I've been listening to podcasts for what seems like forever but since the term 'Podcast' has only been around since 2005 (Ben Hammersley) I guess it hasn't been that long. Podcasts have given me a sense of social interaction when I've needed it. I always listened to Hamish and Andy during those boring days at work, I listen to my favourite Melbourne breakfast Radio show the day after it's aired while I'm getting ready for work. And if I think back really hard I used to listen to the Grey's Anatomy podcasts where the producer and the writer used to give a breakdown of each episode through a funny and informative interview. Before I went to Italy for the first time I listened to a few language podcasts to refresh my language skills.
One thing these podcasts all had in common was that I was able to gain access and listen to my favourite episodes after the fact, at a time that suited me and since it was audio I could listen while I was doing other things. I didn't have time to watch Greys Anatomy on TV, I was always at work when Hamish and Andy were on and I don't live in Melbourne so how could I pick up their radio shows? and yet I was still able to engage with all these different areas through podcasts.
Another thing to note is that podcasts give you access to exclusive information. There is no other way to listen to the thought process behind a tv show and have access to the writers and producers on the show without listening to a podcast.
Point is Podcasts open up a whole world to students. They can't physically be at the Qld Art Gallery when they give their monthly Art Talk, or be at the MOMA in New York when they unveil a new art program. Podcasts and even Vodcasts can now bring these events into the classroom. It's the reverse of the traditional excursion. We can now bring the world into the classroom and expose students to insider info first hand, exactly as it happened. Very exciting!
With this in mind why don't we flip it. When the students can't be in a physical location to explain something, why not use a podcast. For example if the students are putting on an art exhibition traditionally they would write a paragraph about the piece and mount it next to their piece. The explanation would have to be succinct or it wouldn't be read by anyone. Why wouldn't they now produce a podcast? It doesn't have to be just talking, students could be encouraged to add music or other sounds that influenced their work or even interview a relevant influence if they have the access. Students are also forced to think about writing their podcast to suit a listening audience, this requires a different writing style to a reading audience.
If it is an exhibition within the school, the podcasts could be accessed via the schools website or on a central computer at the exhibition. If the school was really well set up, the podcasts could be downloaded wirelessly at the exhibition. Oh the possibilities.
This sounds like a lot of effort right? Why would we bother getting the students to do this? By podcasting their explanations of their artwork they are engaging in multimodal means of communication. It's not just about the written word anymore, their are more ways to reflect on a piece of art that suit a number of different learning styles. The communication environment we all engage in everyday is now more than ever linking text with visuals and audio.
Technically a single 'audiofile' is not classed as a podcast. A podcast is seperated from an audiofile by the expectation that it is a repeated event and that you can subscribe to it. The word 'podcast' caught on through the popularity of the i-pod and the part the i-pod plays in listening to 'podcasts'. Today there are so many ways you can listen to a podcast and so many ways to access it I think it is fine to refer to what the students would be participating in as podcasts. It certainly sounds more fun and glamourous than upload an audiofile to your blog. Boring!
Another way the students could utlilise podcasts as a learning tool is by collaborating with their local art gallery. Students could be apart of putting an exhibition together in that they could create podcasts with their analysis and evaluation of each piece in the gallery. This could then be listened to by the general public as they are walking around the gallery .The students would feel more accountable for what they are recording because it is going to be listened to by a member of the general public. It makes learning more engaging and relevant. The MOMa in New York is involoved in a program just like this and the podcast I have uploaded has the introduction to a podcast using this idea.
I see Podcasts as valuable elearning tools from both the perspectives of listening and learning from a podcast and also learning by creating a podcast. It encompases two completely different ways of thinking, working and learning but I think both as equally valuable. Students have more access to information today than ever before and on the flip side it is another way that they can share their work with others and interact with the world outside the classroom.
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