Podcasting in Education

1. What is Podcasting?
There are two definitions of the term ‘podcast.’ One is broad - any digital video or
audio file that is hosted on the internet and can be viewed on a computer or a
portable digital media player (such as an iPod). A more accurate definition is a
digital file (audio, video or even PDFs) that is automatically ‘pushed’ out to the
end user via software such as iTunes. In this respect we can talk of a series of audio
or video podcasts that is similar to a radio series except that the user can control
when, where and how they are downloaded and listened to.
There are three types of podcast. An audio podcast
contains sound, spoken-word, music etc. and is usually
created as an ‘mp3’ file using a computer, microphone and
recording/editing software. A video podcast contains
moving or still images and sound and tend to be output in
much larger file sizes, usually as an ‘mp4.’ Video podcasts
are often more time-consuming to create and require
more expensive equipment such as digital video cameras
as well as video editing software. An enhanced audio
podcast can contain a mixture of sound, still images, URLs
and chapter markers which can be viewed within
Quicktime, iTunes and on an iPod.

2. Podcasting Tools
Podcasting technologies can be relatively low cost and yet add much value to the
learning experience. A basic inexpensive set-up can be as simple as a laptop
computer with an in-built microphone and some editing software such as the freely
available ‘Audacity’. A more complex and professional setup may include an
external microphone and headphones, mixing desk and dedicated podcasting
software such as Apple’s Garageband or Kudlian’s Podcaster (Mac and Windows).
For video podcasting Apple’s iMovie or Final Cut Express/Pro, Adobe’s Premiere or
Microsoft’s MovieMaker can be used.

3. Eight Benefits of Podcasting in Education

The use of podcasting at school, college and university level is becoming
widespread. Early adopters in the mid-1990s included Stanford, Duke and
Washington universities who used the technology to record whole lectures for
students to access later in their own time. Early concerns that students would
simply use podcasting as an excuse to skip lectures were dispelled by research that
has demonstrated a wide range of educational benefits for this emerging
technology:
1. Flexibility and Learner Control. Podcasts enable learners to have ‘anytime,
anywhere’ access to learning materials provided they have an appropriate
mobile device to listen to or watch them on;
2. Student Engagement and Motivation. Studies (including my own as part of the
MoleNet/LSN podcasting project) show that students involved in creating
podcasts in particular have high levels of subject engagement and other
motivational attributes;
3. Personalisation. Given the ‘multimodal’
nature of podcasts (i.e mixed media such
as sound, still images, moving images,
text etc.) they can be used to match the
preferred learning styles of students.
Evidence suggests students use podcasts
in a number of different ways depending
on their preferred methods of learning
(Salmon & Edirisingha, 2008, Chapter 9);
4. Retention and Achievement. Although
there is some anecdotal evidence that creating podcasts of whole lectures
may negatively impact attendance, when used effectively podcasting has
found to increase the chances of students completing a course and has
increased performance levels on the course;
5. Widening Participation. Podcasting has the potential to increase the ease of
access to further and higher education for those traditionally excluded such as
single parents, the disabled and those who are geographically isolated from
college and university campuses;
6. Collaborative Learning. Social Constructivist and socio-cultural learning
theories emphasise the value of collaborative learning as a crucial part of the
learning experience. Evidence shows that when students are involved in
creating podcasts they enhance their communication and creative skills and
can form a participatory learning community;
7. Student Voice. Getting learners involved in creating podcasts (for example
through a student union ‘infocast’) can be one way in which students are
given more of a voice in their formal learning. Student podcasts can be
central to an effective post-16 citizenship strategy;
8. Creativity and the ‘cool factor.’ The ‘Google
generation’ expects not to have to ‘power-down’ in
terms of the technology they have access to when
they engage in their formal learning. Podcasting can
help ‘close the gap’ between the technologies
learners use in their everyday lives and their
learning at college. Student feedback suggests they
regard podcasting technologies as both ‘cool’ and
‘fun’ which can have a direct and positive impact on
formal learning.
4. Suggested Uses
Listed below are a range of suggested scenarios (actual and imagined) in which
podcasting can be used to add value to the learning experience at college:
• Marketing - video or sound tours of the college for prospective or current
students;
• Learning Resources - a video or audio ‘walk-through’ of the library and Open
Learning Centre;
• Student Union - a series of ‘infocasts’ that keep students informed about
current and upcoming events, issues etc;
• Course-specific formative assessment e.g students are required to create a
digital portfolio using sound and images in AS Culture & Communications;
• Science - laboratory dissections in Biology or experiments in Chemistry;
• English - students have to reflect on a book they have read, perhaps in a small
group;
• General Studies - students create a video or audio podcast in which they give
their views on current ethical/moral issues;
• Work-based training - podcasts used for assessment and feedback as well as
instructional guidance;
• Revision material - 10-15 min recaps of a section of the syllabus with bullet-
pointed slides, created by lecturer or groups of students as a revision
exercise;
• Staff Communication - podcasts could be used as an alternative method of
communication between staff and senior management.

5. Important Issues to Consider

• Intellectual property/legal issues - you must use copyright-free images, video
and sound in your podcasts (see link to Creative Commons below).
• Learning Objectives integration into schemes of work & lesson plans - even
though podcasting is fun, creative and cool, the learning objectives should be
paramount.
• Consent of participants - Always make sure those who appear in video
podcasts sign a consent form (available from the eLearning Team) to protect
us and them from issues of confidentiality etc.
• Audio quality - getting the sound right. Many a good video podcast has been
ruined by poor audio quality, for example using the in-built microphone on a
digital camera recording from a distance rather than a dedicated microphone.
A good quality microphone for audio or video podcasts is essential for
producing a professional or even semi-professional podcast.
• Appropriate content - always stress to students the need for content to be
appropriate, scholarly and non-offensive, and make sure your podcasts take
account of equal opportunities and Every Child Matters guidelines.
6. Links and References
http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/
http://www.poducateme.com/
iTunes U http://www.apple.com/education/guidedtours/itunesu.html
MyPodcast http://mypodcast.newcollege.ac.uk/
MoleTV http://www.moletv.org.uk
Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/
Using Audacity to create Podcasts http://randym.podagogy.com/digitalmedia.html
Introduction to Garageband http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Introduction_to_GarageBand
MyPodcast: Developing Innovative Approaches to Personalised Learning. Lead Practitioner’s
research report by Julian Prior (July 2008).
Podcasting for Learning in Universities by Gilly Salmon and Palitha Edirisingha (2008:
McGraw Hill).
Podcasting for Teachers: Using a new technology to revolutionise teaching and learning by
Kathleen King and Mark Gura (2007: Information Age Publishing).