The Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University released a comprehensive whitepaper last summer on teaching and learning with podcasting. The whitepaper covers file production, podcast publication, and delivery and playback of podcasts, as well various case studies from 2006 and 2007 which explore the different uses of educational podcasting:

Abstract: Sharing audio and video files on the Web has been possible for most of the last decade. Why, then, in the past two years has podcasting exploded onto the scene and become such a hot topic in educational technology? How does this new technology and its widespread adoption create new opportunities in education? Is it just a passing trend, or is there genuine potential to improve the quality of the educational experience and learning outcomes? This paper attempts to answer these questions through the exploration of educational podcasting in three realms: the creation and distribution of lecture archives for review, the delivery of supplemental educational materials and content, and assignments requiring students to produce and submit their own podcasts.

Some highlights of student uses and perspectives on podcasted lectures revealed the following:

  • Most students perceive lecture podcasts as a tool for review, rather than as a replacement for attending lectures
  • Many students who use recorded lectures for review believe the practice has a positive impact on their performance. In a UM study, 85% of survey respondents who used the lecture archives believed it had a positive effect on exam grades
  • 20% of students in the UW study listened to more than 75% of recorded lectures. In addition to picking and choosing which lectures to review, many students also scan the lectures, fast-forwarding to specific points or sections, and listening to particular portions multiple times
  • The convenience of RSS subscription increases the likelihood that students download files

The paper is available for download in PDF format from Carnegie Mellon University.

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