Podcasts as a way to transmit learning for adult students have several obvious advantages, including low cost to produce, ability to listen at the learner's leisure, and re-listen on their schedule, and the potential to enhance understanding of concepts (Marrocco, Kazer, & Neal-Boylen, 2004.).
Before this class, it had not occurred to me to use podcasting (audio-only) to enhance or deliver learning in a formal setting, such as a graduate course. YouTube and other videos as a means of additional learning are not unusual in my classes, but my only usage of audio podcasting up to now has been for my own "education" about subjects I wanted to learn more about. Reading literature about podcasting has led me to seriously consider it as a methodology for learning boosters in my current work role.
Marrocco et. al found in their study of graduate nursing students that podcasts of 15 minutes or shorter were what learners wanted. As I think about that finding and relate it to typical story length on radio news stations, it seems to correlate to the right length for a listener to attend to. There is currently a great deal of debate about "microlearning" in the corporate setting as being the opportunity to deliver information in "small bites." A short podcast could be one method of providing this.
King and Cox (2011) speak of one usage of podcasts as tutorials that are available 24/7 for a learner to enhance one's learning. They allege that for students, "using tutorial podcasts cultivates engaging in problem solving of their learning needs, taking initiative in pursuing learning resources, and becoming more independent lifelong learners" (p.39). I believe it would be difficult to listen to an audio-only lecture podcast and not have to pause it frequently to make notes or think about concepts, but having podcasts available to tutor myself on complex concepts would be a useful tool.
Podcasting is likely in my opinion to be most useful as an ancillary tool for adult learning rather than as a primary delivery method for learning. When applied intentionally, it can be a great resource for students.
King, K.P., & Cox, T.D. (2011). The professor's guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Marrocco, G.F., Kazer, M.W., & Neal-Boylan, L. (2014). Transformational learning in graduate nurse education through podcasting. Nursing Education Perspectives, 35(1), 49-53.
Good to see you evaluating podcasting technology from a corporate point of view and making connection to the concept of microlearning. I completely agree that podcasting technology could be a great technology to use to foster microlearning. What you said that "my only usage of audio podcasting up to now has been for my own "education" about subjects I wanted to learn more about" can relate to a blog entry I just read in BRG Three. In that blog entry, the author talks about the potential use of podcasting technology for informal learning.
ReplyDeleteYour interview podcast was done well too. Enjoyed watching it and hearing him talking about Captivate.
Kang
I completely agree with you about podcasts being primarily a secondary tool for educators, not a primary method for delivery. Some of my colleagues try to flip their classrooms, meaning they record a math lesson via video for their students to watch it at home, and come back and do the homework in class. I just can't get into this because I want to be able to answer questions as they happen and I feel I can do that best inside the classroom. However, if my students don't understand the homework when they go home, I don't want them clueless, so I give videos for homework help in more of the secondary capacity rather than primary like my flipped classroom colleagues.
ReplyDeleteAll of that to say, I completely agree with you about using podcasts or video podcasts as a secondary tool for instruction rather than the primary delivery method.
DeAnna
Yes thank you DeAnna, I have often wondered how flipping works for math instruction especially. That would have been difficult for me as a learner.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your judgement that podcasts should be used as an ancillary tool rather than a primary delivery method. Do you think you would get more use out of:
ReplyDelete1. Using existing podcasts for instruction
2. Creating podcasts for students to listen to
3. Having students create their own podcasts
Or perhaps some combination of the three? Would you primarily use podcasts as something for students to use outside of the classroom, because I’ve seen some high school teachers spend class time listening to a podcast as a class and reflecting upon it either during or after listening to it. Do you think that would be a useful activity for adult instruction?
Really interesting question Ashley. I believe in a corporate setting it would be hard to have individual contributors create their own podcasts, but people in leadership (especially Sales) would benefit from creating content that coaches their people. Podcasting is a unique enough delivery method for us at this point in time that I think learners would be more than willing to listen/watch. We have a field staff of thousands in the US and abroad, so I certainly have thought about this as a way for us to improve our ability to reach everyone.
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