Podcasts in Education? Fantastic Potential, but Easy as 1-2-3?

I think there is fantastic potential for the use of podcasts in education. As notes in the article “FAQ’s: Podcast Fans” (www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/fanfaq.html), a Podcast can include several of the most common types of media, and can be used to offer many types of programs. Audio and visual media, for example, can be combined in an podcast to transmit a lecture that is both rich in content and delivery.

So why is this important for education? As most educators know, students employ a variety of learning styles. Most students (and people in general) learn best when information is delivered not only verbally, but also visually. Students also learn best when they can interact with, and relate to, the content matter. The more proactive, and interactive, those students can be during the learning process, the better.

The method of using an RSS file to syndicate content provides even more opportunities for students to learn about topics in a proactive and interactive manner. They can, essentially, share with each other what they have learned by providing links to the content on their RSS file. (http://searchenginewatch.com/2175271).

But as I mentioned above, I think there is fantastic potential for the use of podcasts in education. But how easy and realistic is it that teachers and students will have access to the education and resources to do this. While podcasts are free to download, the access to the technology and education in order to use them to their greatest potential may not be.

Thankfully, Apple provides a tremendous amount of support for educators to learn and teach the use of technology in the classroom, and of podcasts in particular (http://www.apple.com/education/teachers-professors/mobile-learning.html). With that said, Apple’s ‘1-2-3 step’ process to ‘providing amazing educational content’ via Apple technology, may not be as easy for some as it is for others. I myself was quite humbled (if not ashamed) as an educator when I read the statement ‘There is nothing difficult about it’ after they explain that ‘you can shoot videos of your lectures or classes, record audio, make podcasts, and design sophisticated slideshows.’

I suppose it wouldn’t be so difficult if you teach at a school that provides teachers and students with Macs, a Mac lab, and ample time for preparing how to teach and learn with the Apple tools. Even when I did have a Mac and many of my students had access to computers, re-adapting my curriculum and understanding how to use the Apple devices was not as easy as 1-2-3. It takes time. And for a high school English teacher, you may need all the time you have for reading the literature you are teaching and grading the papers that students are writing.

In conclusion, as valuable as the use of podcasts (and other Apple learning tools) can be for educators, I do not think it is as easy to learn how to incorporate them into the daily lesson plans for full time (English) teachers as Apple may have us thinking. Even as I take the time to spend 4 Saturdays in a ‘Technology in Education’ course, I realize I will only touch upon the basics. Learning how to download a podcast will be useful. Learning how to ‘shoot videos of your lectures or classes, record audio, make podcasts, and design sophisticated slideshows’? It would be useful to learn all that, but in the amount of time I have, learning all of that will most definitely be difficult.

How will I use pocasts in education? At this point, I will do my best to understand them enough to provide students with the opportunity to use and make them as part of their research assignments. But I don't think I will be teaching them as much as they will be teaching me. I will stick to the analysis of literature and the completion of sentences and thoughts.

Anyone read a chapter novel lately? Oh, don't tell me: You downloaded one on a podcast!!:-)