Pros and Cons of Podcasts

I am back at blogging after missing last week due to Hurricane Matthew.  Fortunately, I did not suffer too much damage from the hurricane.  It’s good to be back.

This week we are dealing with Podcasting, a term that I have heard several times, but have never really spent any time considering what it is, or its value.  It is no different from my background in blogging, but look at me now. Having reviewed the readings in King and Cox (2011), I have a better understanding of what it is, and some pros and cons.

Firstly, podcasts are digital audio files, posted on the internet and pushed to listeners through XML/RSS feed (Geoghegan and Klan, 2005).

A key advantage of podcasts is the ability to have repeated access to it.  This is even better when one considers that a lot of adult learners found audio was more helpful in retention in some areas. King & Cox (2011) mentioned a study where “researchers found that graduate online learners thought audio was far better than text-based in conveying nuance and helping students retain and apply course content” (58).

Another advantage to podcasts is its appeal to different learning styles. As King and Cox (2011) highlights, Asynchronous Audio Communications (AAC) - which includes podcasts - fits well with Bloom’s Learning Domains – cognitive, affective and psychomotor (also the interpersonal in the “expanded theory”).   Those of us, who are not quite readers, will benefit a lot from listening to a podcast.  

I see the major issue with Podcasts as its time-consuming nature.  It can take some time to prepare the podcast.  In fact, I had to take a few cuts to get my audio interview to a standard that the interviewee was willing to agree to have it go public.  Additionally, it can be time-consuming for learners to listen through all of a lengthy podcast (although it is at their disposal to return to).  An additional issue I see for people (like me) who do not live in a first world country, the ability to access the podcast may prove challenging to some learners.

 Reference

Geoghegan, M & D. Klass (2005). Podcast solutions: The complete guide to podcasting. New York: Friends of Fred.

King, K. & T. Cox (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.