How Students Benefit from Teachers Who Podcast

In today's modernized world, education and technology go hand-in-hand. Considering that 95% of teens now own or at least have access to a smart phone, teachers who record their lessons as podcasts for their students to access anywhere and everywhere could have a special advantage in reaching their students effectively.

When you think about it, teachers are by their very nature creators curating content for their students. Every day they are providing new information to their students and changing the way they think. There's value in giving these lectures life outside of the classroom and available for students 24/7.

​How can students benefit from recorded content provided by their teachers?

1. Students can pay closer attention in class
The strongest argument for recording your lectures is that students can learn more in the present moment. Students often focus so much on taking notes that they are not actively listening to the lecture at hand. If they're able to forgo the conventional note-taking system, they can keep 100% of their attention on you and the lesson at hand. This gives them reassurance knowing that the lesson will be available for them later in case they need to fill in any "gaps".

2. Help students succeed on their exams
Podcasting makes studying easier on students. Instead of reading (and getting lost!) through dozens of pages of notes, they can turn on your lecture from their smartphone and skip to the section of the lecture that they need clarity on. No one has a perfect memory, so being able to go back and access lectures from a smartphone is a valuable tool for exam preparation and finals. 

3. Reach students with auditory learning
Auditory learning can be an effective tool in comprehension. A phenomenon called “Auditory Scene Analysis” occurs when we listen to something and then our brain helps visualize it. Infact, there are multiple areas in the brain where sound is processed. The synapses in our brain rewire when we are exposed to a particular sound multiple times (i.e. a lecture).

30% of the population are auditory learners, which means Podcasting can be an effective way to reach children who benefit from this learning style.

4. Get parents involved in the education process
Podcasting also helps to strengthen the role parents play in their child's education. When you upload a new lecture onto Podomatic, parents are able to learn along with their children. This allows parents to help students if they're struggling with their homework or answer questions if a their child isn't clear on a particular topic. 

In addition, if a child has to miss a class, parents can fill in the role of "teacher" for that day by listening to your recorded lecture and teaching their child that day's lesson. This means no child has to fall behind.

5. Re-purpose existing educational content and podcast it
Recording your lectures is just the beginning of what's possible with podcasting - the creative things you can do are endless! For instance, you can use shared content from other educators, repurpose material in the public domain, and even bring in a guest in the field you teach to highlight a particular point. If you have a podcasting idea that you think will enrich a student's learning, give it a shot! You might be pleasantly surprised.

Technology has become a cornerstone in today's society, both in how we communicate and how we learn from one another. We feel embracing technology as a tool for learning can pay off dividends for students, that in some ways, traditional learning might not. Today’s generation of young people don’t know life without mobile devices and computers. It’s a natural part of their world. Serving them on-demand education at anytime and anywhere just makes sense.

If you think podcasting seems like a good fit for your classroom, feel free to join our free pilot program for educators. Click the button below to fill out our survey if you're interested! We welcome and love educators!

Join our free program