Podcasting at CPUT – technology for everyone?Daniela GachagoCandice LivingstonEunice Ivala

What is podcasting?

Benefits of podcasting

• Students take more active role – explore / create podcasts on their own (e.g. Ng’ambi and Lombe, 2012:191)

• Different learning styles: learning through listening (e.g. Clark and Walsh, 2004:4, Scutter et al., 2010:181 and Dale, 2007:3)

• Access: wherever and whenever (e.g. Lee and Chan, 2007:207 and Ng’ambi and Lombe, 2012:191)

• Listening to archived lectures (e.g. Guertin, 2010:6)

Benefits ctd

• Alleviates anxiety (e.g. Chester et al., 2011:245)

• Improves reflection and engagement (e.g. Lee and Chan, 2007:216)

• Especially useful for ESL students (e.g. Ng’ambi and Lombe 2008)

Challenges and limitations of podcasting?

• Lecturer workload (e.g. Sloan, 2005, Menzies, 2005 and Blaisdell, 2005)

• Barrier for students or lecturers who are technically challenged (e.g. Moss, 2006) or available technical support (e.g. Chabolla and Leh, 2009: 126)

• Ability of receiver to decode messages (e.g. Heinich, 1982)

• Socio-economic barriers – access to equipment

• Decrease in student attendance (e.g. Chabolla and Leh, 2009: 126) although Lonn and Teasley (2009:91) found otherwise

• Shortcomings in the area of providing complex and/or detailed information that needs to be heavily processed, logically deconstructed, committed to memory, or otherwise requires a great deal of concentration (e.g. Chan and Lee, 2005:64)

Examples of use from our project

• Recording of lectures – later edited and made available on Blackboard: – Health Sciences, Education and Engineering

• Provision of introductions / summaries – Food Tech and Programming

• Feedback on group assignments– Accounting

Old hat?

Socially inclusive technologies?

a technology that does not exclude any learner, neither based on their gender, nor age, nor socioeconomic/racial background

Podcasting as socially inclusive technology?

Studies have been conducted in the arena of - Distance learning (Bolinger et al.,2010:718), - Economics (French and McDonald, 2008:7) and- Reading theatre (Vasinda and McLeod, 2011:495)- Students with disabilities or who need extra support (e.g.

Tapp, 2013:5)

which indicate that podcasting proves to be inclusive.

2012/2013 PODCASTING IN HE - STUDY

Context

• UoT in Western Cape• Merger of a variety of Technicons and Colleges• Lowest fees in the Western Cape• Large amount of ‘disadvantaged students’ or

Non-Traditional Students (first ones to University, ill prepared, mature, working, ESL)

The study

• RIFTAL funded• 2012/2013• 6 lecturers, 8 courses• 434 students• Survey (closed ended and open ended)

Course Title Abbreviation Level Focus Programme Faculty

Food Technology 1 FOOD Year 2 Theory N.D Food Technology AS

Accounting ACC Year 4 Theory BUS

Software Skills 1 SS Year 2 Practical NHC: Financial Information Systems

BUS

Communication Skills COMM Year 1 Theory/practical

ECP (Electrical Engineering) ENG

Cell Biology (2012) CELL12 Year 1 Theory BHSc Medical Laboratory Science

HW

Molecular Biology (2012) MOL Year 4 Theory BTECH HW

Molecular Biology (2013) CELL13 Year 4 Theory BTECH HW

English first additional language (2013)

EDU Year 1/2 Theory BED EDU

Course Title Abbreviation Level Class size Surveys completed

Response rate

Food Technology 1 FOOD Year 2 105 67 64%

Accounting ACC Year 4 45 FT(31 PT)

24 53%

Software Skills 1 SS Year 2 48 47 98%

Communication Skills COMM Year 1 84 12 14%

Cell Biology (2012) CELL12 Year 1 56 49 88%

Molecular Biology (2012) MOL Year 4 33 21 64%

Molecular Biology (2013) CELL13 Year 4 250 115 46%

English first additional language (2013)

