{"id":565,"date":"2022-04-15T10:03:58","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T17:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0216\/?p=565"},"modified":"2022-04-19T08:51:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T15:51:24","slug":"team-5s-venture-into-the-world-of-podcasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0216\/team-5s-venture-into-the-world-of-podcasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Team 5\u2019s venture into the World of Podcasts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by J<\/strong>olee, A<\/strong>mber, L<\/strong>uis, G<\/strong>ail & M<\/strong>yrna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s The Secret Life of Canada<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s ascent to fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0216\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/210\/2022\/04\/Team-5-A-Brief-History-of-Podcasts-5.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/em> Visual created using Canva by Donahue and Rodriguez, 2022<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we also happened upon some thought-provoking research that suggests there is a dark side to podcasts. Bratcher\u2019s (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 \u201coften ensure a fairly narrow information diet that bolsters what may often be equally narrow views onto the world\u201d (p. 731). Additionally, he noted that podcasts can be easily created and distributed to wide audiences, and provided the warning that \u201cwith anyone now potentially able to podcast his or her chants and decrees, modern \u201cwise ones\u201d may begin devolving into lunatics no longer on the fringe\u201d (p. 725). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of whether the nature and impact of podcasts are illuminating or insidious, the technology\u2019s increasing popularity cannot be disputed. Our discoveries led us to determine areas worth further exploration, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Access to podcasts (paid subscription, internet access)<\/li>
  • Quality of content\/expertise<\/li>
  • Accessibility (dependence on audio, barriers for hearing impaired)<\/li>
  • Licensing <\/li>
  • Application and implications in classroom learning<\/li>
  • Reliability of information<\/li>
  • A source for cognitive dissonance or confirmation bias<\/li>
  • A reason or result for changing literacies in the digital age<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    As a team, we are excited to take a critical stance and consider, as Selwyn (2010) suggested, the \u201csocial, economic, political, and cultural contexts\u201d (p. 69) that podcasts are entwined with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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