{"id":588,"date":"2023-04-16T19:23:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T02:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0262\/?p=588"},"modified":"2023-04-17T14:56:37","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T21:56:37","slug":"podcasts-as-knowledge-mobilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0262\/podcasts-as-knowledge-mobilization\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcasts as Knowledge Mobilization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Mitchell Luo<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the first few weeks of the LNRT 526 \u2013 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<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Selwyn\u2019s (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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n