Podcasting to students working in the resources industry: A supplementary teaching strategy
Document Type
Report
Publisher
CCH Australia Ltd.
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
23882
Abstract
A podcast was introduced as a supplementary teaching strategy for an online Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) unit at Edith Cowan University. The podcast consisted of interviews with experts from the OHS field as well as an audio version of the learning module notes as narrated by the lecturer. The podcast sought to meet the needs of students who worked in the resources industry, often on fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) roster arrangements, by allowing the utilisation of “dead time” for learning, and to decrease the sense of isolation commonly experienced with online education. A survey gathered students’ perceptions of the podcast and preferred methods of consumption. The aim of the study was to assess whether the podcasts helped to address the needs of industry-based students. This was achieved by identifying the level of uptake among these students, as well as the preferred ways in which students listened to the podcast. The results showed that industry-based students listened to the podcast and were satisfied with its availability. There were mixed results with regards to the way students consumed the podcast. While some respondents listened while performing an unrelated task (ie commuting or exercising, etc) the majority listened during dedicated study periods. This finding supports other studies that found students prefer to use audio learning materials simultaneously with written materials and during specific times set aside for study.
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Comments
Ho, G., & Beatty, S. (2017). Podcasting to students working in the resources industry: A supplementary teaching strategy. Journal of Health, Safety and Environment, 33(1), 87-95. Original report Available here