Podcasting in the Classroom

Flanagan, Brian, Brendan Calandra (2005). Podcasting in the Classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 33(3):20-23.

A podcast is a method of disseminating information through automated technology that allows a listener to subscribe and listen to digitally recorded shows (Flanagan, 2005). Students can subscribe to a podcast and listen to it on their computer or download it to their mp3 player. Research shows that there is little difference between receiving information in an audio file versus through in class lectures (Flanagan, 2005). The benefits have shown that students can rewind and listen again to difficult parts of the lecture. They can listen to the podcast at their own convenience when they are ready to be focused on the information. Students can create their own podcasts for a project instead of writing a paper or a lab report. I think podcasting would be limited to the amount of creativity and effort put in by the teacher and the students. I can see how podcasting could help in classes such as music and foreign language where it would be helpful to hear something over and over to help with memorization for example. I’m not sure podcasts would be a primary form of technology that I would use in my classroom. I think making podcasts would be a fun project for a particular lesson or project, but I don’t think that it would fit into the level of access I have to the computer lab to be used on a regular basis. Podcasting is gaining popularity at the university level and I think that if we continue offering online classes at the high school, then I could see them being used more in the future. In my current classes, I don’t see them being more than a novelty at the moment.