .23) and study hours (r = .25), suggesting an insig-
nificant relationship between students who downloaded files and missed class. In addition, students were asked how having the files avail-
able to them might have affected their attendance. Eleven percent said they were more likely to miss class, 0% said they were less likely to
miss class, and 89% said it had no effect on their attendance.

8. Discussion

The findings from this study indicate that only two-thirds of students surveyed owned and used digital media players – a finding that
differs from our assumption and the push found in the literature for educators to hurryingly meet students ‘‘. . .where they ‘live’ – on the
Internet and audio players” (Educause Learning Initiative, 2006, p. 2). Moreover, of these students who reported owning a digital media
player, most indicated, perhaps out of association, that they use the players for music, rather than educational purposes. Similarly, most
students indicated they use a computer for playing educational related files, which was consistent with findings from previous research
on podcasting (Evans, 2008; Malan, 2007). Finally, our biggest surprise was the lack of exposure that students had with podcasting in
their personal lives. Many popular press articles had led us to believe that students had quite a bit more familiarity and experience with
the technology that what we found in our study. However, current research is beginning to highlight this ‘‘unfamiliarity” finding. For
example, Fernandez et al. (2009) found that 51% of their sample was unfamiliar with podcasting prior to the course. In addition, Shim,
Shropshire, Park, Harris, and Campbell (2008) found that 44% of their sample had not used podcasting technology prior to their first
exposure in the study.
These readiness findings or the lack thereof, suggest that students may not be as ready as we think they are for educational podcasting,
either repetitive or supplemental forms. If mobile learning is an important mode of learning for students, we as educators may have to begin
to introduce not only digital media players, but also the association of using these devices for educational purposes and the technology of
podcasting in general. Nonetheless, when podcasting was offered to students, a large percentage of students made use of both supplemental
and repetitive educational podcasting in their courses – a finding consistent with prior research (Brotherton & Abowd, 2004; Zupancic &
Horz, 2002). From one semester of availability, many students increased their podcasting familiarity, knowledge, and even subscription.
In relation to attitudes, majority of students who utilized podcasting in this study reported that the technology contributed to their
learning, with students in the repetitive format reporting a larger contribution than students utilizing the supplemental type. At the same
time, one of our qualitative findings suggest that there is still a fear around the negative effects of repetitive podcasting on student atten-
dance. Other research exploring students’ self-reports on podcasts and webcasts echo this concern as well. For instance, Fernandez et al.
(2009) reported that ‘‘many students had hoped that podcasts could replace traditional classes” (p. 389). In addition, Traphagan, Kucsera,
and Kishi (in press) found that students believed webcasts helped them learn course material better than in-class attendance.
However, from our interim quantitative findings this fear may be just that: a fear rather than an actuality; the majority of students re-
ported that podcasting had no effect on their attendance and our analyses showed no significant relation between media file use and num-
ber of absences. Other studies also support this conclusion, Most research, investigating attendance for the same classes with and without
webcast/podcast technology, have found no significant differences between courses (Harley et al., 2003; Maag, 2006b; Traphagan et al., in
press). Further, Brotherton and Abowd (2004) found the closest similarity to our findings. In their study, one-third of students reported that
webcasting can encourage missing class; however, actual attendance counts did not decline. Returning to the cognitive theory of multi-
media learning (Mayer, 2001), students’ attitudes toward a repetitive podcasting format would indicate some support for student interest
in utilizing the technology to expose themselves to course material at a pace and in a medium that is best suited to their learning needs
(i.e., self-paced and including narrative and visual media components). The question that this study does not attempt to answer, but which
should certainly be investigated, is whether the ability to use podcasting technology and the interest in using podcasting technology for its
pace and media characteristics just described are instrumental in creating positive learning outcomes for students.
In addition, more favorable attitudes appeared to have risen for the supplemental rather than the repetitive podcasting from pre to post
intervention. Students exposed to the supplemental material reported an increase in worth that supplemental material would be a useful
podcast resource. Future research is needed in order to explore why supplemental podcasts were found valuable, as well as the learning
effects of these two different forms of podcasting.
There are a few limitations with our study. Perhaps the main limitation is that the data are self-report. It should also be noted that the
population sampled might not best represent college students in the United States, many of which attend two-year colleges, commuter
colleges, and online college programs and may have different attitudes towards technology and financial resources to afford portable media
files. Finally, the different course domains, instructors, and other class variables possibly confound the results from the comparison of
repetitive and supplemental podcasting types. These are issues that should be addressed in future studies.
376 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378

