Pocasts As Catalysts

The three main ideas that I got from this article were:
1. Podcasting has been around for a while and it is becoming increasingly popular in education especially in post-secondary education. Adam Curry is credited for creating the first podcast in 2004. The term is a combination of Ipod and broadcasting. Also briefly discussed how podcasting works.
I'm not suprised to hear podcasting is widely used in education. Also, not suprised to hear that it has been around for a 5 years.

2. Podcasting should be used to support learning. It should not be the focal point of learning.
I agree with this idea very much. Podcasting is a great way to reach homebound learners, visually impaired learners, learners with reading disabilities and frequently absent students. It can also be engaging for the learners. However, just using podcasting as a novelty teaching tool is a waste of the technology for novelties soon wear off.

3. Students can produce podcasts as a team to increase interactivity and team building.
Sure this can be used as a team project. But, so can many other non-technology related tasks. I don't understand why the auther of this study thinks that podcasting in itself stimulates teamwork. The learner responses indicate that the part they liked most about the activity was the interaction with other students. I get similar feedback from my students when we do cooperative projects. But, the technology does not promote the teamwork. In fact, when I asked my students if they wanted to use a camera to record the project they opted not to use. They even requested that I not tape them. I had to persuade them to let me record the project.

So, while I feel that the team project studied here was effective, I do not feel that it had anything to do with podcasting.

Conclusion: Podcasting definitely has it's place in education. Anytime more learners can be reached from different locations that is a plus. And while podcasting can be motivating in itself, educators should be careful not to focus the attention on the podcast, but rather, on the learning that comes from it.