Educational Podcasts Research Articles

Concept analysis of the theories used to develop educational podcasts

ABSTRACTResearch on educational podcasts’ impacts on learning has steadily increased in recent years. Within this research, several issues related to methodology in educational podcast research have been cited. These include lack of detail, lack of reporting reliability, and questionable validity of testing instruments. However, one the theoretical frameworks that guide podcast development processes have received minimal attention. To address the lack of attention to theoretical frameworks within the educational podcasting literature, this paper utilized a conceptual analysis to examine key theoretical frameworks that have been used in empirical studies of educational podcasts. By examining theoretical frameworks used within relevant research, this paper introduces the value of using applicable learning theories to guide podcast development. Three theoretical frameworks are discussed: (a) the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, (b) adult learning theories (e.g., andragogy theory), and (c) a combination of the two. The paper shows both the versatility of educational podcasts and the need for further examination of how different theoretical frameworks may underpin the development of podcasts across unique learning environments.

Learning Electrolysis with Podcasting in the Higher Education: From Implementation to Results

Our contribution comprises two major parts: the first one aims to explain how to implement the technique of podcasting within a faculty of sciences, following a well-adapted educational scenario. The second one, is dedicated to a study about integration of learning activities focused on the Electrolysis chemistry, in the form of video capsules. Indeed, 90 questionnaire were distributed to a group of students in the second year undergraduate degree, enrolled in Materials Science Chemistry, then, 30 semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with students and their teachers. The analysis of these interviews and results from the questionnaires, according to three targeted indicators, showed that the learners in the higher education are very interested in the technique of podcasting, and consider it as a suitable device for their informal learning sphere, and that the podcasts submitted by their teachers remain the most favorite for their motivation and self-learning. For their teachers, the device is a new necessary alternative to the improvement and renovation of their practices, and for the regularization of the use of smartphones in an academic sphere in order to enhance scientific student’s skills. This article is part of a perspective that propose an innovative tool, which could bring more efficiency to teaching practices vis-à-vis the democratization of training in the higher education. It is a logical continuation of the research works on the relevant role of educational technologies in the renovation of the future universities, and of the positive impact on the students learning in these universities.

Teaching Students How to Create and Implement a Science-Based Nutrition Education Podcast

Upon completion, participants will be able to design and create an educational podcast involving students.

The effectiveness of podcasts in sport management education

Online and mobile learning resources are becoming more important in higher education as students expect more flexibility and diversity in the educational tools and resources they can access. One of these online resources is educational podcasts. Podcasts offer educators and students a unique way to convey and learn about new information related to an academic subject. Educational podcasts can be classified under different learning styles, strategies, and pedagogies, such as e-learning or hybrid learning, Constructivism, the scaffolding technique, supplemental tools, and cooperative learning. Past literature demonstrates a demand for educational podcasts from both educators and students. The purpose of this study was to perform an exploratory analysis on the use of podcasts in higher education, and to determine the effectiveness of these podcasts on enhancing student learning in a Sport Management Event and Facilities Management class. The research questions we were looking to answer are: Did the podcasts affect student learning? Did the podcasts influence student motivation? And finally, how useful were the podcasts? The results showed that the participants in this study had an overall positive learning experience from listening to the podcasts, and that students fell in between being unmotivated and moderately motivated to listen to the podcasts. The student population, overall, reported being in favor of using the podcasts. The findings from this study help reinforce previous findings about the usefulness and positive learning outcomes from the use of podcasts but highlight the need for instructors to find ways of improving student motivation to use podcasts.

Opinion article: Blogs and podcasts in medical education

Within the last years new online resources such as blogs and podcasts are making their way into medical education. With the introduction of the internet in the last decades, the field of medical education and training has also changed. Consumption of information independent of time and location through blogs and podcast is now a part of everyday life. The FOAM (“Free Open Access Medical Education”) community in particular is playing a pioneering role here. We discuss the roles of blogs and podcasts in medical education and possible applications such as the “flipped classroom” concept. We explain the many advantages, like their function as a filter against information overload or their role in the so called “knowledge translation gap” but we also highlight points such as a cult of personality that should be viewed critically. Last but not least, we describe the reasons why we run a blog ourselves and the challenges we face.

Planning your Educational Podcast for an Online Course: Four genres to consider

Podcasting for education has become increasingly popular in the past decade. This article explores four genres of podcast and how they can be used in online courses. The genres include: The Chat Show, The Narrative, The Tutorial and The Quick Burst. Each genre has its own strengths and weaknesses for supporting student learning, but each can also be employed for different learning tasks. Educators can seek out podcasts from each genre to incorporate in their teaching, or similarly inspire students to create their own podcasts after exploring the features of each genre.

