With the recent surge in the popularity of podcasts, why aren’t more universities adapting to include the medium as an education tool to supplement the usual stable of lecture slides and course packs?
Audio-digital broadcasts have recently become the subject of much media attention after the unprecedented success of Serial — a podcast produced by This American Life — which quickly became the fastest podcast to reach five million downloads and streams ever on iTunes.
This success, however, isn’t limited to podcasts and entertainment-based broadcasts. Audio-digital mediums have the potential to appeal to a wide range of listeners, especially those in the university setting who are looking for more academic broadcasts.
U of T recently jumped on the podcast bandwagon, with the launch of its four-week mini-series, U of T Cities, which aims at informing students and Torontonians alike about issues concerning our campus and the city at large. The series included talks by U of T authorities on transit, politics, and the future of our city.
Although the mini-series is a step in the right direction, U of T should consider producing further audio-digital publications — something our university is lacking considerably in comparison to other acclaimed post-secondary institutions.
The University of Oxford has an extensive library of podcasts addressing a wide array of subjects available for not only students of the university, but the entire Internet community to listen to, learn from, and enjoy.
In its Open Education corner, Oxford has recorded and catalogued lectures that not only serve as relief to students who miss class, but also are an opportunity for anyone with Internet connection to listen at their convenience and learn about subjects like war poetry, happiness and well-being, climate change, and philosophy.
Unfortunately for us, the University of Toronto libraries don’t currently offer any collections of audio books, and many professors prefer that you don’t record their lectures.
With Oxford’s model in mind, U of T has failed to capitalize on the podcast and audio-broadcast craze, and should be working harder to make more audio available to students and the community at large. Initiating a system similar to the one employed by Oxford would not only provide students with supplementary information to complement lectures, but would also be creating a system of convenience where, instead of sitting down to read through your textbook or notes, you could simply listen to lessons as you walk to class, drive, or work out.
If convenience alone isn’t reason enough to offer more audio-digital broadcasts to students, the research behind auditory learning, relative to other mediums like books and PowerPoint slides, is an important factor to consider.
A 2014 study by the University of Berkeley, which tested the usefulness of audio in conjunction with note-taking and lecture slides, found that audio-digital components increased learning outcomes. The same study also found that over 70 per cent of students who were tested agreed that the audio component increased their ability to understand course material. The students also expressed interest in more opportunities to access audio modules in future courses.
With this kind of information and positive response, U of T would certainly benefit from implementing audio-based forums into its courses. Not only would audio-digital broadcasts make university-level subjects more accessible to the general public, but they would also provide students with an additional way to succeed.
Emma Kikulis is an associate comment editor at The Varsity. She is studying sociology and English. Her column appears bi-weekly.
