Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting

Mark J. W. Lee; Anthony Chan

EN TR

Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting

Abstract

This article reports on an initiative to explore the potential of using supplementary audio podcast material to reduce the anxiety caused by isolation and to promote a sense of inclusivity amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying an information technology subject in external mode with Australia’s largest provider of distance education. The podcasts were structured as a series of short, 3 to 5 minute talkback radio-style segments, with senior students holding discussions on pertinent issues related to the subject and its content in a relaxed and informal style. Both quantitative and qualitative data was obtained through a web-based survey conducted at the end of semester to gain insight into the views, experiences and perceived learning value of the podcasts from the perspective of the student listeners. Findings suggest that the approach was largely successful in achieving its aforementioned aims. In addition, the student listeners saw the podcasts as being especially effective in clarifying and enhancing their understanding of the subject; providing backup/reinforcement of what they had learnt; as well as supplying guidance on the direction in which to channel their study efforts. Overall, the authors believe podcasting has tremendous potential to assist in acculturating distance learners and aiding them in moving towards complete social and academic integration into institutional life, despite the presence of physical separation. The authors’ future research plans are also briefly outlined.

Keywords

Isolation; Alienation; Inclusivity; Equity; Podcasting; Audio; Distance education

References

Apple Computer. (2005). Apple – Education – iTunes U. Retrieved 27 March 2006, from http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/itunes_u/.
Apple Computer. (2006a). iPod builds learning communities. Profiles in success:
Georgia College & State University. Retrieved 8 November 2006, from http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/georgiacollege/
Apple Computer. (2006b). Podcasting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Retrieved 9
November 2006, from http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301880.
Apple Computer. (2006c). Podcasts: Earmarked for success. Profiles in success:
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved 8 November 2006, from http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/wisconsin-madison/.
Bates, A. W. (1981). Radio: The forgotten medium? Studies in the use of radio programming and audio-cassettes in Open University courses. In Papers on broadcasting, No. 185. Milton Keynes: Institute of Educational Technology.
Barnes, J. M. (1995). Embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity, and background relations on the Internet. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational
Research Association, San Francisco, 18-22 April. Beyond Distance Research Alliance. (2006). IMPALA: Informal Mobile Podcasting and Learning Adaptation. Retrieved 5 October 2006, from http://www.impala.ac.uk.

Campbell, G. (2005). There’s something in the air: Podcasting in education. EDUCAUSE Review, 40(6), 32-47.
Carson, N. (2006). Podcast ‘revolution’ has 9.2M subscribers. InternetNews, 14 July.
Retrieved 22 July 2006, from http://www.internetnews.com/bus- news/article.php/3620191.
Clark, D. & Walsh, S. (2004). iPod-learning [White paper]. Brighton, UK: Epic Group.
Coffield, F., Moseley, D., Hall, E. & Ecclestone, K. (2004). Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: A systematic and critical review (Report No. 041543).
London: Learning and Skills Research Centre. Curry, A. (2004). iPodder – A brief history. Retrieved 23 April 2005, from http://www.ipodder.org/history.
Delahoussaye, M. & Zemke, R. (2001). 10 things we know for sure about learning online. Training, 38(9), 48-59.
Differding, G. A. (n.d.). Preparing students to join the online learning community. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), The encyclopedia of educational technology. Retrieved 15 March , from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/stuprep/start.htm. Duke University. (2006). Duke Digital Initiative. Retrieved 2 March 2006, from http://www.duke.edu/ddi/.
Durbridge, N. (1984). Media in course design, No. 9, audio cassettes. In The role of technology in distance education. Kent: Croom Helm.
Gachuhi, D. & Matiru, B. (1987). Active learning. In Distance Education – By Design
Symposium ’87 Papers (pp. 1-21). Barrhead, AB: Alberta Correspondence School. Galusha, J. M. (1997). Barriers to learning in distance education. Retrieved 6
November 2006, from http://www.infrastruction.com/barriers.htm.
Georgia College & State University. (2005). The iPod at GC&SU: A pocketful of learning. Retrieved 2 March 2006, from http://ipod.gcsu.edu
Hipp, H. (1997). Women studying at a distance: What do they need to succeed? Open Learning, 12(2), 41-49.
Humble Daisy. (2005). Profcast – Features – Enhanced Podcasts. Retrieved 6
November 2006, from http://www.profcast.com/features/enhancedPodcast.php.
Kates, R. (1998). Tape recorders and the commuter student: Bypassing the red pen.
Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 25(1), 21-24. Keegan, D. (1996). Foundations of distance education (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
Knapper, C. (1988). Lifelong learning and distance education. American Journal of
Distance Education, 2(1), 63-72. Krätzig, G. P. & Arbuthnott, K. D. (2006). Perceptual learning style and learning proficiency: A test of the hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 238
Laaser, W. (1986). Some didactic aspects of audio-cassettes in distance education.
Distance Education, 7(1), 143-52. Lake, D. (1999). Reducing isolation for distance students: An online initiative. In K.
Martin, N. Stanley & N. Davison (Eds.), Teaching in the disciplines /learning in context: Proceedings of the 8th Annual Teaching and Learning Forum (pp. 210-214), Perth: University of Western Australia. Lee, M. J. W. (2006). Using blogs and podcasting to facilitate delivery and self/peer evaluation of oral presentation assessments. Learning Technology, October, 28-30.
Lee, M. J. W., Chan, A. & McLoughlin, C. (2006a). Educational podcasting using the Charles Sturt University Flexible Publishing platform. In G. Richards (Ed.),
Proceedings of E-Learn 2006 World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate,
Government, Healthcare and Higher Education (pp. 2894-2901). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Lee, M. J. W., Chan, A. & McLoughlin, C. (2006b). Students as producers: Second year students’ experiences as podcasters of content for first year undergraduates. In
Proceedings of the 7th IEEE Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET 2006). Sydney: University of Technology, Sydney.
Lee, M. J. W., Lever, T. & Eustace, K. (forthcoming, 2007). The X-Viva: An alternative examination task for distributed learners using self and peer evaluation of an oral presentation. Manuscript in preparation.
Meacham, D. & Evans, D. (1989). Distance education: The design of study materials.
Wagga Wagga: Open Learning Institute, Charles Sturt University. Morgan, C. & O’Reilly, M. (1999). Assessing open and distance learners. London: Kogan Page.
Nuendorf, K. (2002). The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Okun, M. A., Benin, M. & Brandt-Williams, A. (1996). Staying in college: Moderators of the relation between intention and institutional departure. Journal of Higher Education, 67(5), 577-596.
Peters, O. (1992). Some observations on dropping out in distance education. Distance Education, 13(2), 234-269.
Power, D. J. (1990). The use of audio in distance education. In S. Timmers (Ed.),
Training needs in the use of media for distance education (pp. 43-60). Singapore: Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Centre. Retrieved 31 May , from http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/Technology/print_recorded/aud- html. Race, P. (2005). 500 tips for open and online learning (2nd ed.). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Read, B. (2005). Drexel U. will give free iPods to students in School of Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2 March. Retrieved 8 May 2005, from http://chronicle.com/free/2005/03/2005030203n.htm.
Rogers, P. H. (1990). Student retention and attrition in college. In R.M. Hashway
(Ed.), Handbook of developmental education (pp. 305-327). New York: Praeger. Romero-Gwynn, E. & Marshall, M.K. (1990). Radio: Untapped teaching tool. Journal of
Extension, 28(1). Retrieved 1 June 2005, from http://www.joe.org/joe/1990spring/a1.html.
RSS Advisory Board. (2005). Really Simple Syndication: RSS 2.0.1 Specification
(revision 6). Retrieved 2 March 2006, from http://www.rssboard.org/rss-2-0-1-rv-6.
Scottish Council for Educational Technology. (1994). Audio. In Technologies in learning (pp. 24-25). Glasgow: SCET.
Schlosser, C. A. (2006). Audio in online courses: Beyond podcasting. Paper presented at E-Learn 2006 World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government,
Healthcare, and Higher Education, Honolulu, HI, 10-13 October. Retrieved 20 October , from http://www.nova.edu/~burmeist/audio_online.html. Sheets, M. F. (1992). Characteristics of adult education students and factors which determine course completion: A review. New Horizons in Adult Education, 6(1), 3-19.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M. & Zvacek, S. (2005). Assessment for distance education. In Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance
Education (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Smaldino, S. E., Russell, J. D., Heinich, R. & Molenda, M. (2005). Instructional technology and media for learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Smith, M. K. (2002). Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved 8 November 2006, from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm.
Still, B. (2006). Embedded voice commenting as a tool for critiquing student writing.
Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 20(4), 460-475. Suen, H. K. & Parkes, J. (1996). Challenges and opportunities in distance education evaluation. Distance Education Online Symposium News (DEOSNEWS), 6(7).
Retrieved 10 September 2006, from http://www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deosnews/deosnews6_7.asp.
Walsh, S. (2004). Appendix: IPod, therefore I learn. In iPod-learning. [White paper].
(pp. 23-29). Brighton, UK: Epic Group. West, L. H. T. & Hore, T. (1989). The impact of higher education on adult students in
Australia. Higher Education, 18(3), 341-352. Willis, B. (1992). Strategies for teaching at a distance. ERIC digest. Syracuse, NY:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 351 008). Wood, H. (1995). Designing study materials for distance students. Occasional Papers in Distance Learning, 17. [Microfiche]. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 222).
Woods, R. & Keeler, J. (2001). The effect of instructor's use of audio e-mail messages on student participation in and perceptions of online learning: A preliminary case study. Open Learning, 16(1), 263-278.
World Bank. (2000). Technology–Broadcast and computer-based: Radio. Retrieved 31 May 2005, from http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/Technology/broadcast/broad_radio.html.
YackPack. (2006). Retrieved 10 October 2006, from http://www.yackpack.com.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

