The seed fund scheme run by Greenwich Connect between 2013 and 2015 supported a number of projects experimenting with the use of podcasting as a learning activity. One of these, led by Dr Angela Byrne within the level-5 history course “Global Exploration from Columbus to Scott’s Antarctic”, is the subject of an article recently published in Compass, the university’s journal of learning and teaching.
Students on the course were asked to prepare a 10-minute podcast, exploring a topic of their own choosing from within the course’s field of inquiry. This not only provided an opportunity to present researched material in a non-written format, but was coupled with other assessments (a peer review of the podcast itself and a summative research essay on the same topic) to provide an integrated assignment journey through the course. Angela notes how the requirement to prepare the podcast positively assisted students with planning and structuring their essay research in good time.
The peer review made use of the “workshop” utility within Moodle to automatically pair students, who then were required to review, reflect and provide feedback on each other’s podcasts, following a rubric
Angela identifies the relevance of podcasting as a disciplinary practice, reflecting increasing emphasis, within History, on “the wider application of research and the communication of research findings, via technology and social media, to the public and to non-academic audiences”.
If you would like to explore how podcasting or other audio/video creation might fit within your curriculum and benefit your students, please do get in touch via ed@gre.ac.uk