The influence of podcasting on student learning: a case study across two courses

Abstract

There is a growing literature on the educational benefits of using podcasting of lectures in higher education, but to date little research that interrogates closely its impact on student learning. The present study investigated how students used lecture podcasts when produced in two engineering courses at a South African university. The findings confirm much of the growing consensus in the literature. Firstly, a majority of students in the courses elected to use the podcasts. Secondly, the study notes that lecture attendance, in contexts where lectures are seen as beneficial, is not adversely affected. Thirdly, few students use podcasts in the mobile mode but most rather use them as an additional resource in their private study spaces. There is intense use in the build up to tests and examinations, and there is a particular benefit for students who are not first language speakers of the medium of instruction. This study also points to the existence of both deep and surface approaches to engaging with podcasts, with substantial evidence of many students using podcasts as a means towards better understanding.

Knowledge for teaching, knowledge about teaching: exploring the links between education research, scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and scholarly teaching

“…To build rigour into the process I analysed the documentary trail that I left from these two periods of work. For the education research and the SOTL this was relatively straightforward; to focus the analysis I selected one journal article from the PhD (Case and Gunstone, 2002) which I could compare to the journal article from the later SOTL work (Collier-Reed, Case, and Stott, 2013). For the teaching work I used the trail of course documentation as well as some university and conference presentations relating to innovations in the course.…”

“…This stage of the analysis aimed to compare the knowledge outputs from these two different periods of engagement with the course, first as an education researcher and then (defined here as) as a teacher engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning. For the sake of the comparison this analysis looked closely at one journal output as representative of these two activities, an article from my PhD co-authored with my supervisor (Case and Gunstone, 2002) and an article on the inquiry into pod-casting co-authored with two colleagues (Collier-Reed, Case and Stott, 2013). For easy reference the abstracts of each article are reproduced here:…”

“…This study also points to the existence of both deep and surface approaches to engaging with podcasts, with substantial evidence of many students using podcasts as a means towards better understanding. (Collier-Reed, Case and Stott, 2013) Both articles report on work which had as its origins some pedagogical innovation in the second year chemical engineering course at UCT, with the 2013 article also drawing in data from another course in the faculty. Both articles sought to explore students' perceptions of these innovations and worked with qualitative data collection methods, with the PhD representing a significantly more sustained process of data collection.…”

Sustaining Successful ICT Integration in Remote Rural Schools

“…ICTmediated instruction offers flexible learning options that contribute to concept deepening and increased academic performance of students. ICT use creates student-centred teaching and an environment that promotes creative and independent learning (Collier-Reed et al, 2013;Gurcay, 2013;Millanes et al, 2018). Whether the schools are in urban or rural settings, students in both areas have shown a positive view of ICT use in education.…”

Motivating engineering students learning via monitoring in personalized learning environment with tagging system

“…In the learning environment using ICT, students would be able to gain access to relevant materials (in addition to the ones given by their teacher) to help them learn more efficaciously. With greater access to learning materials and higher mobility, students can experience personalized learning to help them learn based on their skills and competency .…”