Podcasting has been around since at least 2004. Although it’s
not on the forefront of technological innovation, it can be extremely effective
in the right context:
- With a podcast you can be in two places at once “virtually”. Physically present in one and your podcast can be your virtual presence elsewhere.
- You can save time. If you repeatedly have to give instructions, lectures or other communications, why not podcast the talk and let your audience view it while you are more constructively engaged?
- What about the audience? If they have access to the podcast they can pause, review and go over the material repeatedly if necessary.
We started podcasting some second year lectures and were
surprised at the students’ response. They found the podcasts so useful that we were
asked to extend the process for the entire year – and beyond!
So, we realised that when the students attend five or six
lectures a day, they most likely suffer from information overload and cannot possibly
assimilate all the new concepts. With the podcasts, they can go over the
material as many times as they need to. And it has led to improved exam marks! (See this podcast for more details.)
Thank you for sharing this with the learning community Steve. Podcasting is gaining ground quickly (at Stellenbosch University at least), and your project with the medical students (as shown on your Surmepi podcast) has contributed a lot to the ground swell.
ReplyDeleteIn the case that Steve is talking about, podcasting was used to support a traditional (lecturing) approach in class. The interesting question now is what will happen next year? When one has all the "knowledge transfer" recorded already - should the classroom not be used more meaningfully? Maybe Steve can also comment on this aspect of the project. How can podcasting potentially transform the way learning is done in the classroom.
The long-term plan is to use video podcasts of the lectures as required pre-learning for students. They can post their questions online for the lecturer, who will then use the class time to clarify the concepts the students highlighted. This process is commonly called a "flipped" classroom. The lecturer' role changes from delivering information to assisting the students with learning.
ReplyDelete