Podcasting 101: Top Tips on Educational Podcasting

Podcasting 101: Top Tips on Educational Podcasting

ПРЕИМУЩЕСТВА ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ ПОДКАСТОВ ПРИ ОБУЧЕНИИ АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ УЧАЩИХСЯ СТАРШИХ КЛАССОВ

The article identifies and analyses educational podcasts as the most efficient means to develop English speaking skills among senior pupils. The paper proposes a definition of the notion “podcast”, provides a brief classification of podcasts according to their content, describes the ways and advantages of using podcasts to improve senior pupils’ English speaking skills. The descriptive method was applied when studying the use of educational podcasts to improve English speaking skills. The comparative analysis of podcasts allowed identifying positive aspects of their usage in educational activity.

Podcasts and English-Language Learning

There are three ways to use podcasts in education: accessing podcasts created by others, teacher-created podcasts, and student-created podcasts. This chapter focuses on the use of teacher-created and student-created podcasts in an English as a second language (ESL) class. Existing literature on the use of podcasts in learning primarily focuses on formal educational settings, while nontraditional students in freely available language programs provided by non-profit organizations (NPOs) remain unexplored. Thus, the authors examine how podcasting enhances immigrants' English language learning experience in an ESL course offered by an NPO that provides community services to immigrants in Canada. This chapter addresses pedagogical and organizational affordances and challenges of using podcasts in language learning and provides recommendations for their implementation in NPOs.

Using podcasts to deliver pediatric educational content: Development and reach of PediaCast CME.

ObjectivePediatricians have used podcasts to communicate with the public since 2006 and medical students since 2008. Previous work has established quality criteria for medical education podcasts and examined the benefit of offering continuing medical education (CME) credit for online activities. This is the first descriptive study to outline the development and reach of a pediatric podcast that targets post-graduate healthcare providers, enhances communication by incorporating quality criteria, and offers free accredited CME to listeners.MethodsWe produced 26 podcast episodes from March 2015 to May 2017. Episodes incorporated quality criteria for medical education podcasts and offered free CME credit. They were published on a website, available for listening on multiple digital platforms and promoted through several social media channels. Data were analyzed for frequency of downloads and geographic location of listeners.ResultsThe cumulative total of episode downloads was 91,159 with listeners representing 50 U.S. states and 108 countries. Podcast listenership grew over time. Individual episodes had their largest number of downloads immediately following release, but continued recruiting new listeners longitudinally, suggesting use of the archive as an “on-demand” source of educational content.ConclusionsPediatric podcasts that incorporate quality criteria and offer free CME credit can be used to deliver educational content to a large global audience of post-graduate healthcare providers. Since podcast communication is rapidly growing, future work should focus on identifying the professional roles of listeners; exploring listener perceptions of quality, value and satisfaction; and examining podcast impact on knowledge transfer, clinical practice, public policy and health outcomes.

The Use and Development of Podcasting as a Technological Tool in Secondary Education in Greece: A Case Study

The main objective of this study is to explore how podcasting can be implemented as a supportive technological tool in teaching English as a Second Language. To this aim, the field experiment research was conducted. The study was carried out in a total of 28 pupils of the first grade of high school at an educational institution on Rhodes, Greece in December 2017. The students were assigned into the experimental group (15 students) and the control group (13 students). A statistically significant difference has arisen regarding the contribution of podcasting to the motivation of the students of the two groups. The students of the experimental group believe that English is a very important school subject which can help them in other subjects. Students found the podcasts interesting and helpful and their content attracted their attention, satisfied their needs and was absolutely relevant to the lesson. All learning styles benefited from the educational podcasts, each one of them in a different way. Finally, the current study proposes specific suggestions for the development of podcasting according to different learning styles.

Texting Brief Podcasts to Deliver Faculty Development to Community-Based Preceptors in Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships.

Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) are an increasingly popular clerkship model that relies heavily on community-based preceptors. The availability of an engaged and prepared community-based faculty is crucial to the success of these programs. Teachers in these programs are often geographically separate from medical school campuses, are engaged in busy practices, and have limited time to devote to faculty development activities. We created a series of five brief faculty development podcasts directed towards community-based teachers in LICs from three US medical schools. Topics included encouraging continuity, bedside teaching, encouraging student ownership of patients, communicating and managing patient results between clinic days, and choosing the right patients for continuity. The podcasts were sent via a grouped text message just prior to preceptors' morning commute time. Pre- and postsurveys assessed the acceptability and effectiveness of the podcasts. Among the 33 postintervention survey responders, 27 (81.8%) listened to at least three podcasts, 21 (63.6%) found them moderately or very helpful, 23 (69.7%) perceived that the podcasts altered their teaching style, 23 (69.7%) would likely or highly likely listen to further podcasts, and 18 (54.5%) would likely or highly likely recommend the podcasts to colleagues. In a cohort of multispecialty faculty teaching in LICs, educational podcasts were well received and perceived by preceptors to impact their teaching style. Texting these podcasts to other community-based preceptors may offer an effective strategy for providing faculty development to busy clinicians.

Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Blog and Podcast Watch: Respiratory Emergencies.

The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) Series and Approved Instruction Resources Professional (AIR-Pro) Series were created in 2014 and 2015, respectively, to address the need for curation of online educational content as well as a nationally available curriculum that meets individualized interactive instruction criteria. These two programs identify high-quality educational blog and podcast content using an expert-based approach.We summarize the accredited posts on respiratory emergencies that met our a priori determined quality criteria per evaluation by eight experienced faculty educators in emergency medicine.

P055: An international, interprofessional investigation of the podcast listening habits of emergency clinicians: a METRIQ Study

Introduction: Emergency medicine clinicians (physicians, nurses, paramedics, physician assistants) utilize podcasts for learning. However, their versatility produces variability in the ways they are used (e.g. their speed can be increased or decreased, unrelated activities can be performed simultaneously, or they can be accompanied by active learning methods). This study investigated how and why podcasts are used by an international cohort of clinicians. Methods: An international sample of medical students, residents, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and paramedics was recruited to complete a survey hosted on FluidSurveys software using social media (Twitter and Facebook), direct contact from our international authorship group, infographics, and a study website (https://METRIQstudy.org/). Participants who indicated interest in the study were sent an email containing the study survey. Reminder emails were sent every 5-10 days a maximum of three times. Results: 462 clinicians expressed interest and 397 completed the survey (86.0% completion rate). Participants hailed from 34 countries (38.8% Canada, 30% United States, 31.2% outside of North America) and a majority (61.9%) were physicians. Approximately half (45.8%) of the participants listened to podcasts weekly. Podcasts were used to learn core material (75.1%), refresh memory (72.3%), or review new literature (75.8%). Most listened on iPhones (61%) and the native Apple App (66.1%). The preferred Android apps were Pocket Casts (22.8%) and Google Play (18.5%). Many listened to podcasts while driving (72.3%). Active learning techniques such as pausing, repeating segments, taking notes, or listening to a podcast more than once were rarely used (1/4 of the time or less) by the majority of participants. Conclusion: This study describes how and why medical education podcasts are used by emergency medicine clinicians and should inform both podcast producers and future research investigating the impact of various listening habits on retention. Further analysis of the data will elucidate differences in listening habits

“THINK(ING) OUTSIDE THE BOX”: RECONSTITUTING THE PEDAGOGIC PERSPECTIVES OF M-LEARNING TO FOSTER CULTURAL AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

M-Learning or Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), a successor to Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is one of the most recent trends in Collaborative Language Learning where language facilitators are harnessing the technological mobility and user-friendliness of technical gadgets to restructure the curriculum, approach and objective of language learning. Developed by the Stanford University learning lab in a Spanish learning program in 2001, there has been a consistent interest regarding the scope of MALL in language classrooms as language teachers, curriculum developers and technical experts have been exploring its potential in effective situated learning and fostering “intercultural communicative competence” among learners (Byram, 1997). With innovations in internet enabled mobile phones and its mass availability, MALL is being seen as the future of language learning where mobile phones, presently a platform for delivering contents will participate in retention, utilization and honing linguistic talents of the learners.A step ahead of CALL, MALL foregrounds a smart, mobile, ubiquitous approach and calls for effective content designing and appropriate teacher-training to ensure maximum student competency. Easily downloadable educational apps, free e-books, e-libraries and academic podcasting form an integral part of MALL- but the real problem that has been identified is the lack of appropriate course design and effective teaching methodology to channelize the vast resource that an internet enabled mobile phone gives access to. In a Beginner’s Guide to Mobile Learning in ELT, Amy Lightfoot explores opportunities for learning English by using mobile phones both inside and outside the classroom- targeting both productive and retentive capacities of a language learner. My article seeks to explore ways how the language classrooms can be redesigned at intermediate and advanced levels with a change in the teaching content, instructional methodology and evaluation techniques. The target is to sculpt the content, methodology and evaluation techniques (taking into account the unavoidable technical and pedagogical challenges) to utilize the smartness of new-generation mobile phones in the scheme of developing linguistic and communicative competence among learners and espouse a sense of cultural awareness, thereby establishing a “sphere of interculturality” (Kramsch, 1993).

