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Faculty Appointment

Assistant Professor of Medical Education

Education

MBBS - King Edward Medical College
MD - Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates

Biography

Dr. Sheikh is an Assistant Professor of Medical Education and Clinical Skills at CUSM. She followed her childhood dream to become a Physician. She always wanted to go in the academic field so took her education keeping this in mind. She always had good rapport with students and loved to teach them. In future she sees herself excel in teaching medical students.
She has multiple areas of scholarly interest, including Academic Medicine, Geriatrics, and students' incentive and motivation for Scholarly work. She is a dedicated and selfless faculty who loves her students and keep their interests before herself.

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Assistant Professor of Medical Education MBBS - King Edward Medical College MD - Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Dr. Sheikh is an Assistant Professor of Medical Education and Clinical Skills at CUSM. She followed her childhood dream to become a Physician.

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Teacher's Tips: Podcasting in the classroom

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Teacher's Tips: Podcasting in the classroom

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Podcasts (spoken word audio recordings) are an increasingly popular media format that has exploded in recent years, including in use for higher ed, professional learning, and continuing education contexts.

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Best Medical Education Podcasts on the Planet

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Best Medical Education Podcasts on the Planet

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EMCrit Podcast is the online medical education on Emergency Department (ED) Critical Care, Trauma, and Resuscitation. Stay tuned to listen to the latest updates and information on critical care and resuscitation.
Also in Critical Care Podcasts
emcrit.org/categor..
Play ⋅ 38.1K ⋅ 75K 1 episode / week ⋅ Avg Length 34 min

Run the List is a medical education podcast designed for medical students and all learners hoping for a review in internal medicine. Our show is comprised of short episodes through which you can learn about the diagnosis, management, and clinical pearls for common internal medicine problems.
Also in Internal Medicine Podcasts
anchor.fm/run-the-..
Play ⋅ 7.9K ⋅1 episode / week ⋅ Avg Length 28 min ⋅ Aug 2019

Carlsbad, California, US
The Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI) is committed to help raise the standard of mental health by providing imaginative medical education that focuses on the highest level of learning. Each episode offers an opportunity to learn about current issues in psychiatry from key opinion leaders in the medical field. NEI's Podcast would be of value to anyone with an interest in neuropsychiatric diseases and psychopharmacology.
Also in Neuroscience Podcasts, Psychiatry Podcasts
neiglobal.libsyn.com
Play ⋅ 14.2K ⋅ 160 ⋅2 episodes / month ⋅ Avg Length 40 min ⋅ May 2017

Students and young medics need to learn a lot to become good doctors - we're here to talk about the things that medical school doesn't teach you. Brought to you by BMJ student.
Also in Medical Student Podcasts
podcasts.apple.com..
Play 4 episodes / quarter ⋅ Avg Length 43 min

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Key Literature in Medical Education (KeyLIME) is a bi-weekly podcast produced by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Bringing you the main points of a medical education article in just 20 minutes. Articles that are important, innovative, or will impact your educational practice are discussed.
Also in Canadian Education Podcasts
keylimepodcast.lib..
Play ⋅ 38 ⋅ 8.5K ⋅1 episode / week ⋅ Avg Length 21 min ⋅ Jan 2012

UK
The podcast for GPs and other primary care professionals using the medical media as a springboard to help you target your CPD. In each episode, we'll look at the general picture of what's going on in the newspaper health pages, daytime TV, online, and even radio if it's relevant. Nothing's off-limits and some of the big TV dramas will get a look in too. We'll also take some time to chat with a fellow medical colleague about a featured programme in more detail.
Also in UK Medical Podcasts
feeds.buzzsprout.c..
Play ⋅ 2K ⋅3 episodes / quarter ⋅ Avg Length 48 min ⋅ Oct 2020

UK
Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Dr. Thomas Watchman. I am a GP in the UK and I love creating educational material for studying medicine. This podcast is designed to be a time-efficient revision tool to help you study for your medical exams. Each podcast leads on from the next and each season tackles a different area of medicine.
Also in UK Education Podcasts
zerotofinals.com/p..
Play ⋅ 4.5K ⋅ 2.8K ⋅2 episodes / week ⋅ Avg Length 8 min ⋅ Nov 2018

US
As physicians, we make decisions every day about how to prioritize our time, energy, focus, attention, and money. Hosts Jen Barna MD, Coach Gabriella Dennery MD and Master Certified Coach Jill Farmer interview physicians to explore ways to embrace life AND a medical career, some who've chosen a path less traveled and others who have optimized their lives on a traditional medical career path.
Also in Healthcare Industry and News Podcasts, Doctor Podcasts, Physicians Podcasts, Medical Podcasts
docworking.podbean..
Play ⋅ 614 ⋅1 episode / week ⋅ Avg Length 27 min ⋅ Feb 2021

Explore medical programs aimed at physicians, nurses and other health care professionals who wish to expand their knowledge base, keep current on the latest research.
podtail.com/it/pod..
Play

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20 Best Medical Education Podcasts You Must Follow in 2022

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EMCrit Podcast is the online medical education on Emergency Department (ED) Critical Care, Trauma, and Resuscitation. Stay tuned to listen to the latest updates and information on critical care and resuscitation. Also in Critical Care Podcasts emcrit.org/categor..

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Podcasts are increasingly recognized as an effective platform for facilitating health care professionals (HCPs) continuing professional development (CPD). Compared with face-to-face meetings and other more traditional forms of CPD, podcasts allow for flexible learning and are less expensive to develop.

Podcasts gained in popularity during the mid-2000s and are now widely available on the internet and on various on-demand channels. Although many podcasts have been developed for entertainment, they are increasingly being used as a platform for medical education. Recent review articles have shown that various medical podcasts covering numerous medical specialties are available. Medical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet are using podcasts to discuss contemporary topics in medicine, further supporting the idea that medical podcasts can supplement more traditional forms of learning, such as peer-reviewed journal articles.

Medical podcasts can be grouped into two broad categories: industry-sponsored and general medical podcasts. Industry-sponsored podcasts are developed by (or in collaboration with) pharmaceutical companies, are typically developed exclusively for the continuing professional development (CPD) of HCPs and focus on a particular therapy area or product. Individuals or medical societies often develop general medical podcasts for a wider audience (e.g., medical students or the general public, as well as HCPs) and cover a wide range of topics. (Juan Espinoza, Ritu Lakhtakia, Julliana Newman,, Andrew Liew, Jon Bowles, Steven Inglis, Kelly Soady, 2021)
Conclusion:

Podcasting is a novel method for delivering medical education and can be a suitable alternative to traditional face-to-face and print-based education and can be incorporated into CPD programs. Careful planning is needed to ensure the success of industry-sponsored podcasts. With further uptake and optimization of this form of medical education, industry-sponsored podcasts may play an important role in shaping change in clinical practice and improving patient care in the future. (Juan Espinoza, Ritu Lakhtakia, Julliana Newman,, Andrew Liew, Jon Bowles, Steven Inglis, Kelly Soady, 2021)

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J Med Internet Res. 2021 Aug; 23(8): e29168.

Monitoring Editor: Rita Kukafka

Reviewed by Juan Espinoza and Ritu Lakhtakia

Julliana Newman, BA, ¹ Andrew Liew, PhD, ² Jon Bowles, BA, ³ Kelly Soady, PhD, ⁴ and Steven Inglis, PhD ²

Abstract

Podcasts are increasingly being recognized as an effective platform to facilitate the continuous professional development (CPD) of health care professionals (HCPs). Compared with face-to-face meetings and other more traditional forms of CPD, podcasts allow for flexible learning and are less expensive to develop. Podcasts are at the cutting edge of digital education and can be an important element of a pharmaceutical company's multichannel communications plan to improve HCP engagement and CPD in specific therapy areas. However, developing a successful podcast can have significant challenges. In this viewpoint paper, we provide our perspectives on medical podcasts as a medium for educating HCPs in the digital age. We describe our experience in developing an HIV-focused podcast for Australian HCPs, creating a series that has now expanded to other therapy areas in several countries. Practical considerations and unique challenges associated with industry-sponsored podcasts are outlined. Overall, we believe that the process of developing a podcast can be a challenging but rewarding experience, and CPD delivered via podcasting should be more routinely considered by pharmaceutical companies.

Keywords: digital, hepatitis C virus, health care professionals, hepatology, HIV, continuous professional development, podcasts, remote learning, virology

Introduction

Podcasts have gained in popularity during the mid-2000s and are now widely available on the internet and on various on-demand channels [ 1]. Although many podcasts have been developed for entertainment, they are increasingly being used as a platform for medical education [ 2- 5], and recent review articles have shown that a wide variety of medical podcasts covering numerous medical specialties are available [ 2, 6, 7]. Medical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine [ 8] and The Lancet [ 9] are using podcasts to discuss contemporary topics in medicine, further supporting the idea that medical podcasts can supplement more traditional forms of learning, such as peer-reviewed journal articles.

This rise in the popularity of podcasts among the medical community is probably due to several factors. Podcasts allow for rapid dissemination of up-to-date data [ 10] and provide a range of perspectives to listeners (eg, patient perspectives). The availability of on-demand content helps listeners to learn on the go, which is especially important for busy health care professionals (HCPs) [ 10]. Unlike face-to-face lectures or congress presentations, podcasts avoid the need for and the expense of travel and give opportunities to HCPs from resource-limited settings to access new perspectives and data. Medical podcasts typically cater to a wide audience with different levels of knowledge (eg, clinicians, medical students, and other HCPs, nurses, pharmacists, and allied HCPs).

Medical podcasts can be grouped into two broad categories: industry-sponsored and general medical podcasts. Industry-sponsored podcasts are developed by (or in collaboration with) pharmaceutical companies, are typically developed exclusively for the continuing professional development (CPD) of HCPs, and focus on a particular therapy area or product. General medical podcasts are often developed by individuals or medical societies for a wider audience (eg, medical students or the general public, as well as HCPs) and cover a wide range of topics [ 2].

We noted that there were very few digitally based CPD resources available circa 2018 for Australian HCPs who care for people living with HIV. In response, we launched HIV in Podcast Australia, a podcast that provides the latest insights into HIV care from leading experts. HIV in Podcast Australia was initially hosted on a web-based platform exclusive to HCPs [ 11] and in July 2019, we launched a dedicated app to house the podcast. Since then, the series has expanded to include additional therapy areas and regions, and now comprises the following: HIV in Podcast Australia, Hepatology in Podcast Australia, Virology in Podcast Nordics, HCV in Podcast Russia, and HIV in Podcast Russia ( Figure 1 ). As appropriate, content was tailored to region-specific health challenges. Apart from the 2 Russian series, all podcasts were recorded in English.

In this paper, based on our own experience with the in Podcast program, we describe practical considerations and challenges associated with developing, distributing, and measuring the success of industry-sponsored podcasts. Several guides on creating effective general medical podcasts have been published [ 12- 15]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no publications that discuss the unique challenges associated with developing industry-sponsored podcasts. Overcoming some of these challenges could contribute to an increase in the use of this CPD tool for HCPs.

Practical Considerations for Industry-Sponsored Podcasts

To develop high-quality and engaging medical podcasts, a few basic elements are implicit. In short, these include the recruitment of a suitably qualified host with medical training and therapy area experience, ideally with medical journalism experience. Equally, interviewees should be regional or international experts in their field and be able to discuss contemporary topics concisely. Podcasts should be "bite-sized," with recommended lengths of 10-20 minutes [ 3], and recorded and produced by professional sound engineers.

In our experience, development of industry-sponsored podcasts often present other unique challenges and considerations, which we describe in further detail below.

