The Educational Value of Podcasts
Ashley Deal from Carnegie Mellon University offers a comprehensive overview of educational podcasting (PDF)."Does podcasting enhance education? The answer to that question depends entirely on the educational context, including goals and appropriate learning activities, and on how the tool is implemented. Podcasting does not contain any inherent value. It is only valuable inasmuch as it helps the instructor and students reach their educational goals, by facilitating thoughtful, engaging learning activities that are designed to work in support of those goals."Technophobes will undoubtedly latch on to Deal's conclusion that there is no "inherent" educational value to podcasting, but that's missing the point. Most tools lack inherent value when they're not put to use. Can a hammer build something on its own? Can a book seep into your brain? Podcasting is just like every other educational tool: if podcasts are used in a practical manner targeted toward specific goals/pedagogy, they can be great. But if they're used without rhyme or reason, their value -- educational or otherwise -- is null.
Elsewhere in her report, Deal calls out a number of interesting applications for podcasts:
- Some teachers/professors use podcasts to deliver supplementary material in both pre- and post-lecture form. "Pre" podcasts prepare students for upcoming topics. "Post" podcasts provide additional material related to past assignments.
- Students can use their own podcast-based "notes" to reinforce key lessons or facts. This idea reminds me of note transcribing; it's tedious, but the active experience of rewriting and distilling concepts often makes lessons stick. One additional upside: a podcast is infinitely more interesting than a stack of notes.
Via Campus Technology
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