Received for publication, March 31, 2009Cristina Aguiar‡, Ana Ame´lia Carvalho§, and Carla Joana Carvalho§From the ‡CBMA/Departamento de Biologia, Universidade do Minho, Braga 4710-057, Portugal,§Instituto de Educac e Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Braga 4710-057, PortugalPodcasts are audio or video files which can be auto-matically downloaded to one’s computer when theepisodes become available, then later transferred to aportable player for listening. The technology thereby enablesthe user to listen to and/or watch the content anywhereat any time. Formerly popular as radio shows, podcast-ing was rapidly explored and used in different areas andwith several purposes, due to the facility of its produc-tion, editing, and distribution. Higher education was noexception and several universities around the world,aware of the audio power of easy online access, havebeen stimulating the use of podcasts [1–4]. Most of thestudies have been using audio files [5–7] but video files(vodcasts or vidcasts) or a record with images (enhancedpodcast) can also be produced. Another type of podcastis a screen capture with a recorded voice (screencast)generally used for demonstrating a task or tutorial on acomputer screen.Some authors claim that it is a renaissance of audiofor learning, though digital audio content would neverreplace reading, listening to live presentations, or themultitude of other ways of obtaining information [2, 6, 8].Audio can effectively be a great way to deliver informa-tion especially for auditory learners [8, 9] and the possi-bility to stop, start, and replay makes it very appropriatefor students with special needs or different learningpaces. According to several authors [2, 6, 10, 11] audiocan have pedagogical advantages because the spokenword can influence both cognition and motivation. Fur-thermore, voice is personal and its frequencies allow theadjustment of intonation, inflection, phrasing, pacing,volume, loudness, and timbre.In higher education, podcasts may be created forseveral purposes such as vocabulary revision, listeningexercises, interviews with native speakers, summaries ofa lecture or lectures, describing homework assignments,giving feedback, guidelines, reducing the effects of isola-tion, promoting inclusivity, developing students’ studyskills through collaborative learning, providing guidance,and so on [1, 5–7, 12–14]. Also, podcasting has beenproposed as a way of changing teacher practices and tomotivate students through innovation [2, 6, 8].Several recommendations should be followed whenproducing podcasts. Podcast length should undoubtedlybe related to its content and purpose. However, toavoid the loss of attention in listening, a general rulewould be to produce short podcasts [5–7], around 1 to5 min length [15]. Podcasts should have technicalquality, being important to produce episodes free ofbackground noise, tinny-sounding, and verbal mistakesthat interrupt the flow of the podcast. It is also impor-tant to engage listeners and keep their attentionthrough the entire episode, preferably by keeping pod-casts short and simple, clear and concise, lively andentertaining [5, 16, 17].