Epodcast
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E-Podcast
Jennifer Southcombe, Memorial University of Newfoundland (jennifer-please complete your user page)
Definitions and background
O’Bannon, Lubke, Beard and Britt (2011) describe a podcast as “digital media files distributed through the Internet and downloaded through syndication for playback on a computer or MP3 player" (p. 1885). Podcasts can be either audio only recordings or audio recordings that include enhancements such as video or PowerPoint slides (Walls, Kucsera, Walker, Acee, McVaugh & Robinson, 2010). Podcasts in educational situations tend to be recordings of entire lectures or shorter supplemental recordings referring to specific content topics (Hew, 2009).
The term podcast was created from a combination of Apple’s iPod” and the term “broadcasting” (O’Bannon et al., 2011, p.1885). Podcasts are unique from other digital media in that they can be subscribed to through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) (Anzai, 2009). Any new podcasts will be automatically downloaded for users that subscribe to the RSS feed (Walls et al., 2010). Podcasts can also be accessed from links posted in Learning Management Systems (LMS) or other web spaces for downloading any time onto a variety of digital devices, including personal computers, tablets, smart phones, MP3 players and iPods (Scutter, Stupans, Sawyer & King, 2010).
Affordances
Podcasts provide opportunities to support student accommodation needs (Vajoczki, Watt, Marquis & Holshausen, 2010), promote active learning (Lonn & Teasley, 2009), increase student achievement (Kay & Kletskin, 2012; McKinney et al., 2009), and provide flexible learning resources (Scutter et al., 2010) and personalized learning opportunities (On Tam, 2012).
Podcasts help to support students with accommodation needs (Vajoczki, Watt, Marquis & Holshausen, 2010). The Vajoczki et al. study observed that podcast recordings of full lectures help reduce the need for assistants to act as note takers for disabled students. Making podcasts of lectures available can also help support students with medical absences and provide them an opportunity to complete the course. Podcasts can also be a convenient option to support ESL (English as a Second Language) student pronunciation of new terminology and concept attainment (Scutter et al., 2010).
Podcasts can provide opportunities for pedagogy that promote active learning (Lonn & Teasley, 2009). Lonn and Teasly argue that delivering key topics for review via podcasts allows an instructor the opportunity to restructure face-to-face class time to include discussion and other active learning opportunities. Another way podcasts help create active and authentic learning opportunities is by putting the creation and sharing of them into the hands of the student (Coutinho & Mota 2011; Kennedy, Newton, Haines, Walther-Thomas, & Kellems, 2012; Lee, McLoughlin & Chan, 2008). Lee et al. (2008) argue that the “true potential of podcasting technology lies in its knowledge-creation value” (p. 504) and Armstrong and Tucker (2009) argue that the technology must be put in the hands of the learner for higher learning to occur.
In addition to promoting active learning and supporting students with accommodation needs, podcast usage can lead to student achievement gains (Kay & Kletskin, 2012; McKinney et al., 2009). McKinney, Dyck and Luber (2009) conclude that students who only receive lectures through podcasts actually score better on assessments than those who attend lectures in person. According to Kay and Kletskin’s study using short video podcasts of math problems, students prefer the chunked, step-by-step explanations and the “dynamic visualization of a problem as opposed to the static presentation of a text-based format” (p. 624), while at the same time it increases their concept understanding.
Podcasts provide students with flexible learning resources (Scutter et al., 2010) and the opportunity for personalized learning (On Tam, 2012). Students that access podcasts have the ability to control when, where and what they learn (Kay & Edwards, 2012). Students can listen over and over to material they find difficult and access content they miss in class (Hew, 2009). The availability of recorded lecture podcasts can also provide students with the choice of whether to take notes during the live lecture or focus on the lecturer and take notes while watching the podcast at a later time (Whitney & Pessina, 2008).
Constraints
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