Podcasting Inherently Risky

Podcasting is only useful in the hands of a skillful teacher. Recent studies on students' experience listening to recorded lectures via podcasts confirms "that the pedagogical value of podcasts depends almost entirely on student motivation and the learning `context' of the application."

Ashley Deal of the Office of Technology for Education & the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University, found that podcasting follows the pattern of many campus technology innovations.

So, does podcasting enhance education? "The answer to that question depends entirely on the educational context, including goals and appropriate learning activities, and on how the tool is implemented," said Deal.

"Podcasting does not contain any inherent value."
Cf. Paul McCloskey, "Consensus: Podcasting Has No 'Inherent' Pedagogic Value," Campus Technology, 7/9/2007, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=49018