Podcasts are a great source of information, but can you use them for education? Are podcasts good for learning?
Absolutely yes. These materials encourage active learning, ensuring that no students drop the lessons.
There are many reasons for using this method in education. We will reveal how powerful it is and how to apply it in learning. Let’s read on to discover!
Are Podcasts Good For Learning?
Is listening to podcasts good for studying? Absolutely yes and for the reasons.
Availability
Podcasts are simple to include in one’s daily habits. You may listen to it on your smartphone while doing tedious chores like cooking and commuting.
Learners may access the content anytime during the day when they have free time by just drawing their phones.
Availability makes them perfect for those with tight schedules or who don’t always have an internet connection.
Students with other responsibilities, such as jobs or family issues, can take the time to listen to a podcast while commuting.
It is critical to make education easily accessible to learners. They will be more likely to study if it is simpler for them to arrange their education around other tasks.
Ease for catching up
It is stressful to miss classes. You will become overwhelmed with the expanding queue of work after you’ve dropped behind.
Two-thirds of 15- to 16-year-olds are stressed about their grades. This situation will be worse if there is a global epidemic.
Many students will have to self-isolate and miss classes for two weeks. As a result, it’s critical to ensure that students don’t get dropped behind if they skip a few days of schooling.
Making a podcast for your lesson could be the remedy. Rather than carrying around heavy textbooks, learners might catch up on their education by listening to a podcast while commuting to school.
Imagination
Your imagination works as a tool to visualize what is happening when listening to a recording.
Because your brain must run at the same speed as the audio, your attention cannot wander as easily as it might when reading a book.
You can’t half-pay attention as you often do with video since you have to know every detail about what you’re listening to. Hence, podcasts may be the most effective way to keep your students focused.
Podcasts can also help teachers reach more people. Even in the best of conditions, reading books can be a headache. They are, however, a struggle for individuals with vision problems.
Active learning
Podcasts may provide learners with actual course content, allowing them to dive deeper into the subject during lessons.
Well-rounded learning requires both passive and active learning.
- The passive method entails independently studying knowledge, such as listening to it.
- Active learning is more hands-on and involves more guidance from the instructor.
Students’ education should include both methods to pass the exams and be ready for the workforce.
Podcasts are an excellent way to gain knowledge passively. On the other hand, learners can also listen independently, encouraging active learning.
Active learning requires constant guidance and support. If students have already learned the basics through podcasts, face-to-face interaction with teachers will be mostly about active learning.
Different learning styles
Because different people would prefer different learning techniques, diversity is essential for the students to get engaged.
It helps to level the playing field for everybody by including audio education along with traditional writing and reading.
Podcasting is also a fantastic way to engage in active learning. Learners can reinforce their knowledge by making their podcasts or creating something motivated by the content of their podcast.
Revision
Podcasts are a fantastic method to review previous lessons. Learners can work at their own speed, replaying and pausing the sections they need to review.
Having a library of audiobooks on hand will come in useful during those stressful weeks of revision. Many learners have used this method and highly appreciate it.
The best way to memorize is through spaced repetition, which involves replaying your notes with intervals in between each section.
As a result, reviewing previous lessons anytime they want may be pretty practical for examinations.
Cost
You don’t need pricey camera equipment or editing tools to create a brilliant podcast. You can rapidly learn the basics with a little Googling and some effort.
Since the sound system is essential, you should consider a microphone. USB microphones are cheap, and you can plug them into any computer or laptop.
Teachers can produce a podcast, and it will serve as a resource for all of their students for years.
If you are a teacher and looking for some ways to engage your students, watch this video. It shows you how to create podcasts for lessons on different subjects.
How Does Podcasting Help Students?
So, now that you’ve determined that using podcasts in learning is a good idea, where should you start?
Podcasts are dynamic media with many ways to use them to interest students. Learners can also use podcasting to review their lessons.
Here are some of the most valuable ideas to get you started.
Use existing podcasts
Why don’t you take advantage of the abundance of recordings already accessible?
Over 500,000 playlists are available, with new episodes published every month, and education is one of the most popular categories.
Shows for learners are simple to understand, making exam preparation as easy as possible.
There are many expert-produced options. Some of them will not only make pupils’ academic subjects less stressful, but they may also bring them joy.
Repurpose the lectures
Lectures are already an aspect of most classes’ teaching techniques. So why don’t you record the lesson while you deliver it?
Teachers can publish the audio on the internet and attach a video if they wish to give students the chance to watch it.
It’s too simple to be distracted during a presentation, especially in the morning. Although students try not to fall asleep in class, valuable knowledge may not always make it into their brains.
For students who won’t spot every word in a lesson, being able to review it afterward will be their lifesaver.
Record conversations
Scientists have proven that listeners tend to pay more attention to dialogues than simple narrations.
Learners can record the conversations in their classes when someone debates about the subject. It could be interactions between teachers and students or among the students.
Use storytelling method
If teachers can apply this idea in planning their lectures, students will quickly be interested in their lessons.
Podcasting is a fantastic storytelling tool, and the genre is expanding rapidly. Many people have figured out podcasting’s potential for generating immersive environments.
Everything becomes simpler to memorize once it turns into a story. As a result, turning parts of your lectures into a story is a fantastic method to help your students learn more effectively.
This method works for any subject. Teachers can make English, History, Chemistry, and even Math much more exciting with some imagination.
For example, hydrogen is a greedy element that bonds with just about anything, but the noble gasses are oddities that refuse to connect with anyone.
Create your own podcast
Teachers always look for new assignments for their students. Why not have them make their own podcast for the next project?
The students will be more competitive in the workforce if you help them acquire practical skills, including research, teamwork, speaking, and writing.
Giving students tasks to cooperate with others is more vital today than ever. Despite the COVID, they still require alternative means of social engagement.
Even if the students are working remotely, they may improve their interpersonal skills by creating a podcast in teams.
Can Podcasts Make You Smarter?
The brain is a multi-layered structure with three sections and four lobes. Listening to audio can activate various parts of your brain, depending on the selected topic.
Scientists have confirmed that learning something new triggers the mesolimbic pathway. This system produces a feel-good substance named “dopamine.”
Dopamine is a molecule that makes you feel good. Hence, listening to audio while learning can boost learners’ mood, helping them collect the knowledge easier.
Conclusion
Teachers may easily broadcast interesting audio content using podcasting, which learners can access at any time and from any location.
Students then have an excellent source for learning, making their self-study time less boring.
Hopefully, you will find this article helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Thank you for reading!