Podcast Hosting Platforms

Podcast episodes need to be hosted on an appropriate digital platform for access by listeners [ 12]. A myriad of hosting options are available (eg, custom-built websites or apps and paid and free platforms) [ 12], and choosing a platform will depend on budgets, compliance requirements, and timelines. An ideal hosting platform should be secure and easy to use, provide reliable and standardized metrics, and be adaptable for local and regional regulatory requirements regarding distribution of content to HCPs. In general, access to podcast episodes can be achieved via the webpage of the hosting platform or a dedicated mobile app. Such apps should be easy to download, have intuitive interfaces, be compatible with both Apple and Android operating systems, and allow download and storage of episodes for offline listening. Based on these considerations, we chose a specialist podcast hosting platform [ 16] for the in Podcast series that is free of charge to the end user, with an optional associated app to provide HCPs with the convenience of accessing content via their mobile device. The app is available in multiple languages (to mirror the podcasts). It is important to note that developing such an app requires significant investment, likely including partnering with companies or individuals with app development expertise.

Regulatory Considerations

A challenge encountered with industry-sponsored podcasts is ensuring that the discussions related to medications or clinical practice are in line with the approved indication for that region, fair, balanced, and consistent with local and regional guidelines governing communication with HCPs. For example, guests might describe treatments that are not approved in the country where the podcast is released, or they might discuss data from studies of unlicensed uses for approved agents; thus, content could be deemed promotional or noncompliant with local guidelines [ 17, 18]. Medical writers, together with regulatory personnel of the sponsor company, play an important role in managing content development. In the in Podcast program, the medical writing team were involved in all aspects of episode development, including podcast recording sessions, to ensure that discussions between the podcast host and guests were accurate and reflected the approved indications for any treatment discussed ("on label"). The medical writing team were also responsible for postrecording activities such as transcribing the recording and ensuring that all scientific claims were supported by current evidence from peer-reviewed journal papers or government guidelines, with a reference list available for every podcast episode. We believe that medical writers play a crucial role, in partnership with the regulatory team, in ensuring that all podcast content is fair and balanced.

The in Podcast series has been launched across different regions; therefore, we had to ensure compliance with regulatory and privacy requirements for each of the relevant countries. The introduction of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 implied ensuring the protection of personal data, privacy, and consent of podcast users. To achieve this, we engaged medical, regulatory, business compliance, and legal stakeholders in the region and therapy area when planning each series. Some hosting platforms collect personal data (eg, email addresses) for metrics analysis, so it is important to utilize a GDPR-compliant hosting platform.

In some countries, discussion or promotion of prescription medicines is only permitted among HCPs. As such, industry-sponsored podcast topics may only be appropriate for an HCP audience (eg, content that could be perceived as promotion of a pharmaceutical product to a non-HCP audience). To ensure that only HCPs could access the content, we created a registration webpage that allowed us to verify a user's HCP status via their medical/professional registration numbers, or enabled the HCP to self-verify their status, depending on local regulatory requirements. Once a user's HCP status is verified, they are sent detailed instructions on how to download the podcasting app, create a personal podcast account, and access episodes via the app or a web browser. A summary of the user registration process we used is shown in Figure 2 . Because HCPs register through a country-specific registration page, they are given access to content available in their region only. This system enables 1 platform and mobile app to be used across multiple regions.

Accreditation of Podcasts

The credibility of industry-sponsored podcasts can be enhanced through accreditation by a professional body (a medical society or college), thereby allowing HCPs to use the podcasts for CPD. Medical practitioners registered with the Medical Board of Australia, for example, need to complete a minimum number of CPD hours that are relevant to their practice [ 19]. Accreditation of podcasts may thus help to increase their uptake by the target audience. To gain accreditation, podcast transcripts and supporting references for each episode of HIV in Podcast Australia were reviewed by the Australasian Society of HIV Medicine [ 20]. Users were encouraged to self-report their listening activity to Australasian Society of HIV Medicine to claim CPD points and maintain their registration as prescribers of HIV treatment. It is important to note that the role of CPD points in continuing professional medical education and accreditation requirements varies across regions. The medical writing team plays an important role in ensuring that all podcast materials meet the accreditation standards of the relevant accrediting society.