-

Journal Section

-

Authors

Mark J. W. Lee This is me

Anthony Chan This is me

Publication Date

March 1, 2007

Submission Date

February 27, 2015

Acceptance Date

-

Published in Issue

Year 2007 Volume: 8 Number: 1

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL

APA

Lee, M. J. W., & Chan, A. (2007). Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 8(1), 85-105. https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL

AMA

1.Lee MJW, Chan A. Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting. TOJDE. 2007;8(1):85-105. https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL

Chicago

Lee, Mark J. W., and Anthony Chan. 2007. “Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting”. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 8 (1): 85-105. https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL.

EndNote

Lee MJW, Chan A (March 1, 2007) Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 8 1 85–105.

IEEE

[1]M. J. W. Lee and A. Chan, “Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting”, TOJDE, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 85–105, Mar. 2007, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL

ISNAD

Lee, Mark J. W. - Chan, Anthony. “Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting”. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 8/1 (March 1, 2007): 85-105. https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL.

JAMA

1.Lee MJW, Chan A. Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting. TOJDE. 2007;8:85–105.

MLA

Lee, Mark J. W., and Anthony Chan. “Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting”. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, vol. 8, no. 1, Mar. 2007, pp. 85-105, https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL.

Vancouver

1.Mark J. W. Lee, Anthony Chan. Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting. TOJDE [Internet]. 2007 Mar. 1;8(1):85-105. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA24GH47BL

Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting

Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners Through Podcasting

Abstract

Keywords

Adjunct Lecturer School of Education Faculty of Education Charles Sturt University

Abstract

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

IZ

Cite