Podcasts, which can include audio, video, PDF, and ePub files, are subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device.
[1] As the technology gained popularity in the early 2000s, the uses of podcasting grew from simply the delivery of content to also creative and responsive purposes.
Podcasting affords iPods and other mobile audio players a double life: a usefulness for both entertainment and education.
They can be used to convey instructional information from the teacher or trainer, motivational stories, and auditory case studies.
Absent students can use podcasts to see class lectures, daily activities, homework assignments, handouts, and more.
[8] Students use podcasts as part of their review for exams because it provides different methods of reinforcement of course material.
This includes visual reinforcement of material, and testing of their knowledge base, and adding variety to the review experience.
[10] Podcasting can be a tool for teachers or administrators to communicate with parents and the wider community about curriculum plans and content, student assignments and other information.
[5] Students reported that replaying podcasts facilitated the comprehension of complex concepts and increased understanding for non-native language learners.
In 2004, Musselburgh Grammar School pioneered podcast lessons with foreign language audio revision and homework.
In the second half of 2005, a Communication Studies course at the University of Western Australia used student-created podcasts as the main assessment item.
[18] On 21 February 2006, Lance Anderson, Dr. Chris Smith, Nigel Paice, and Debbie McGowan took part in the first podcast forum at Cambridge University.
Audio podcasts can be used during other activities like driving a car, travelling by train, or riding a bus.
[23] Academic Journal Digests: The Society of Critical Care Medicine has a podcast used to update clinicians with summaries of important articles, as well as interviews.
Lee, "The advent of consumer-level digital multimedia hardware and software have prompted the more techno-logically inclined instructors and educational designers to construct CD-ROM based re-sources to engage and excite students using the richness and flexibility of text, graphics, sound, video, animation and interactive content, as well as the combination of these elements".
This shows that even podcasts do get hit with legal constraints, but can find ways around it due their lack of affiliation with the FCC.
The 5,500 locked out staff of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were podcasting news and other programming during August and September 2005.
Podcasting has emerged as an effective independent outlet to share community stories of interest and engage on-demand with citizens on local issues.
With the longer format and on-demand nature, local community podcasting allows for independent reporting accessible to a wider audience and broader demographic than traditional media channels.