Audience Recruitment

Recruiting an appropriate and sizable audience can be challenging. Promoting general medical podcasts typically involves the use of social media platforms (eg, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter) [ 13] or joining a podcast network [ 21]. However, if applied to industry-sponsored podcasts, this approach may be considered an untargeted promotional activity and tends to be avoided by pharmaceutical sponsors. Instead, we employed several focused strategies to increase the awareness of the podcasts among HCPs, including the use of hard copy and electronic mailouts to HCPs on subscriber lists provided by industry partners, publishing printed advertisements in peer-reviewed journals or scientific magazines, and conducting promotional activities at scientific meetings (setting up booths, handing out flyers, and conducting in-person registrations). We found that electronic mailouts reach a wider, more targeted audience than the other methods but may require the use of external platforms (eg, Mailchimp) or third parties (eg, advertising or event management agencies who have access to lists of potential subscribers). We found that an advantage of promoting podcasts at scientific meetings was that it provided us with opportunities to gain valuable feedback on the podcasts. We recommend that multichannel promotional strategies be used, if possible, to maximize podcast uptake.

Measuring the "Success" of Podcasts

Regularly measuring the uptake of podcasts by HCPs is essential for evaluating the performance of a podcast and can be an indicator of the success of the strategies used to attract listeners. The number of downloads is one of the most frequently used digital performance metrics [ 3], although other metrics are available (eg, the number of podcast users) [ 22]. At the time of writing (May 31, 2021), HIV in Podcast Australia had achieved the largest number of total downloads and unique users (993 downloads; 115 unique users) followed by Hepatology in Podcast Australia (608 downloads; 88 unique users; Figure 1 ). In Europe and Russia, HIV in Podcast Russia achieved the largest number of total downloads (455 downloads), whereas HCV in Podcast Russia had the highest number of unique users (52 users). Relative to the small number of unique users, the large number of downloads suggests that users likely downloaded multiple podcast episodes, which indicates continued engagement with content over time. In our experience, the number of downloads can be influenced by various factors including therapy area, size of the target audience, geographical region, and how readily the target audience can access the podcast. This makes direct comparisons of podcast performance difficult. For example, average monthly downloads for the in Podcast series, housed on our app in which HCPs must register to gain access, were between 56 downloads per month for Hepatology in Podcast Australia and 11 downloads per month for Virology in Podcast Nordics ( Figure 1 ). In contrast, publicly available medical podcasts have been reported to achieve between 217 and 10,000 downloads per month [ 10, 23, 24]. Comparisons with other industry-sponsored podcasts are challenging owing to a lack of published data.

Another important consideration is that download metrics provided by GDPR-compliant hosting platforms contain anonymized user identifications. This makes it difficult to profile podcast users by HCP type (eg, proportion of physicians vs nurses), which may be of specific interest to the sponsor. Additional qualitative measures of success may therefore add value. For example, short surveys can be included in electronic mailouts or conducted via face-to-face interviews with the target audience [ 10]. These qualitative data can be used to understand if, and the extent to which, listeners are enjoying the series and whether it may be changing their clinical practice. Additionally, podcast performance metrics should be codeveloped with industry partners and realistic goals set for measuring "success" (eg, a prespecified proportion of licensed prescribers within a therapy area in 1 country). We believe that combining both quantitative and qualitative metrics provides more holistic insights into the overall performance of the podcast.

Viewpoint

There is a growing interest from the pharmaceutical industry to invest in digital innovation, such as podcasts, to increase awareness of diseases, clinical practice updates, and available therapies. At present, most medical podcasts have been created by individuals and academic societies rather than pharmaceutical companies. Medical podcasts are an important medium for delivering specific and targeted CPD to HCPs and could be considered more routinely by the pharmaceutical industry as part of multichannel communication plans to improve HCP engagement and education. However, very little published information is available on the considerations and challenges associated with creating industry-sponsored podcasts.

In our opinion, one key challenge is the limitation around granular metrics data on industry-sponsored podcasts, making it difficult to demonstrate a return on investment. Close collaboration with industry partners will be needed to define the target audience and to help ensure that meaningful metrics are collected. The inclusion of qualitative measures (eg, user surveys) is also recommended to determine if podcast uptake is associated with changes in clinical practice.