EDU Year 1/2 120 99 83%

Total 434

Research questions

1. Access and use for differently positioned students

2. Models and perceived usefulness3. Benefits and challenges of podcasting

RQ1: USE AND ACCESS FOR DIFFERENTLY POSITIONED STUDENTS

Gender 2012 % 2013 % Total %

Female 140 66 178 88 318 77%

Male 71 44 24 12 95 23%

Total 211 202 413 100%

Age 2012 % 2013 % Total %

under 18 yrs 2 1 0 0 2 0%

18-23 yrs 4 2 125 61 129 31%

24-30 yrs 36 17 49 24 85 21%

over 30 yrs 166 80 32 16 198 48%

Total 208 206 414 100%

Home language 2012 % 2013 % Total %

isiXhosa 80 38 22 12 102 26%

English 43 20 20 11 63 16%

Afrikaans 31 15 117 66 148 38%

French 27 13 0 27 7%

Other African 25 12 19 11 44 11%

Other 4 2 0 4 1%

Total 210 178 388 100%

Use of podcasts

64%of students listened to podcasts

gender

home language

75% 24-30 years

Level of engagement (amount)

43%listened to all or most podcasts

gender

50% African homelanguage

84% 30+

Level of engagement (intensity)

47%listened three times or more

gender

60%African homelanguage

78% 30+

Access

80% Accessedon LMS gender

52% Off campusaccess

51% Listened from laptop

RQ2: PERCEPTION ON / IMPACT OF COURSE DESIGN

CELL/MOL COURSE

81%usedpodcasts

69%listened to all/most of podcasts

65%Listened to threeor more of podcasts

Is podcasting only useful for revision?

28% beforeexam

42% regular useduring semester

30% no specificpattern

Does podcasting encourage passive learning?

51%take notes

33% visitcourse notes/modules

22% do nothing

RQ3: BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF PODCASTING

Benefits of podcasting

60% Provision ofintro/summaries

56% Revision tool

59%Guidance in how to prepare for exams

Podcasts helped me…

65% stay focused

39% make good useof my time

64% structure weeklylearning activities

Podcasts …

62% Liked format

58% Were Enjoyable/motivational

60% Helped stimulate interest

when I listen to the podcasts it helps me to understand the work, it unconfuses me(female, 18-23, Afrikaans)

Help me catch up for the days was feeling sleepy at class and the days I was not present at class(female, 18-23, African language)

I could access them anytime, if the lecture went by too quick I could always go back. The fact that it feels like I'm in class again …(female, 24-30, African language)

I liked the fact that in class it is not easy to stop the lecturer and ask her to repeat stuff for me but on podcasts I could stop, pause, rewind, fast forward anytime I wanted to. (female, 18-23, African language)

I understand it better than normal speech(female, 18-23, Afrikaans)

it is really like you are in the same room with the lecturer(female, 18-23)

Reminded of being in the lecture. Triggered my memory of what was said before It helped me as i am audio learner (female, 18-23, English)

Its like you are still in class. I also go back and relate to it. I wish I had used it since the start of the first term (female, 18-23, African language)

Taught me how to manage time regarding school work and how to be time conscious(female, 18-23, African language)

Podcasts for ESL students?

37% said podcastsare particularly usefulfor ESL students

75% of African home languagespeakers

Reasons for Non-Use?

47% No relevance

25% Lack of knowledge

17% Technical difficulties

11% Lack of time

I don’t find it interesting. I prefer sitting in a class listening to a lector, and be able to ask questions. Podcasts are more like a one way thing to me. (female, 18-23, Afrikaans)

what could be improved in the podcasts that i have listened to is that the teacher could ask for more student participation because right now all we hear is just our teachers point of view and no student input. (female, 24-30, Afrikaans)

if they do the podcasts ,they can put in visuals to make it easier to remember what’s been said. instead of just listening who can also see the work and then you will remember better (female, 18-23, Afrikaans)

Limits of podcasting

Podcast makes it easy for students to stay away from class. They simply listen to the podcast and get all the information we get in class. (female, 18-23, Afrikaans)

Discussion and conclusions• Definition of emerging technologies:

context-based (Veletsianos 2010)

• High amount of disadvantaged students / proliferance of African home language and resulting challenges with academic preparedness

• Call for basic / inclusive adoption of technology – Low threshold applications (Gilbert, TLT group), socially inclusive technology

• Particular focus on female, mature and African home language speakers (Non-traditional students)

I wish all subjects had podcasts especially theory subjects. We want More!!! (male, 18-23, African home language)

Conclusions• Most important: timely upload of

podcasts• Cater for different learning styles

(auditive, visual, textual)• Content heavy modules• Learning beyond the classroom /

improved student engagement• Not a ‘totally mobile’ technology –

used in usual study context, quiet, ability to take notes

• Allowing for cognitive strategies synonymous for self-regulated learning

• Performativity or style of lecturing important

The podcasts are a very good motivational way of studying, they are understandable and just awesome. I love them (female, English, 18-23)

ANY QUESTIONS?

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