What is a podcast?
Podcasts are digital audio files that include several components: a digital audio file, a server where the file is posted, and an RSS feed file (King, 2011, p. 34). So what does all that mean? Basically a podcast is a recording made by a portable digital recorder, the file is then edited and posted online for others to listen to (King, 2011, p. 34). There are so many different reasons for listening to a podcast. Examples where you might here a podcast could be an audio tour at a museum or city, in a class, online news, church sermons, etc.
Pros and Cons
+Students do not all learn the same, some may be visual learners while others learn better listening, podcasts can improve retention by embracing different learning styles (King, 2011, p.36).
-Like anything dealing with technology, technology has to work properly to be used properly.
+The availability of podcasts and how easily they are accessible.
-The individual creating the podcast must have the technological knowledge or access to someone who does to be able to create and post the podcast properly.
+Good for relaying repeated information and giving the professors time for other information (Petersell, 2010).
-Requires an audio output device on computers that some older computers may not have (Petersell, 2010).
+Students can go back over the information that was presented in the podcasts. Where as in a classroom you don't have the luxury of asking the professor to repeat themselves when you couldn't copy or write information fast enough.
-Can be difficult when learning complex information where more description and visuals are needed.
All in all, I think using a podcast in an adult education curriculum could be very beneficial if used properly and all the students have the proper technical support needed to use a podcast. I think in general podcasts can be a positive both to the student and the professor.
Questions
1)If you were using podcasts in your own lesson plan, what would be the type of the information you would like to include?
2) Do you think the technology could be a challenge with adult students who are not familiar with it?
King, K. P. (2011). Podcasting. In The professor's guide to taming technology (pp. 33-49). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Petersell, M. (2010, August 31). Many ways to learn: The pros and cons of podcasting. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://mwtl.blogspot.com/2010/08/pros-and-cons-of-podcasting.html
Kelli,
ReplyDeleteI think we can agree that instructors need to be mindful of how they incorporate podcasts and other technologies into their curriculum. If technologies are not used properly or students do not have the resources or skills to access or use the technology then it could become detrimental to learning situation.
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I found lots of cool podcasts out there, but I am not sure if I would ever use it as part of a lesson plan. I could definitely use video podcasts, but I am not sure if audio alone would be very useful. I could see using audio podcasts to introduce a course, summarize a syllabus, or answer FAQs, but maybe not in the actual lessons (King & Cox, 2011).
I think any of the more recent audio and visual technologies can be challenging to adults. I am an adult who grew up with technology and newer technologies are often difficult for me. It could also be the way I’m wired!
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King, K. P. & Cox, T. D. (Eds.). (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Hi Kelli,
ReplyDeleteFor second language acquisition pod-casts, audio and video, can be very helpful for introducing students to proper pronunciation modeling. It can also show them dialectic variation by region, class, and mode.
Kelli,
ReplyDelete I really enjoyed your post about podcasts. As an instructor I would be hesitant to use them in the classroom since not all students are able to learn by listening to the information; I would also be hesitant because there would be no guarantee that the information is accurate since individuals are responsible for producing and posting without any true peer review.
On the other hand, I agree with your point that this would allow students to listen to a point more than once and help them absorb the information presented. Also, as a professor, it would allow me to focus more in-depth on more pertinent information. The only way I could really see using them would be to have them serve as a supplement to what I was teaching in the classroom; they would merely be an added resource.