Imagine a class where students are sitting idle with zero enthusiasm for learning. Just flipping the pages of textbooks and staring at the blackboard will not help them learn anything. Therefore, maintaining their interest in studies becomes crucial. I believe we need to come up with different solutions to keep students interested in the learning process.

With the advent of technology, we are exposed to new techniques for keeping students engaged in learning. One way that gives the maximum benefits to educators and learners is podcasting. It is a sure-shot way to bring life to dull classrooms. You can create a podcast for learners in every age group. Let us understand what benefits podcasting brings and how it helps learners.

Why is Podcasting Effective in Engaging Learners?

Students have a short attention span. Therefore, you need to grab their attention within 10-15 seconds. If you cannot do so, you may face hurdles in keeping them engaged during the entire class. Podcasting can help you in various ways. If you assign a podcast to your students, they can hear it anywhere. It does not matter if they are traveling to school or walking around their neighborhood, they can listen to the episodes anytime. As podcasts give them the freedom to multitask, students do not have to stick to a place. Moreover, the episodes also help them paint a mental picture. When they are listening to a podcast, they can relate to the words which helps them understand the concepts better. Also, podcasting gives them the leeway to attain lectures from any part of the world.

Benefits of Using Podcasts in the Classroom

If you are unsure of using podcasts in your classroom, you may look at the following benefits to get a clear picture.

Builds Confidence and Literacy

If you are using podcasts for early-stage learners, you might want to choose the episodes that focus on vocabulary building. Similarly, for older students, you will select the episodes that improve their communication and comprehension skills. There is a podcast for learners of every age, and they can use the segment to improve their language skills.

Students who use podcasts as a learning tool have experienced that it builds their vocabulary and helps them understand how a particular word is supposed to sound. Podcasting can be used by you to assist your students in their learning journey. It builds their confidence and improves their literacy skills.

Presents Narrative Types and Subject Matter

You can choose the content and form that fits your class requirements. Moreover, you can refer to different podcasting channels to understand which teaching style will suit your students. It provides you with endless options starting from fictional stories, educational and inspirational talks to history and entertainment. Using an array of forms keeps your students engaged, and they are likely to imbibe more information. Moreover, listening to different episodes help students understand different communication styles like narration, casual dialogue, and interviews. Following the segments closely will also help them become excellent speakers.

Improves Focus

Reading along with the audio improves focus and helps students develop their pronunciation. Moreover, the audio also builds fluency and improves word recognition power in students. If you want your students to build their listening and comprehension skills, you must use podcasting in your classroom.

Accessibility

Podcasts are a new and fresh approach to learning. The episodes are widely available on the internet and are free to use. Because of the casual tone and accessibility, students can learn from anywhere without worrying about attending a physical classroom. As the episodes are available round the clock, they can learn without compromising their comfort. Today, most students have access to electronic devices and internet connections. As a result, they can download the episodes on their devices and listen to them on a loop to understand the basics or learn something new. You can also help your students download different podcast apps to smoothen their path to learning.

Easier to Listen

Listening to a podcast is better than reading a book for long hours. Many times, we lose concentration when reading. However, this case does not apply to podcasts. Your students can listen to podcasting episodes in bits and chunks according to their convenience.

Creates Student Communities

Once students understand the podcasting mechanism and start to enjoy learning from it, they can set aside some time to develop their own podcasting episodes. They can ask questions, discuss topics, and so on. As they understand which learning practice works well for them and their peers, they can develop a wholesome podcasting experience for themselves. Moreover, they can create a community where each of them learns and supports one another.

Helps in Revision

Apart from taking help from the podcast episodes available on the internet, you can also create your own podcast for your students. You can record your lectures and upload them as podcasts. Students can download these episodes so they can go through your lecture time and again. These episodes can come in handy during exam preparation. Students can use the episodes to revise topics and score better in their assessments.

Helps Explore New Territories

The interests of students differ. Some of them want to pursue a specific field, while others may not at all be interested in that particular field. However, if a learner wants to delve deeper into a topic, they can use podcasts to understand the concept better. It is a great tool to explore new topics and interests.

Podcasts are also an excellent learning tool for visually challenged students. They can brush through different topics and understand the concepts by listening to the episodes of their interests. Summing up all the benefits of podcasting, we can say that podcasts have given a different perspective to education. This tool can be applied to various segments to create an enriching learning experience for students.

Here is a video from Teachmint on the topic: