Author: Susan Stuart, s.stuart@philosophy.arts.gla.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Learning Resources and Activities

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Philosophical and Religious Studies

This case study illustrates...use of podcasting, an effect on learning, an effect on exam results, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, an influence on educational research, staff satisfaction with e-learning, staff personal development, a positive effect on retention, an influence on policy, modifications to learning spaces, an effect on social equality

Tangible Benefits

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

Successful, happy students, though I'm not sure that this is a tangible benefit.

The pass rates for both courses is 100% and the proportion of First Class marks is high. (Two different external examiners have verified that all is in order.)

The students seem to appreciate the podcasts, but since they were satisfied before I'm not sure I'd want to say that there has been a significant improvement in student satisfaction with the learning process. It's certainly true to say that there has been a significant improvement in my colleague's satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for, e-learning, and other colleagues now also seem to be interested in employing the method. I think the students are also more enthusiastic about e-learning.

From the communication I have received from my peers and people around the world who have listened to my Kant lectures as podcasts (downloaded from iTunes) and who now say they are going to read more philosophy or even return to education, I have probably been instrumental in widening participation in higher education.

Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?

This year Joe had graduated and embarked on his MSc, and this meant he wasn't so freely available. For this reason I had to learn to do the audio file reformatting myself and this was time consuming. However, a quick way around this was to use a very simple Sanyo voice-recorder (ICR-S250RM) which used an MP3 recording format. No reformatting, and ready for immediate upload to the MOODLE or other website.

How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?

My colleague, Ian Anderson (HATII), was also involved in podcasting his lectures in 2005/06. A few others began to use the technology in 2006/07, including my husband in Physics and Astronomy, but otherwise our use did not accord with departmental or institutional strategy. However, our success has raised its profile and there are now strategies to make more use of this form of e-learning.

We have certainly influenced the Institutional policy. With the success and publicity I have had, particularly in relation to the Kant podcasts, the University has decided to invest in podcasting for the future and Joe Maguire's expertise and enthusiasm is now being recognised - he has been given a full-time job working between the Teaching and Technology Unit and Computing Science.

It would also be fair to say that we have had an effect on the social justice agenda by widening participation in the classes. One of the students who was enrolled for both classes suffered from depression and for extended periods he was agoraphobic. With the podcasts he was able to keep up with the lectures and seminar discussion, and with the combination of podcasts and MOODLE he was able to engage in the forum discussions without feeling he had fallen behind in his level of understanding or engagement in the class. However, his story is not an unmitigated success for, although his essays were very good, he was unable to sit the examinations and has been awarded an Unclassified or Aegrotat degree.