by Jolee, Amber, Luis, Gail & Myrna
Team 5, also known as the Jazzy Awesome Legendary Genius Minds, decided to focus our attention on the technology of podcasts. After individually exploring the vast possibilities of podcasts available and then chatting as a team, we inevitably landed on CBC’s The Secret Life of Canada. Through our forays into the wide world of podcasts, it became clear that there is a plethora of options for any podcast seeker. As a team, we agreed that The Secret Life of Canada provided enough options to satisfy our individual interests and offered similar and comparable experiences to utilize the technology to engage in learning.
Our initial research into podcasts was enlightening. Podcasts began humbly in 2004 and since then has become wildly popular, with an estimated 100 million people listening to a podcast in 2020 (Adgate, 2021). A brief history of the podcast demonstrates the technology’s ascent to fame.
Note: Visual created using Canva by Donahue and Rodriguez, 2022
We learned that podcasts have gained popularity for a number of personal, professional, and educational reasons and uses. With over 43 million podcast episodes hosted by creators from around the world (Adgate, 2021), the possibilities for topics, discussions, and learning experiences are endless. Bohlmann and Ross (2021) produced a series of podcasts to engage with their students online during the pandemic, which is just one of many examples of how podcasts can be easily designed and delivered to meet varying purposes, contexts, and goals.
However, we also happened upon some thought-provoking research that suggests there is a dark side to podcasts. Bratcher’s (2022) study sought to explore the relationship between podcasts and personal politics, and concluded that a relationship between the two indeed exists and should be further studied. MacDougall (2011) also provided a fascinating alternative view of podcasts. He argued that because podcasts are generally short, easily accessible, and consumed while engaging in other life tasks and activities, they “often ensure a fairly narrow information diet that bolsters what may often be equally narrow views onto the world” (p. 731). Additionally, he noted that podcasts can be easily created and distributed to wide audiences, and provided the warning that “with anyone now potentially able to podcast his or her chants and decrees, modern “wise ones” may begin devolving into lunatics no longer on the fringe” (p. 725).
Regardless of whether the nature and impact of podcasts are illuminating or insidious, the technology’s increasing popularity cannot be disputed. Our discoveries led us to determine areas worth further exploration, including:
- Access to podcasts (paid subscription, internet access)
- Quality of content/expertise
- Accessibility (dependence on audio, barriers for hearing impaired)
- Licensing
- Application and implications in classroom learning
- Reliability of information
- A source for cognitive dissonance or confirmation bias
- A reason or result for changing literacies in the digital age
As a team, we are excited to take a critical stance and consider, as Selwyn (2010) suggested, the “social, economic, political, and cultural contexts” (p. 69) that podcasts are entwined with.
References
Adgate, B. (2021, February 11). As podcasts continue to grow in popularity, ad dollars follow. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2021/02/11/podcasting-has-become-a-big-business/?sh=1a40dd2a2cfb
Bishop, J. (2021, March 10). A brief history of podcasting. OneFinePlay. https://www.onefineplay.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-podcasting
Bohlmann, J., & Ross, M. (2021). Building a study community through podcasts during covid-19. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 22. http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/258444/1/258444.pdf
Bratcher, T. R. (2020). Toward a deeper discussion: A survey analysis of podcasts and personalized politics. Atlantic Journal of Communication, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2020.1862846
Jabeer, Z. A. (2021, September 13). A brief history of podcasting. Medium. https://medium.com/paradeim/a-brief-history-of-podcasting-2e73cfbca7d0
MacDougall, R. C. (2011). Podcasting and political life. The American Behavioral Scientist, 55(6), 714–732. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764211406083
Selwyn, N. (2010). Looking beyond learning: Notes towards the critical study of educational technology: looking beyond learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2009.00338.x
First of all, nice work on the Canva timeline. It’s a well designed, clear depiction of the history of podcasts and also it shows the underused capacity of animated gifs in education. The role of podcasts as part of a growing information diet is indeed a big issue to explore as a team, and any of the questions you list could make for a good presentation either by itself or combined with others.
Hi Alisha,
Thank you for your comment. As we start to dig in to podcasts and related issues, it is fascinating to see the different roads we can take. You raise an excellent point because there are so many similarities between multiple technologies in terms of openness, access, reliability of information, and impact on society. It will be interesting to see how each team and individual engages in a critical analysis of their chosen technology. I am certain that it will be a thought-provoking journey for us all!
Thanks again,
Team 5
Hi Jazzy Awesome Legendary Genius Minds of Team 5!
What a wonderful introduction to podcasts for this critical inquiry project! I appreciated your provision of background and a timeline. My mind jumped quite quickly from the seemingly anglo-centric history to wondering how equally podcast production and use are distributed globally. You have identified some great areas for exploration, and I see some connections between multiple technologies given the relatively open, accessible nature of content creation and publication on the internet. Critical thinking skills seem key in navigating this.
Thanks,
Alisha