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Learning is constantly evolving, discovering new ways to engage learners and provide a unique and memorable educational experience is becoming more of a challenge. As learners respond differently to different methods of learning and communication, it is advisable for educators and learning providers to offer a range of ways that learners can engage with their courses. One avenue gaining significant traction, largely thanks to current broader culture, is podcast content.
Podcasts have risen in popularity over the past decade, becoming a popular way for people to engage with media and personalities in a way that easily fits their schedule. Convenience is a key driver of adoption and it is this flexibility of delivery that helps to make podcasts an excellent option to consider as a part of your learner experience. In this article, we’ll explore the ways you can integrate podcast content into your learning journeys, helping you cater to diverse learning styles, increase learner engagement, and ultimately support skill transfer from theory to practice.
Give Learners Control
Offering your learners flexibility and control over their learning experience can be vital to the success of your learning programs. Learners come from diverse backgrounds, and often have varying levels of expertise and unique learning preferences. All of this contributes to a need for information to be presented in different ways to increase uptake, and podcast content can be deployed within your learning journeys as a means to support this.
By offering audio content alongside traditional learning resources such as textbooks or online modules, educators and learning designers can accommodate different learning styles and preferences while also presenting content in a format that may be more easily accessible to time-poor learners. As well as this, podcasts can offer a way for learners to delve deeper into topics of interest. Very frequently podcasts are designed as longer form offerings, so there are often less psychological barriers in investing more time in that content versus, for example, the quick consumption expectation of video-based material.
Avoid ‘Information Burnout’
Though we discussed above that having a range of methods applied in the learning process has benefits, this needs to be done thoughtfully. The risk here is making the learning experience distractingly ‘busy’, with a variety of different visual stimuli competing for the learners' attention - on top of the range of other stimuli learners will encounter in their day-to-day lives.
Audio content presents an interesting and somewhat refreshing alternative by engaging learners through a singular sensory channel only. By focusing solely on auditory stimuli, podcasts allow learners to immerse themselves in the material largely without other visual or situational distractions. This approach is even more beneficial for learners who struggle with traditional text-based learning formats or those who prefer auditory learning modes. By focusing on a single form of content delivery, podcasts can mitigate the risk of distraction, and contribute to fostering a more conducive learning environment.
Embed Learning through Repetition
As every educator knows, repetition is a cornerstone of effective learning. Podcasts offer a dynamic platform that can be used to reinforce key concepts and principles through succinct, digestible content. By taking advantage of podcasts as a tool for recapping and revisiting course material, educators can help learners embed the learnings from their course, reinforcing their understanding and helping them to internalise complex ideas.
Develop and Support a Community
Often, the best learning results come when students can form a community with their peers that potentially even extends beyond the learning experience. By providing a central pillar and platform for discourse and knowledge sharing, podcasts create a sense of camaraderie among learners and can serve as catalysts for community development that continues long after the learning is completed.
Within the bounds of the learning experience, educators can also leverage podcasts to facilitate discussions, debates, and knowledge exchanges, helping to support and build a vibrant learning community. This can be taken further by offering learners the opportunity to contribute their own content, sharing their experiences and insights with fellow students and creating a culture of peer learning that enhances the overall learning experience, promoting engagement and collaboration.
Podcast content represents a powerful tool for enhancing learning journeys and enriching educational experiences. By offering learners flexibility, avoiding information overload, ease of use, and greater interactivity, podcasts and audio content cater to diverse learning needs and preferences. With audio-based learning, we can unlock new pathways to knowledge acquisition and skill development, helping to ensure that learning is delivering the right outcomes for learners and for organisations.