Podcasts: A Case Study of the use of Podcasting in Curriculum Delivery

Abstract

Over a number of years there have been research projects in the Higher Education Sector of the UK and elsewhere exploring the use of mobile computers - PDAs for curriculum materials, communication with students etc. A significant drawback with these undertakings was the high cost and limited ownership of PDAs among students – such that it was necessary to obtain funding that would enable research teams to provide students with a PDA - usually as a short-term loan, in order to facilitate the projects. Other issues of file size, formats and file compatibility continue to restrict the reach of these developments. With the launch of MP3 players and their appearance on campus in large numbers, an opportunity presented itself to revisit the use of audio files for curriculum delivery. Audio-visual materials have a long history of incorporation into course content and it is possible to find tape archives and video footage of lecturers who have experimented with these formats. It is clear, however, that there is at present a renewed interest and level of activity in the development and delivery of teaching materials through multimedia techniques.