Education Podcast
Overview
The word podcast has now begun to find its place in the vocabulary of the English language after the word blog. Podcasting began in 2003 and has now become popular with students and teachers. There are many educational implications of podcast and one can learn and teach using an educational podcast. Thomas Friedman has said that the most important skill in the twenty first century is how to learn to learn! Educational podcasting helps individuals learn new skills not only in the academics but also in other types of learning. Educational podcasts generally are devoted to the academic subjects such as language learning, mathematics, science, information skills and others.
Educational Uses of Podcasting
Learning can become a lot easier and convenient for both the teachers and the students by using podcast. Since in podcasting the use of RSS feeds lets the users know the new additions in podcasting students can subscribe to the RSS feed and can have automatic lecture recordings on their computers. One can have radio programmes created by the learners and create them a podcasts for the use of subscribers or users. Teachers can also use podcasting for educational purposes by recording their lectures, which the absent students can use and cover up their studies. Students can as well review these podcasts later on for more understanding of the subject.
In the matter of self-paced learning students can access extra material for their studies by educational podcasts. One can even have recordings of guest speakers or lecturers who are based remotely by podcasts and students and learners can make use of these recordings. Student counseling can also be achieve by the educational podcasts that contain study guides, tapes for relaxation, and useful tips in managing stress during examinations. Students with impaired vision can listen to audio lessons by the educational podcasts.
When students study art or visit a museum, they can create walking tours of their study and share it with other students using the educational podcasts. Pronunciation of difficult words not in English but also other languages is always problematic for new learners of the language. One can use podcast to let others know the pronunciation of such words through the educational podcasts. Students having reading or other learning difficulties can hope for instructions from the educational podcasts and improve on their skills. One of the most important educational uses which podcasts can be put to is in the matter of foreign language learning. Students can download lessons and easily learn a foreign language.
