This week I thought I would chat a bit about podcasts, because 1 – the weekly e-learning challenge (you can read about it in my previous post – scroll down) inspired me, 2 – I looooove listening to podcasts, and 3 – they’re commonly used within distance higher education courses (albeit, they’re rapidly being replaced for video).<\/p>\n
What is a podcast and why are they popular?<\/strong><\/p>\n Podcasts can be considered anything requiring a subscription to a digital media download; however, within recent years the subscription part of things is becoming less and less of a necessity. I’ve been seeing more and more folks use podcasts for their opt-in email lists as a way of giving subscribers something extra (and building their lists), but typically, the subscription part is optional nowadays.<\/p>\n Podcasting seems to have come into its own within our new information society and with the emergence of smartphones and other portable devices (e.g. iPods) – people want information and they want it now! Or, they want to numb the commute to work with a little bit of education or entertainment.<\/p>\n Podcasting in Education<\/strong><\/p>\n One of my contracts is with a local university who was quite the pioneer (at least provincially) with their broadcast distance courses. I remember watching channel 33 when nothing else was on and ‘sitting through’ Psychology lectures as a 10 year old. With the evolution of technology, costly television broadcasts have been replaced by a number of solutions; however, many faculty members I’ve encountered seem to lean in to podcasting as a means for disseminating their lectures; primarily those who were used to the former television broadcast format.<\/p>\n Now, there’s good things and bad things about podcasting in education (in my honest opinion). Some good things are being able to reach audiences and simulate a traditional lecture style. Some bad things are that folks often replace their 1 hour video-based lecture with a 1 hour podcast based lecture, and that can be BAD NEWS…especially for individuals who aren’t audio learners. Personally, I have a hard time learning from audio, so I appreciate visuals with complementary audio. Podcasts for education really aren’t my thing…but, I have seen them done well, and those are usually podcasts that are broken down into palatable chunks of information which support the weekly readings in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n You seem to support\u00a0the idea of podcasts, yet you don’t enjoy educational podcasts? What podcasts do you enjoy?<\/strong><\/p>\n I tend to save my learning for more practical and\/or visual approaches (supported by audio – sure, but not predominantly audio), but I do really enjoy listening to podcasts. I find myself favouring those podcasts that are interview-based and with hosts who can captivate my attention and make my laugh. Therefore, I listen to a lot of comedian-based podcasts. Some of my favourites include:<\/p>\n Totally Laime, Totally Married, and Totally Mommy<\/a> – Elizabeth Laime and her husband, Dr. Rosen Rosen (er Andy) really take my week to the next level; I find myself listening to all three of their podcasts each week (Monday\/Wednesday\/Friday) while I muddle through my work. They make me laugh, dish out tons of unqualified advice, and allow me to effectively multi-task.<\/p>\n