In the first few weeks of the LNRT 526 – Inquiry into Contemporary Issues in Learning Technologies course, my learning team (consisting of Leah Yardley, Giulia Di Giovanni, and Tim Wong) and I have been critically examining podcasts. We started by selecting and listening to a podcast by Ologies, an amusing collection of podcasts that simplifies science for the general public, curated by Alie Ward (Ward, 2023). After reflecting on our learning experiences together, we found the podcasts to be thought-provoking, accessible, and provide flexible learning opportunities.
Initially, I was drawn to the efficiency, effectiveness, and engagement of podcasts from a pedagogical perspective. Evans (2008) found that podcasts make learning easy and accessible because they are portable and can be accessed whenever and wherever people want. Moreover, Evans (2008) suggested that students learn more and feel more engaged when listening to a podcast than when reading. Podcasts are essential for disseminating the most current, evidence-based practices and just-in-time training to fill knowledge gaps, particularly in rapidly changing fields of study, such as medicine (Kelly et al., 2022; Wang et al., 2023). From my perspective as a teacher in higher education I see the efficiency, effectiveness, and engagement of podcasts to disseminate knowledge as significant. However, after doing a brief literature review and course background readings, I am now more curious about how podcasts fit within the wider institutional and societal context to promote social justice.
Selwyn’s (2010) suggested that technology-enhanced learning needs to be seen in the social world of education to foster issues of social justice including empowerment, equality, and participatory democracy. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular as an effective tool for scholars and researchers to engage a broader audience outside of academia to build community and reach diverse publics (Demarco, 2022; Ferrer et al., 2019; Kern, 2022; Swiatek, 2018). Swiatek (2018) argued that podcasts can create a feeling of closeness between geographically distant listeners, thereby overcoming barriers related to information and context. Collaborative podcasts, proposed by Day et al. (2017), serve as a research method for critical inquiry and knowledge mobilization, which can promote decolonization in research. Now I am looking at podcasts from a social justice perspective, and my individual inquiry assignment asks the following questions.
As a future researcher, I am interested in exploring how podcasts can be used to mobilize research within and beyond educational institutions to promote social justice. I have several sub-questions:
- What broader audiences can podcasts reach within my research context?
- How are podcasts breaking down traditional hierarchies of knowledge production and dissemination?
- How is research translated through podcasts for real-world impact?
- How might podcasts expand research methods to facilitate a more inclusive and diverse approach and help to challenge traditional academic notions of peer review?
As current and future researchers, what questions do you have about podcasting as a way of mobilizing knowledge?
References
Day, L., Cunsolo, A., Castleden, H., Martin, D., Hart, C., Anaviapik-Soucie, T., Russell, G., Paul, C., Dewey, C., & Harper, S. L. (2017). The expanding digital media landscape of qualitative and decolonizing research: Examining collaborative podcasting as a research method. MediaTropes, 7(1), 203–228. https://mediatropes.com/index.php/Mediatropes/article/view/28320
Demarco, C. (2022). Hear here! The case for podcasting in research. Journal of Research Administration, 53(1), 30–61. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1348008.pdf
Evans, C. (2008). The effectiveness of m-learning in the form of podcast revision lectures in higher education. Computers and Education, 50(2), 491–498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.09.016
Ferrer, I., Lorenzetti, L., & Shaw, J. (2019). Podcasting for social justice: exploring the potential of experiential and transformative teaching and learning through social work podcasts. Https://Doi.Org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1680619, 39(7), 849–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1680619
Kelly, J., Perseghin, A., Dow, A., Trivedi, S., Rodman, A., & Berk, J. (2022). Learning through listening: A scoping review of podcast use in medical education. Academic Medicine, 97(7), 1079–1085. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.000000000000456
Kern, V. (2022). Going public: Library support for knowledge translation and mobilization for the public good. Https://Doi.Org/10.1080/01930826.2022.2043689, 62(3), 312–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2022.2043689
Selwyn, N. (2010). Looking beyond learning: notes towards the critical study of educational technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1365-2729.2009.00338.X
Swiatek, L. (2018). The Podcast as an intimate bridging medium. In: Llinares, D., Fox, N., Berry, R. (eds) Podcasting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90056-8_9
Wang, L. K., Paidisetty, P., & Sathyanarayanan, S. (2023). Using podcasts to study efficiently and increase exposure to medical specialties. Academic Medicine, 98(2), 157. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000005075
Ward, A. (2023). Ologies episodes. https://www.alieward.com/ologies
Jessica, very insightful post. I have not listened to a podcast as of yet but this topic has certainly peaked my interest. I was discussing podcasts with my friends recently and a lot of them are learning on the go from podcasts. I have used audiobooks, but I think podcasts do speak to the current culture and what’s happening since there are so many podcasts on all kinds of topics. Bringing diverse perspectives on current event topics or even topics that have long been debated really does bring that social aspect to learning which is what I want to focus on in terms of how we engage with AI and how we will make meaning from the technology. I can easily see how podcasts are a great tool for learning and I will check one out, once I’ve got some time, although there may be a great podcast on my topic that I should check out! Thank you again!
Hello Andrea,
Thank you for your feedback; much appreciated. Something I didn’t mention in my post that may also interest you is that Patreon is a platform often used to support podcast creators (and others such as musicians and artists), including Ologies. Patreon allows podcasters to monetize their content and enables creators to offer their audience different tiers or membership levels, each with its benefits. For example, in the case of Ologies, if one pays for a membership, the questions asked on Patreon may be selected for discussion in the podcast.
Patreon is a platform that facilitates the relationship between creators and listeners that may bring diverse perspectives into the podcast. However, there is a paywall; only those who can pay can ask questions. In addition, since the podcast is monetized, financial gain may also influence the voices that the podcaster chooses to amplify.