Pondering Podcast Research in Higher Ed with @JaimieLHoffman
Have you heard people talking about podcasts lately? No wonder why. If you check the streams, there are now LOADS OF PODCASTS! What podcasts are being produced for and in higher education? What podcasts are YOU listening to or are you using to help you with your work in higher education? What podcasts help with your professional development in higher ed?
Please help us ADD TO THIS LIST of podcasts with podcasts you listen to for professional development in higher ed: http://bit.ly/higheredpodcasts
DEFINITION: What’s a podcast? Our definition for research purposes include...
- The content is shared to support professional and lifelong learning within the field of higher ed
- A produced show that is episodic that in someway; these are intended to be a shared live, as a media file (audio/video), and can be subscribed via a platform or streaming service
- These episodes/shows/broadcasts have a specific purpose (and perhaps a target audience)
- Inclusion: Original content intention -- it was intended to be a podcast and not another purpose; this could be a LIVE show that is later shared as a podcast
- Exclusion: recorded college/university lecture, conference panel, conference presentation, or professional webinar (if not intended)
- Do archived podcasts count?: Maybe. If it’s not actively produced podcast, is it being used? Are episodes still being downloaded & listened to by you? Then yes -- please share!
PURPOSE: Why Are We Exploring Podcasts in Higher Ed?
- Highlight Podcasts Relevant to Higher Ed Faculty & Professionals - for learning, professional development, and then some.
- What’s the State of Higher Ed Podcasts [Empirical Literature Review from 2009 onward]?
- What’s the state of podcasting and resources we could share with higher education colleagues? To create professional learning & PD repository of podcasts in higher ed
- How and Why are There an Increasing Number of Podcasts Emerging in Higher Ed? [Study]
- Provide Learning & Professional Development (PD) Resources for Higher Ed Colleagues - op-ed, i.e. podcasts (meta), blogs, and more!
- Meta-analysis of podcasting in higher ed: topics, hosts, delivery mechanisms, target audience, purposes, topics, etc.
FOCUS: WHO is examining podcasting in higher ed? And HOW are they studying post-secondary podcasts? Let’s search the literature!
This could include teaching, researching, writing, discipline-specific, instructional design, study skills, student affairs, etc. Here is what we learned by searching the Scopus database for “podcast*” with the following terms “higher ed*”+“train*”+“learn*”+”professional develop*”+”profession*”+”teach*” to find 115 total articles which we’re sifting through what has been written from 2005-present. [All of this distributed work is being shared collectively in a Google spreadsheet, Dropbox, and perhaps later we’ll move the relevant literature into Mendeley]. In general, here are a few things we are sifting out of the literature so far and the notes we shared in our discussion:
- Supplement to a formal class or formal learning experience in K-12 and Higher Education; systematic literature review up to 2008 (Hew, 2009)
- Higher gain of knowledge from a podcast vs. a traditional textbook, findings from a randomized controlled trial (Back et al., 2017)
- Students authoring and producing podcasts as a form of assessment and learning in courses (Dale & Povey, 2009)
- Indie podcasters and independent podcasting trends (Markman, 2012)
- The rise of emergency medicine and critical care blogs and podcasts (2002-2013) could be one paper like this to show a broad perspective in higher ed (Cadogan et al., 2014)
- Case based examples of using podcasts as open access resources for social work education (Fronek et al., 2016); Survey of learners perceptions of the podcast, but looking more at the professional development perspective; benefits, barriers, and content analysis.
- Automatic transcription for a Web 2.0 service to search for podcasts (Ogata et al., 2007)
- General shout out to healthcare professions for augmenting learning with podcasts, including: nursing, medicine, dental, physiotherapists, etc.
Ponderings for A Podcast Study
Whatever happened to iTunes U?
iTunes is now re-branded as Apple Podcasts.
5 Reasons Why You Should Transcribe Your Podcast via @3playmedia
-Podcasts help provide listeners with multiple ways to engage with your content for learning and professional development + a transcript from the audio/video recording and/or show notes available.
-It would be great to transcribe some podcasts for a content analysis and review AND give the podcasters transcripts to SHARE with their listeners. #WinWin
-Transcription services (shop & compare) + Trint.com subscriptions+pricing; Other transcription services we use, or perhaps mention: Transcript Divas, Rev, & Scribie
-Audio quality varies on podcasts: Is this due to technical issues? How could transcripts help this audio quality or add to the media format? Would you follow-up to read the notes if your podcast offered it?
-Quality of podcasts has improved or can improve: There ARE “dog years” in podcasting and technology. It was only 4 years ago, but to Jeff it feels like 7-10 years.
-Conversations are the most engaging on podcasts. {HERE! HERE!}
Research Question Brainstorm: What Do We Want to Know about Podcasts?
- What are the benefits of this informal learning for PD experiences among higher ed peers?
- What is the motivation or goals for:
- Host: Why do you produce, create, or develop podcasts for higher ed? How do you determine success for learning or listening of your podcast?
- Listener: Why do you listen to podcasts? How do you use podcasts for your professional development or learning?
- Do you have other engagements with podcasts beyond the listening/audio medium? E.g. reading transcripts, show notes, or on the social web or in an online community?
- Has there been an action item you have taken after listening to a particular podcast? E.g. read a book, foun...