Creation and Evaluation of an Anesthesiology and Critical Care Podcast

Podcasts have become an integral part of Free Open Access Medical education. After only 1 year since launching the Anesthesia and Critical Care Reviews and Commentary (ACCRAC) podcast, more than 7000 people were listening to unique content monthly. The study goal was to capture the listeners' views of their use of educational podcasts in general and of the ACCRAC podcast in particular. After institutional review board exempt status was obtained, a request was posted on the ACCRAC site inviting users to participate in an anonymous survey. The cross-sectional survey of listeners included 18 items and was open for 2 months between April and June, 2017. A total of 279 listeners of this podcast responded with a 43% response rate. Of those, 196 (71%) were between the ages of 25 and 34, and 153 (56%) indicated that podcasts were the most beneficial education modality outside formal didactics. About half, 128 (47%), reported using podcasts 1 to 2 times per week, and 88 (32%) listened at least 3 times per week. Listeners indicated that on average they had heard 18 episodes (SD = 11.7, 40 total) in this series, and over 90% reported high levels of satisfaction with the podcast. The popularity of the podcast indicates a clear need for this type of educational modality in anesthesiology. The results suggest that there is a demand for podcasts among learners and that those who listen to podcasts do so frequently and value them because they support multitasking and provide flexible access to pertinent information.

Podcasting in medical education: a review of the literature.

Podcasts are increasingly being used for medical education, both within teaching institutions and on an international scale by major journals. To date, there are no evidence-based guidelines for the development of educational podcasts. To review the state of the literature, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and ERIC were searched in May 2016 for articles describing audio format podcasts used in medical education. Eighty-four articles met inclusion criteria. A qualitative synthesis of the evidence was done using Kirkpatrick’s model for evaluating outcomes. Twenty-four articles described reaction outcomes, eleven described learning outcomes, and one described behavioral outcomes. None measured patient impact. The literature demonstrates that podcasts are both feasible and accepted by learners. The mean length of reported podcasts was 18 minutes, which falls within the recommended range in at least one paper, and is consistent with reported listener preference. Interview format, clear disclosures, and accurate information were reported as desirable. There is limited evidence showing the efficacy of podcasts as teaching tools, or regarding best practices in making podcasts. More rigorous studies evaluating efficacy, changes in behavior, and changes in patient outcomes need to be performed in order to prove podcasts’ value and to justify production costs.

Education on the Go: Studying the Use of Podcasts in Resident Education

BACKGROUND: Podcasting has become a mainstream media commodity, although its implementation into medical education has yet to be studied. Podcasting curricula can be readily created and disseminated for educational efficiency. METHODS: Four podcasts were created to cover information from American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Practice Bulletins. All residents in our academic program were randomized to access the bulletins or both podcasts and bulletins. Both groups were offered posteducation quizzes. Outcomes included resident quiz completion as well as overall performance. Analysis was performed using standard statistics in Stata 14, with significance defined as P<.05. This project was IRB-approved. RESULTS: Overall, 126 quizzes were administered to 36 residents. Thirty-eight (30.2%) posteducation quizzes were completed, including 16 (27.6%) from residents who received podcasts and 22 (32.4%) from those who did not, a difference that was not statistically significant (P=.56). Similarly there was no significant difference in average quiz scores between podcast and traditional groups (70±22.3% and 80±17.1% respectively, P=.17). DISCUSSION: Podcasts have become an efficient and popular way for residents to learn. We noted equivalent participation and comprehension of the curriculum whether or not podcasts were used in conjunction with self-directed reading. The addition of podcasts to a resident curriculum may not significantly improve scores or participation. Future studies may evaluate the efficiency of education through podcasting in the ob/gyn residency given its noninferiority to traditional self-directed learning.

The Student Satisfaction with Educational Podcasts Questionnaire

Student satisfaction with podcasts is frequently used as an indicator of the effectiveness of educational podcasting. This aspect has usually been assessed through surveys or interviews in descriptive studies, but no standard questionnaire exists that can be used to compare results. The main aim of this study was to present the Student Satisfaction with Educational Podcasts Questionnaire (SSEPQ). The SSEPQ consists of 10 items that are scored on a Likert-type scale. The items address the opinions of students on content adequacy, ease of use, usefulness, and the benefits of podcasts for learning. 3-5 minute podcasts were assessed as a supplementary tool within the research methods and statistics course of their psychology undergraduate degree. Confirmatory factor analysis with cross-validation showed a one-factor structure, supporting the use of the total score as a global index of student satisfaction with podcasts. The results suggest that there is a high level of satisfaction with podcasts as a tool to improve learning. The questionnaire is a brief and simple tool that can provide lecturers with direct feedback from their students, and may prove useful in improving the teaching-learning process.

Educational podcasts: A genre analysis

Academic attention to educational podcasts has grown significantly in recent years. However, to date, the concept of genres in podcasting is yet to gain scholarly attention. By examining genres emergent from a corpus of educational podcasts available online, this paper introduces the value of genre analysis to educational podcast research. It proposes three genres, named ‘The Quick Burst’, ‘The Narrative’ and ‘The Chat Show’. The three genres show both the versatility of podcasting for education and how genre analysis could introduce new ideas to the educational podcasting literature, including ideas about supporting deep learning in e-learning environments.