The requirement for users to register and be verified as HCPs before being able to access the podcasts may also be a significant "digital barrier" to the uptake of industry-sponsored podcasts. We suspect that multistep registration processes ( Figure 2 ) and the need to create a personal podcast account may act as a deterrent for busy HCPs to quickly access podcast content. However, these are necessary steps from an industry compliance perspective in many jurisdictions. Possible options for overcoming this challenge could include setting up preregistrations and involving medical science liaison officers of companies to help users with the registration process. If regulations allow, creating podcast apps that support single-click access from an invitation email for HCPs who have been preregistered and verified could reduce the steps required for authentication and prevent possible "password fatigue," which may result from users needing to manage multiple passwords and accounts.

Overcoming these barriers could help increase the use of this flexible and versatile educational platform among the medical community. Indeed, recent innovations have highlighted that podcasting will be an important medium for educating HCPs in the future. For example, several Adis-affiliated journals allow the publication of peer-reviewed podcast articles on clinically-relevant topics (eg, conference data, treatment innovations, and expert opinions on drugs and disease therapies) [ 25]. We believe that the challenges and potential solutions we have outlined are not only relevant for podcasting but also broadly applicable to the various forms of industry-sponsored digital education (eg, webinars and education modules) that are increasingly being used.

Conclusions

Podcasting is a novel method for delivering medical education and can be a suitable alternative to traditional face-to-face and print-based education and incorporated into CPD programs. Careful planning is needed to ensure the success of industry-sponsored podcasts. With further uptake and optimization of this form of medical education, industry-sponsored podcasts may play an important role in shaping change in clinical practice and improving patient care in the future.

Acknowledgments

We thank the members of the in Podcast team at Oxford PharmaGenesis (Vanessa Bateman, Lucy Eberhard, Robert Goodwin, Cara Kingston, Svetha Sankar, Tanya Stezhka, and Vanessa Wielgosz) and Gilead Sciences (Hassan Aladdin, Mike Elliott, Damien Fagan, Aurelie Freismuth, Janniche Hammer, Geraldine Reilly, Natalia Tikhonova, and Tatiana Usacheva) for their contributions to the series. We also thank the speakers and series hosts for contributing to the podcasts, especially Dr Brad McKay at East Sydney Doctors (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), for playing a key role in the development and success of the inaugural HIV in Podcast Australia series. We are also grateful to Svetha Sankar for critical review of this manuscript.

Abbreviations

CPD

continuing professional development

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation

HCP

health care professional

Footnotes

Conflicts of Interest: JN is an employee of Gilead Sciences. JB, SI, AL, and KS are employees of Oxford PharmaGenesis, which has received funding to support development of the in Podcast series and this article, from Gilead Sciences.

References

3. Cho D, Cosimini M, Espinoza J. Podcasting in medical education: a review of the literature. Korean J Med Educ. 2017 Nov 29;29(4):229-239. doi: 10.3946/kjme.2017.69. doi: 10.3946/kjme.2017.69.kjme.2017.69 [[ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

12. Hurst E. Getting started with podcasting. J Hosp Librariansh. 2019 Jul;19(3):277-283. doi: 10.1080/15323269.2019.1628575. [[ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

21. Hurst E. Podcasting in medical education and health care. J Hosp Librariansh. 2019 Jul;19(3):214-226. doi: 10.1080/15323269.2019.1628564. [[ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Medical Internet Research are provided here courtesy of Gunther Eysenbach

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Podcasts for the Delivery of Medical Education and Remote Learning

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J Med Internet Res. 2021 Aug; 23(8): e29168. Monitoring Editor: Rita Kukafka Reviewed by Juan Espinoza and Ritu Lakhtakia Julliana Newman, BA, 1 Andrew Liew, PhD, 2 Jon Bowles, BA, 3 Kelly Soady, PhD, 4 and Steven Inglis, PhD 2 Podcasts are increasingly being recognized as an effective platform to facilitate the continuous professional development (CPD) of health care professionals (HCPs).

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The Future Of: Medical Education [FULL PODCAST EPISODE]

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Podcasting in Education: What Are the Benefits?

