Podcasting for Students
November 4th, 2006 by 
adminPodcasting has invaded the streets, the board rooms…and now, the classrooms? That’s right. Podcasting has become a valid and potentially powerful tool for schools and universities.
It was only a matter of time before students and teachers embraced podcasting as the new way to learn. After all, it is a very efficient method of content delivery, and one that is particularly suited for student life.
First of all, it’s portable. The student can listen to material anywhere—the library steps, study hall, sitting on the fields outside campus while watching a game. After all, you can’t be in front of a computer all the time. Students have lives—or at least, they like to hope they have one—but when the pressure builds and they need to go away, at least they can take the information with them. This is one of the biggest breakthroughs of podcasting: it removes the final barriers of the Internet, and the information within it – location. Not only do you have the world at your fingertips, you can also fit it inside your pocket.
Second of all, students are very comfortable with the medium. After all, they were the first to buy the iPod—this is the generation that first embraced the whole idea of digital technology and really made it their own. It’s not uncommon for students to actually turn podcasting into a hobby, making their own radio shows in their own free time or trading podcasting links the way older people used to trade baseball cards. In fact, there are very successful reports of third grades making podcasts. Third graders! And to think there are some adults that still haven’t figured out how to use the computer…
Third of all, podcasting is a relatively simple and inexpensive skill to learn. With software, a microphone, and a little practice, people can make their own podcasts. And many professors are finding that those investments pay off in a big way, because of how it helps students learn. They can record lectures (which can be a great help to the visually impaired) or provide additional material that they didn’t have the time to include in the classroom discussion.
But students aren’t just using podcasts in the classroom. Many are using it in their own extra curricular activities. For example, podcasts of school plays or productions are regularly exchanged or sent to the parents. Or podcasts of fieldtrips or lecture series re sent to members of an organization that weren’t able to personally attend.
And most of all, students are using podcasting to have fun. The pressure at school can build up. They need a break, a chance to unwind. Listening to podcasts on hobbies or interests can be a welcome escape from the books, while still being informative.
The best part of it is that they can do this for free. Students are often working on limited budgets, and there may not always be enough to go around. Many podcasts don’t require membership fees or download fees, mainly because most of the operators get their money from advertising.