Pedagogical models for podcasts in higher education

This paper reports work-in-progress of a UK national study called IMPALA investigating the impact of podcasting on student learning in higher education. It presents an outline of the project implementation, initial perspectives from the pilot study and evolving models for using podcasts for specific pedagogical purposes. Data from the Semester 1 podcasts are being analysed and results will be reported at the project blog http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/impala/. Implementation of Semester 2 podcasts is underway. Based on the analysis of data on student learning from, and staff experience of developing podcasts during two academic semesters, IMPALA will contribute to improving student learning through making available: transferable models for using podcasts in different contexts, levels and disciplines; resources for practitioners for designing learning activities for podcasts for delivery on personal Mp3 players; subject-specific exemplars and user cases; and guidelines for integrating podcasting into disciplinary specific contexts and within institutions’ e-learning strategies.