Podcasting and education: Time to start listening

Leon Newnham, Charlynn Miller
University of Ballarat

Universities are constantly challenged to seek methods to improve student engagement. Leading edge technologies such as podcasting may be one of the most effective ways to accomplish this engagement, particularly for those students aged between 18 and 25. Students within this general age group have been termed by many as Generation Y or the iLife generation. This is due to this group being attracted to new technologies, particularly Apple’s iPod®. This attraction to multimedia based technologies may indicate that podcasting, an online multimedia delivery method, could become a valuable educational technology for Generation Y tertiary students. 

This poster will present findings from a pilot study which aimed to measure student perceptions toward podcasting as a teaching and learning technique. Students of an introductory information system unit were provided with an educational podcast. This podcast included short discussions each week which would supplement lectures. The students in this unit were then surveyed to determine their perceptions of the technology, including whether they believe it enhanced their educational experience. Over 90% of enrolled students completed the survey, while over 90.2% of those respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that lecture material was easier to understand as a result of the podcast.

Keywords: podcasting, generation Y, iPod, iLife, technology, m-learning