Podcasting: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners

Designing and creating effective online and distance learning opportunities for adult learners requires thoughtful and insightful planning in order to select the appropriate technologies and strategies." Bates and Poole (2003), recommend asking the following questions when selecting communication technologies for interaction and interactivity:"

1.) What kind of activities by the student would most facilitate learning of this subject?
2.) What media or technology would best facilitate this interaction?
3.) How can technology enable scarce teaching resources to be used and supported by less scarce resources, with respect to increasing the amount and quality of learner interaction?
(as cited in Stavredes, 2011, p. 179).

Podcasting is an emerging technology that can address the questions listed above. However, before we progress any further, let's begin with a definition of podcasts. "Technically, podcasts are digital audio files, posted on the Internet and pushed to listeners through XML/RSS feeds." (Geoghegan & Klass, 2005 as cited in King and Cox, 2011, p. 34). As with any teaching strategy and use of a specific technology, there are pros and cons with incorporating podcasting as a pedagogical tool. "Digital media such as podcasting offer the capability for students to use their popular media and be critical thinkers and creators of knowledge across disciplines rather than sitting in the background as passive spectators to their own education." (King & Cox, 2011 p. 33). This would address the importance of social presence and constructivism, two central components of effective online instruction and adult learning. "Basically, a constructivist stance maintains that learning is a process of constructing meaning; it is how people make sense of their experience." (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007 p. 291).

Online courses that are solely text-based may significantly decrease levels of social presence. Consequently, learners may feel more disengaged in this type of learning environment. Asynchronous audio communication (which can include podcasts, wikis, and video casts) combined with text-based instruction may significantly increase social presence in an online course. "Ice et al. (2007), examined the use of AAC versus text-based only feedback. Although audio feedback was perceived to be an effective tool, students still liked text-based feedback as well. A blend of both the audio and text-based could be ideal." (as cited in King and Cox, 2011 p. 58).

As instructors design their online courses, a key factor to consider is accessibility. Podcasts and video casts, or vodcasts, can prove to be inaccessible to a student who may be auditory or visually impaired/disabled. "A learner who has a hearing impairment or who is completely deaf must be able to access a written transcript for any audio content posted to learning Web sites you require as part of reading assignments, and must be able to access real-time text captioning for audio, video and multimedia content you post within the online class." (King & Cox, 2011 p. 59). Podcasting can be a highly effective teaching strategy that can increase social presence and allow students to create meaningful learning experiences. However, the instructor still needs to engage in thoughtful course design. "Larreamendy-Joerns and Leinhardt (2006) point out that merely presenting information visually and aurally is not an adequate substitute for careful, thoughtful, and well-crafted explanation." (as cited in Brown, Brown, Fine, Luterbach, Sugar, & Vinciguerra, 2009 p. 370). Instructors need to pay very close attention to aligning teaching techniques, technologies, and activities to the course and student learning outcomes and matching these aspects of a course with the appropriate domain in Bloom's Learning Domains.

If faculty choose to incorporate the use of podcasts/vodcasts into their curriculum, the protection of intellectual property and issues with copyright and fair use must be taken into account. "As in our other work, faculty need to determine policies of intellectual property with their universities/colleges and follow those guidelines. This includes having written permission to use copyrighted material (long quotations, images, anything not in the public domain)." (King and Cox, 2011 p. 84). Copyright is a very touchy and complicated issue in higher education and therefore I highly recommend faculty members become familiarized with the TEACH Act, designed to address some of these issues.

Additional Resources:


Below is a link to several podcasts focusing on the use of emerging technologies in higher education:

2012 New Horizon Report: Emerging Technologies: Higher Education Edition on iTunes

The link below is a YouTube video discussing the uses and applications of Podcasting:

Podcasting Uses and Applications

EDUCAUSE staff synthesize current topics and invited guest-bloggers share their thoughts on a wide variety of issues and themes important to higher education. Share your experiences and thoughts by commenting on blogs of interest to you by clicking on the link below:

EDUCAUSE Blog RSS Feed

Click on the link below to learn more about Bloom's Domains of Learning:

Bloom's Domains of Learning

The link below provides more detailed information about the TEACH ACT and intellectual property, fair use, and copyright:

TEACH ACT



References:

Brown, A., Brown, C., Fine, B., Luterbach, K., Sugar, W., & Vinciguerra, D.C. (2009). Instructional Uses of Podcasting in Online Learning Environments: A Cooperative Inquiry Study. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 37 (4) 351-371.

King, K.P. & Cox, T.D. (2011). The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology: Leveraging Digital Media. Web 2.0, and More for Learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S., & Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Stavredes, T. (2011). Effective Online Teaching: Foundations and Strategies for Student Success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.