Podcasts are generally associated with entertainment and discussions, but they are extremely effective as tools for imparting education as well, which you will probably be familiar with if you have ever taken an online course. Read on as we discuss why podcasts can be an excellent tool that almost any teacher can use to impart education with much greater efficiency than traditional methods.
Teaching the Teachers: A Powerful Tool Used in Online B.Ed. and M.Ed. Programs
Thanks to the advent of technology, even fulltime teachers can complete their Merrimack College Masters in Education Program from home and qualify themselves for higher pay and promotions. The point, however, is that while in the course of completing their own graduation, a teacher can become acquainted with the use of podcasts as a teaching tool firsthand.
Rest assured that the knowledge will be very useful when you decide to use podcasts as one of your own teaching methods later, be it for online or offline education.
Why Do Podcasts Work So Well?
A lot depends on what is being taught, but in general, human beings process auditory and video information better and faster than text.
For example, both teaching and learning a language takes less time if it’s delivered via audio-visual means than in pure text form. Where the podcast has an advantage over a traditional classroom lesson is that it is repeatable.
Intelligent repetition is considered to be one of the greatest tools for learning and unlike the classroom lesson, every section of a podcast can be repeated as many times as necessary for students to understand the lesson.
Better Utilization of Live Classroom Sessions
When it is possible to create and send podcasts for students to learn from, live classes can actually be better utilized. Instead of wasting the time in teaching the same things over and over again, each class can now instead become a session for interactive questioning.
The students can ask the teachers about their doubts and the parts which they did not understand in the podcast, and teachers can start verifying how much they have actually understood the lesson with appropriate questions.
The Opportunity to Make Things More Interesting
Interest and education need to come in contact with each other at some point, or the education remains incomplete, in spite of the teacher’s best efforts. Podcasting allows teachers to make things more interesting, and some even take on professional podcasters to help them do so. Even on their own, the extra time and the ability to think alone usually makes almost anyone a more interesting teacher!
Not all students are able to learn at the same rate in a classroom as others, which is one of the reasons why some students drop out from high school; they are simply unable to follow the class and feel left behind. Podcasts and online education could be instrumental in solving this issue, but more widespread adoption at school level is perhaps required to see better results from both teachers and students.