The Impact of Academic Podcasting on Students' Learning Outcomes

Abstract

As part of an initiative to enhance the humanities’ use of emerging technologies, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Old Dominion University is currently developing strategies for incorporating the use of podcasting—disseminating audio programming over the Internet—in its foreign language curricula and is studying podcasting’s effects on foreign language teaching and learning. The academic use of podcasting allows for 24/7 accessibility and portability of the teaching and learning experience, while enabling on-demand learner control and personalization (Lee & Chan, 2007). It permits the restructuring of valuable classroom time and can convert the popular iPod and other MP3 players into multipurpose teaching and learning tools that can be used to reinforce class content, to improve pronunciation and vocabulary, and to improve oral and aural skills. The early results of this pilot project suggest that podcasting has positive effects on students’ learning outcomes and study habits.