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Podcasting in Education: What Are the Benefits?

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New technology always has a heavy impact on education, and podcasting is no different. Many learning institutions are cutting back on textbooks and investing in technology-enhanced learning. As one of the latest mediums to emerge into the mainstream, podcasting is one of the forefront technologies in this change. In this article, I'll show you how podcasting in education can increase accessibility and encourage engagement.

Advantages of Podcasting in Education

Podcasting allows lecturers to easily broadcast engaging audio content, which students can listen to at any time and wherever they are. A student only needs to subscribe to a podcast feed, and suddenly you can push educational content to them, rather than wait for them to come. Podcasts can easily be used in schools, universities or colleges to engage students, and improve your teaching and learning practice.

Podcasting as a Learning Tool

Many learning institutions that have incorporated podcasting in their education system have reported positive results. This can be attributed to the ease of creating and consuming podcasts as well as the various ways in which education podcasts enhance the students' learning experience. There are a lot of advantages of podcasting in education. Let's take a look:

Flexible Learning & Availability - 24 Hours a Day

One of the greatest advantages of education podcasts is their portability and convenience. Podcasts can be downloaded to a mobile device, allowing the student to access the learning resources anytime, anywhere, with very little effort.

There are free podcast subscription apps available for every smartphone, and these make the process even easier. In fact, iPhones come with an excellent podcast app (Apple Podcasts) installed by default.

Once the student has subscribed to a show ( which you can make available really easily), they don't have to initiate the download: it's sent automatically to their app whenever a new episode is available. So, as soon as they sit down on the bus, there's a teaching resource there waiting for them. This makes podcasts very convenient and also paves the way for truly flexible learning.

You Can Make Your Podcast Private

There's an option to create a private podcast, too, if you'd only like it to be accessible to your students and nobody else. Here, all the principles are the same, but you'll just need to send them all a unique link or password so they can access the content. You can learn more about this in our guide to setting up a private podcast for students.

Students Listen Longer Than They'll Watch or Read

One of the great powers of podcasting is the attention it attracts. It's tricky to encourage students to spend 30 minutes reading an article or watching a recorded lecture. That's because text and video require the student's full attention - they need to sit patiently, doing just one thing. As you probably know, this is tricky, not least because of the range of distractions just sitting waiting on the next browser tab.

On the other hand, podcasting can be done in otherwise wasted time or alongside a routine activity. Students are far more likely to listen and consume your material if they can do it on the bus, driving the car, washing the dishes or in the gym. Because they're already distracted by a rote task, the content gets great attention. While text and video struggle to attract 2 or 3 minutes of viewing, podcasts routinely run an hour or more. One of the most popular shows in the world is a history podcast that can run for 3+ hours!

If one guy can persuade listeners to stick around for 3 hours at a time to learn about World War 1, then you should be able to manage 10 minutes on your own show.

Student Created Content

One of the most interesting and valuable uses of Podcasting in Education is the concept of student-created content or active learning activities.

You might allow students to create their own podcast, perhaps including questions, discussions, presentations or projects. These can then be made available to their classmates. This allows students to take control of an aspect of their education and encourages engagement in the material. They can question, they can contribute, and they can teach each other.

Podcasting in Education: Lecture Review

One of the simplest uses of podcasting is to record your existing lectures. This makes them easily accessible to students and creates invaluable study aids.

Students can use the podcast for reference purposes or when preparing themselves for upcoming examinations. Any student who had challenges understanding a topic in the classroom can listen to this podcast. They can study the content and understand the topic at their own pace.

This capacity to review, again and again, is particularly valuable to students from an international background or with learning difficulties.

Finally, as we mentioned earlier, it's a struggle to encourage students to watch a one-hour video recording of a lecture. Instead, give them audio, and they can consume it while they do their chores.

Voice Recording Technology

A wireless mic system might be your best option if you're recording lectures in person. If you're delivering your classes online, then there are plenty of options to record remote conversations too. The obvious choice for many teachers these days is Zoom, but there are better options available. Here's our full guide on how to record a podcast.

