Projects

Student Produced Podcasts: Assessing the Pedagogy of Podcasting

Description

Round 6 Teaching Devlopment Grant

This project explores the potential of podcasting technology for developing presentation and Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills in undergraduate courses, by incorporating podcasting into an undergraduate history course in 2007/8.

The accepted meaning of "podcast" is an internet-based radio show on demand, but the term is also used to describe audio-based objects, including narratives, lectures, individual and group presentations, that are made available for downloading through the World Wide Web. In the course, students would be asked to produce a 10 minute podcast related to the outcome of a small research project, in the manner of a radio broadcast in which important findings are explained in simple language and their significance explored within the context of a historical topic or issue. podcasts would be developed in preparation of a seminar discussion, as a way of increasing the level of class interaction and triggering discussion around particular issues.

The first task for the students involves literature research and the production of a written essay. This resembles a conventional report or essay and contains scholarly, referenced sources and original results that may be submitted for assessment. The paper is then reworked into a storyboard to make the text more suitable for oral presentation. This may include musical interludes and sounds. The storyboard will be recorded and edited using a workstation, high quality microphone, and podcasting software purchased for the project. The podcast is then uploaded onto a course blog or website where it may be viewed by tutors and by other students. A straightforward written guide to podcasting would be specifically aimed at lecturers with basic computing skills for developing course components and assessments in higher education.

The learning outcomes of the exercise include developing students' ability to manage projects, undertake research, communicate results and arguments effectively and persuasively, and develop competence in modern, Web-based technologies.

Aims and objectives

• To develop student produced podcasting as an assessment component in an already existing course.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of student produced podcasts as a means of assessment.
• Provide a showcase for other Departments with re-usable templates and techniques.

The specific objectives of the project are:

• Writing of a handbook for students how to produce a podcast
• Production of an instruction videocast (online video) showing how to use the audio editing software, production of a webpage/blog and RSS feeds 1.
• Creation of course website/blog to make podcasts available to other students in preparation of seminar discussion.
• Consideration of the use of blogging as alternative modes of assessment and basis for seminar discussion and its potential use in the context of distance learning programmes.

This is a novel approach to assessment that will motivate and engage students, who traditionally are shy of audio technologies, and one which will build confidence in speaking and communicating research and arguments to their peers and tutors. The brevity of the podcasts encourages concise communication, synthesising essential findings from complex sources and results. The formulation and delivery of the podcast will also develop student creativity in ways different to more traditional forms of assessment.

The immediate benefit of podcasting technology is the ease with which it can make content immediately available to large audiences. Its use in teaching has largely been restricted to audio and video recording of lectures in order to make them available to students electronically (Read 2005, Thomas 2006), but the technology potentially has a wide range of applications to university teaching, and its broader benefits in relation to undergraduate student learning have not been considered in the pedagogic literature. This may be in part owing to a lack of expertise on the part of many lecturers to set up and provide instruction in podcasting technology. User-friendly tools relating to podcasting have emerged on the market, but lecturers are not yet aware of their availability and use. It is likely to be effective to a range of intelligences and learning styles because it appeals to auditory learners as well as visual learners and those who prefer a "hands on" approach. It also suits a range of learning paces because the podcast can be replayed as often as needed. Teaching applications of the podcasting technique needs to be explored and advertised more widely amongst university teachers.

On-line media is becoming increasingly important in academic discourse and communication (Kelly 2006. Beldarrain 2006), and elsewhere, and students nowadays are expected to be fluent in many types of information and web-based technologies. A podcasting facility will develop transferable skills that make students more attractive to employers, particularly presentation and Web-based skills.

The outcomes of the project will be applicable in the disciplinary environments of History, Classics and Archaeology and other disciplines. It will provide university teachers for the first time with a pedagogic and practical model of how to incorporate student produced podcasting into their courses. This will fill a real gap in the pedagogic literature, namely the conspicuous lack of guidelines or articles for using podcasts in students' assignments.

Specific outcomes of the project include:

• The main outcome is the production of a straightforward technical guide to the installation and use of podcasting technology in undergraduate university courses. This will be published on the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for History, Archaeology and Classics website.
• Creation of project website/blog including all materials and resulting podcasts.
• Publication of an article presenting results of the project in either the Journal of History in Higher Education or Rethinking History.

Footnote: 1 RSS is a method of distributing links or syndicating content in your web site that you would like others to use.

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