Author: David Gill, d.w.j.gill@swansea.ac.uk
Author: Chris Hall, c.m.hall@swan.ac.uk
JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Learning Resources and Activities
Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: History, Classics and Archaeology
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, staff satisfaction with e-learning, staff personal development, a positive effect on recruitment, a positive effect on retention, an influence on policy, use of resources, modifications to learning spaces, management of learning assets, an effect on social equality
Lessons Learned
Summary and Reflection
Students have been responding to staff podcasts with the creation of their own pieces. An example, drawn from a level 2 Egyptology module where the students were working on an object from the University's Egypt Centre as part of their continuous assessment was posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDcFeECBKeI
Staff would like to encourage students to prepare their own podcasts to share with their cohort which could then form a permanent resource placed on Blackboard. This is particularly relevant to students undertaking research on objects in the Egypt Centre. There would also be opportunities for students to make podcasts during visits to archaeological sites (e.g. Caerleon and Caerwent in South Wales) or to museums (e.g. British Museum) as part of their studies. Staff would like to prepare weekly podcasts as part of a RSS feed to summarise responses to student questions.
Podcasts seem to have been effective in enhancing the range of learning materials available to students. We would like to develop more podcasts across a wider range of modules.
Students do ask for advice about how to answer questions and in particular how to tackle a commentary on images and site plans. Podcasts could be used to rehearse what to look for: e.g. material, date, decoration, iconography, context.
In 2007 there was a specific request: 'lectures recorded in MP3 format and readily available to download'.