9. Conclusions

Given the findings in this study, educators should be cautious in assuming that students are ready for and knowledgeable about podcast-
ing technology, regardless of the podcasting type implemented. However, one course incorporating this technology may be enough to begin
to change students’ readiness levels. In addition, the fear of a decline in student attendance from implementing repetitive podcasting may
not manifest. Nevertheless, instructors can still implement various strategies to reduce their possible anxiety, such as taking attendance ran-
domly or providing easy pop quizzes. Finally, according to our results, supplemental podcasting appears to serve as a valuable resource for
students in the college classroom, which could provide enrichment to students beyond what a typical course and instructor can bring.

Appendix A

The pre- and post-surveys consisted of the following items:

1. What type of devices do you use to play mp3 files? Check all that apply.
Laptop computer (1) CD player (2) Portable mp3 player (3) Desktop computer (4) Mobile phone (5) Do not use mp3 files
2. Do you currently own a portable device that can be used to play mp3 files?
Yes (1) No
3. If you do not currently own an mp3 player, do you have easy (regular) access to one (e.g., an mp3 player owned by a friend, room-
mate, parent, boyfriend/girlfriend)? Check one.
No easy access (1) Limited access (2) Easy access
4. What capabilities/functions does the mp3 player that you use have? Check all that apply.
Audio (music, audio files) (1) Phone (2) Video (3) Camera
5. How frequently do you use an mp3 player for the following activities? Check one column per row. [Where not otherwise indicated,
the following scale was used: (0) Never (1) Less than once per month (2) At least monthly but not weekly (3) At least weekly but not
daily (4) Once or twice a day (5) Three or more times a day]
a. Listen to music
b. Listen to recorded books
c. Listen to speeches/interviews not related to your college courses
d. Listen to class lectures
e. Listen to other information relevant to your college courses
f. Listen to other audio (describe)
g. Watch television shows
h. Watch short video clips
i. Watch movies
j. Watch class lectures
k. Watch other information related to my college courses
l. Watch other video (describe)
6. Are you familiar with podcasting? Check one.
Yes (1) No
7. How knowledgeable are you with podcasting/podcast technology? Circle one.
Not at all knowledgeable (2) A little knowledgeable(3) Neutral (4)Fairly knowledgeable (5) Very knowledgeable
8. How often do you currently download podcasts? Circle one.
Never (1) Not very often (2) Neutral (3) Fairly often (4) Very often
9. How many podcasts are you currently a subscriber to? Circle one.
None (1) Only 1 (2) 2–5 (3) 6–10 (4) 11–20 (5) 21–30 (6) More than 30
10. How many classes have you had that provide audio or video files (e.g., class lectures or class-related materials) that you could access
and use on a computer? Circle one.
None (1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) Four (5) Five (6) 6–10 (7) 11–15 (8) More than 15
11. How many classes have you had that provide audio or video files (e.g., class lectures or class-related materials) that you could down-
load and use on your mp3 player? Circle one.
None (1) One (2) Two (3) Three (4) Four (5) Five (6) 6–10 (7) 11–15 (8) More than 15
12. If you have had a class or classes that use mp3 or video files, to what extent do you believe that you used them? Circle one.
Not applicable (1) Never (2) Not very often (3) Occasionally (4) Fairly often (5) Very often
13. If you have had a class or classes that use mp3 or video files and you utilized them to any extent, how much did that resource con-
tribute to your learning in that class? Circle one.
Not applicable (1) Did not utilize (2) Really did not contribute (3) A little bit (4) Somewhat (5) Quite a bit (6) A lot
14. If you have had a class or classes that use mp3 or video files and you utilized them to any extent, how satisfied overall were you with
them as a class resource? Circle one.
Not applicable (1) Did not utilize (2) Really did not contribute (3) A little bit (4) Somewhat (5) Quite a bit (6) A lot
15. What was the best thing about or biggest strength of the mp3 or video files as a class resource? (open-ended)
16. What was the worst thing about or biggest limitation of the mp3 or video files as a class resource? (open-ended)
17. In general, do you think it would be useful for you to have access to audio or video files of class resources? Check all that apply.
Class lectures (1) Overviews of difficult concepts (2) PowerPoint or other slides (3) Guest speakers (4) Lectures and slides integrated
together (5) Supplemental material from experts or authors in the field
18. In general, do you think you would be more likely to use audio or video files of class resources? Check one.
 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378 377

Audio (1) Video (2) Either one would be about the same (3) No opinion (4) Depends on the resource (please explain)
19. If mp3 or video files were offered as a class resource, during what activities or circumstances would you be most likely to use them?
Check all that apply.
On a computer while studying (1) On an mp3 player while studying (2) While traveling or commuting (on the bus, in a car, on a bike,
or on foot) (3) While exercising (4) While eating (5) During down time (while waiting for a ride, in between classes, before an
appointment) (6) Some other activity or circumstance (please describe)
20. How might using podcasting (audio and video files) as a class resource be beneficial to you? (open-ended)
21. How might using podcasting (audio and video files) as a class resource NOT be beneficial to you? (open-ended)

Appendix B

The first interim survey consisted of the following items:

1. Were you able to listen/view the files provided on your class website? Select one response per file type. [The following scale was used:
(0) No. . .never attempted (1) No. . .attempted but was never successful (2) Yes. . .but successful after more than one attempt (3)
Yes. . .successful on first attempt]
a. Audio
b. Video
c. PowerPoint
2. Did you download & store the files to a computer or portable device? Select 1 response per file type. [The following scale was used: (0)
No. . .never attempted (1) No. . .attempted but was never successful (2) Yes. . .but successful after more than one attempt (3) Yes. . .suc-
cessful on first attempt]
a. Audio
b. Video
c. PowerPoint
3. How helpful were the files you used in preparing for the recent quiz? Select 1 response per file type. [The following scale was used: (0)
Not helpful at all (1) Not that helpful (2) Neutral/No Opinion (3) Somewhat helpful (4) Extremely helpful]
a. Audio
b. Video
c. PowerPoint
4. Given your responses on question #3, please briefly describe the reasons for your responses.
a. Audio (open-ended)
b. Video (open-ended)
c. PowerPoint (open-ended)
5. Did you use any of the files in combination with any of the other files (i.e. used the files together at the same time)? Circle all that apply.
a. Audio with PowerPoint (1) Video with PowerPoint (2) Audio with Video
6. On the back side of this page, please provide any other feedback regarding the resources and/or your uses of them described in the ques-
tions above. (open-ended).

Appendix C

The second interim survey consisted of the following items:

1. For this quiz, estimate how many hours you studied/prepared.

2. Please check the days, if any, that you were absent from class.
Thursday February 22nd (1) Tuesday February 27th (2) I attended both class days
3. Please estimate the total number of days that you have been absent thus far from this class.
4. In studying/preparing for this quiz, which of the files from the class website did you use? Select all that apply. [The following scale was
used: (0) Chapter 10 (1) Chapter 11 (2) (3) Explain what you liked or dislike (open-ended)]
a. Audio
b. Video
c. PowerPoint
5. Did you download & store the files to a portable device (e.g. mp3 player)? Select all that apply. [The following scale was used: (0) Chap-
ter 10 (1) Chapter 11 (2) (3) Where did you use the portable device to play the files (e.g., gym, bus) (open-ended)]
a. Audio
b. Video
c. PowerPoint
6. If applicable, how helpful were the files you used in preparing for quiz 3? Select 1 response for each type of file you downloaded. If you
did not download the file, please leave blank. [The following scale was used: (0) Not helpful at all (1) Not that helpful (2) Neutral/No
opinion (3) Somewhat helpful (4) Extremely helpful]
a. Audio
b. Video
c. PowerPoint
378 S.M. Walls et al. / Computers & Education 54 (2010) 371–378

7. Given your responses on question #7, please briefly describe why you found these files helpful or not.
a. Audio (open-ended)
b. Video (open-ended)
c. PowerPoint (open-ended)
8. Did you use either the audio or video file in combination with the PowerPoint file? Circle all that apply.
(0) Audio with PowerPoint (1) Video with PowerPoint
9. How does having the audio and video files of the lectures available to you affect your attendance? Select one response.
(0) I am more likely to miss class (1) I’m less likely to miss class (2) It does not affect my attendance.

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