3.3. Setting 3: Collaborative learning setting – creating a podcast
What are podcasts?
A podcast is a series of audio(video) episodes posted on podcast hosting platforms and available on-demand. There is no pre-determined format or length, it can be created in a flexible form on different topics as a talk, discussion, or an interview (Ross, 2021).
Podcast in education
The podcast can be used in education. Podcasts stimulate creative process, require idea articulation, and applying researching, writing and verbal skills to communicate a message. The students are actively involved in problem solving, collaboration and deeper understanding of content. While creating and sharing podcasts, the students develop their technological skills; they deal with tools, usually with an unknown person (if they interview some expert in the field), publishing, and therefore create a positive, safe, ethical and legal digital behaviour (Haiken, 2021).
The podcasts as an activity that students create can be produced as mini units or interviews. In the first form the students are asked to produce short episodes on a certain topic. Working collaboratively the students have to develop an interesting story. They are developing elements of a story ElementsTechniquesEffectiveStorytellingLN.pdf (nyt.com) and focusing on the important and relevant content. In the podcasts-as-interview form the students practice the role of interviewer, active listening and posing the right question.
In this collaborative learning setting – creating a podcast, the students are engaged in the whole process from the beginning, i.e., from the topic definition, taking and recording the interviews, preparing the material for podcast, and sharing the finished product. If the podcasts include interviews the students can be encouraged to search interview partners as well.
Find planning guide here.