New technology, new pedagogy? Employing video podcasts in learning and teaching about exotic ecosystems

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of undergraduate university students in response to the employment of video podcasts to support learning and teaching about exotic ecosystems. Six, 15–20‐minute podcasts were made accessible to students through a virtual learning environment, either online or to download to mobile technology. The students were free to watch the podcasts whenever and wherever they chose to. The perceived and actual effectiveness of the technology was assessed by written questionnaire, focus groups and summative assessment results. Students agreed that the podcasts were effective in supporting learning and teaching on the course, largely by offering a flexible and visual learning experience. The podcasts were also perceived as a useful resource for revision and assessment, providing visual images that stimulated factual recall and highlighted knowledge gaps. There were no significant differences, however, in examination essay grades comparing cohorts prior to and post adoption of podcasts. The key to improving the student learning experience appears to lie not in adopting new pedagogy, but in reflexively developing the existing pedagogic strategies employed by both teachers and learners. Of primary importance is uniting the individual learning experience of podcasts with group exploration and critical discussion in a collaborative learning framework.

Keywords:

• ICT
• video podcasts
• flexible learning spaces
• social constructivism
• critical pedagogy

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a Small‐Scale Project Grant (2008–2009) from the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy. The authors would like to thank the students who took part in the evaluation process. Thanks are also extended to Dr Sally Everett (Bedfordshire) for her fieldwork assistance and to Steve Brown and Simon Spokes (UWE) who advised and aided Jennifer Hill with the production of the podcasts.