Using podcasting to facilitate student learning: a constructivist perspective

The paper employs two case studies to develop an approach for using podcasts to enhance student learning. The case studies involve two cohorts of postgraduate students enrolled on a blended course, over two years. In both cases, the institutional learning management system was used as a server to host the podcasts, giving students discretion on how and when to listen to podcasts. The podcasts were integrated in learning design hence tightly coupled in pedagogy in Case One, and optionally used i.e., loosely integrated in Case Two. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed to solicit student experiences of using podcasts. Access logs from the podcast server provided insight into frequency of use of podcasts, thereby helping to establish the relation between podcast use and facilitation of learning. The findings suggest that students were confident in using podcasts for academic purposes. This is despite having had to overcome some challenges not limited to institutional policies on limited Internet quota for students. The findings also suggest that use of podcast within a constructivist learning environment afforded learners control and flexibility, reflection and self-paced learning. The paper concludes that podcast facilitate learning when tightly coupled to a curriculum and used within constructivist learning environments.

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