Podcasting in Education
November 8th, 2006 by 
adminIt’s rare to see any student—or any teen, for that matter—walking around without an iPod. But while most people tend to associate it with music, it actually serves many purposes.
Thanks to the phenomenon called podcasting, the iPod can actually be a portably library. Students can download a treasure trove of information that can help them with school.
For example, business majors now have access to thousands of podcasts on marketing techniques and project management. Art majors can listen to discussions on art history and critiques of major works. Science majors and budding doctors can download medical reports or receive news on major scientific breakthroughs. Psychology majors can liten to interviews of famous psychologist and therapists.
Indeed, there is no topic that doesn’t have a podcast dedicated to it, and the resourceful student can easily sign up for regular feeds to keep them updated on their chosen industry or profession. This helps students gain exposure to the world that they’re preparing for. The world becomes their classroom; they gain access to resource persons and “attend” lectures. This is invaluable for students from small community colleges which may not have been able to arrange the major conferences and workshops because of limited funds. At least students are able to take charge of their studies—if they can’t find it on campus, they can get it through a podcast.
But that’s not all. Many innovative schools and universities have integrated podcasts into their curriculum, encouraging students to make a podcast as part of their requirements for a class.
Typically, the podcasts revolve around a research topic. Students proceed to get interviews, assemble information gathered from books and journals, and then present these ideas in a clear, informative, and entertaining manner. Students love making these projects because it is (admittedly) more fun than typing a report! In some schools, podcast projects are introduced as early as third grade.
Aside from this, teachers themselves have been using podcasts as a way of supplementing classroom activities and lectures. For example, teachers have made podcasts of lectures, allowing students to review the discussion at their own pace, and go back to confusing or complicated points.
Students have also used podcasts as study aides. Some medical students have made podcasts that act as reviewers for important subjects such as anatomy; by listening to, say, a feed on the circulatory system, they can memorize the processes and parts. This type of podcast has also been very helpful for any course that requires a great deal of memory work.
Podcasts have also been particularly helpful for students trying to learn a different language.By downloading podcasts of a different language, or even using a podcast that teaches a language, they learn much faster than they would if they were merely reading a book on the subject. They can pick up pronunciation, voice inflections, accents. They can immerse themselves in the language and expand their vocabulary, while picking up idioms and other signs of “natural use” that isn’t necessarily taught in the classroom.
Related categories in our Podcast Directory: Education