Editing & Publishing Educational Podcasts

Once you have an audio recording of your lecture, how do you turn it into a podcast episode and deliver it to your students?

Firstly, you might want to think about doing some editing and production work. This doesn't have to mean hours at the computer, cutting and smoothing out loads of little mistakes. It can be as simple as doing a "top and tail" of the audio, chopping off the unnecessary stuff at the beginning and end.

You can add a few seconds of music to open and close your episodes, too. Podcast music is easy to find, and simple to add in to your audio material.

There are tonnes of podcast editing software options out there, and, the good news is that many of them double up as podcast recording software, too.

When it comes to publishing, you'll need to sign up to a podcast hosting service. These are platforms that allow you to upload and distribute your content.

If you're looking for one single platform to record, edit, publish, and distribute your educational podcast, then check out Alitu. It's a dedicated podcast-maker tool, designed to make the entire process as simple as humanly possible.

Alitu will even auto-generate transcriptions for you, which you can give to your students as additional classroom materials!

Make up for Missed Classes

When a student misses a class, it's not always because they're lazy. By offering a podcast, your unlucky, sick student who has missed a number of classes can download recordings of the lectures instead. As a consequence, they're able to "fill in the gaps".

Moreover, a lecturer who is unable to attend his or her classes for a week or two can create a podcast of the lecture instead. This is made available to the students and thus makes up for any unattended lectures.

Consistency of Student Experience

Lecture recordings can help a teacher or professor to ensure that they always cover any given topic in the best way possible. This comes in handy when the lecturer in question teaches multiple sessions of the same class. It helps the teacher to ensure that every student gets the same experience, the same information, and that the syllabus is covered uniformly.

Podcasting in Education: Keeping Students Up-to-Date

Podcasting in education doesn't necessarily need to be about lectures and lessons. It can be used by the administrative wing of schools, universities, and colleges, too. You might use a podcast to discuss current events on campus, or to remind students about the latest form that needs filling out. A podcast can be a better reminder than an email that often ends up unopened or skimmed over and ignored.

Benefits for Mental and Visual Impairments

Perhaps one of the greatest pedagogic characteristics offered by educational podcasting is the chance to learn through listening.

To many of the current student generation, learning through listening is enjoyable and less tedious than reading. Educational podcasts are appealing and may encourage students who don't like reading.

Many students may struggle with reading through mental impairments, such as Dyslexia, and podcasts can be a big aid in this. Podcasts are equally useful in cases where a visual impairment makes traditional learning methods arduous.

Language Learning

One of the most common examples of educational podcasting in action is the learning of new languages. Any podcast listener can quickly get a grasp of any language they want to learn by finding a show that's teaching it. This type of educational podcast will often be done in a "bite-sized" manner, taking the approach that, in each episode, we're going to learn about one phrase, or even, one word.

Next time you're on a plane to a holiday destination, you can bet at least one fellow traveller has their earbuds in and is learning how to order their first beer!

Podcasting in Education: Where Next?

Using a podcast in your teaching can encourage your students to engage with your classes, your material and to never miss a thing. Podcasting is one of the best things you could do for your students. Why not give it a try? You'll find all the resources you need to plan, start, and run your show right here.

Your Reading List

If you fancy playing the role of student for a change, you might be interested in joining The Podcraft Academy, too. In there we have courses, templates, downloadable checklists, and we run weekly live Q&A sessions so you'll always get the advice, support, answers, and feedback that you need.

What's next for me?

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Want more podcasting case studies?

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Getting kids into podcasting

I can't stress enough the value of exposing children as young as primary school age to podcasting. They learn so much through play and enjoyment which is the ultimate aim of any teaching."

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Podcasting in Education: What Are the Benefits?

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Learn how podcasting in education can increase accessibility and encourage engagement. We'll also help you get your own show up and running.

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References

20 Best Medical Education Podcasts. (2022). Retrieved from blog.feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/medical_education_podcasts/

Hurst, E. J. (2019). Podcasting in Medical Education and Health Care. Journal of Hospital Librarianship.

Juan Espinoza, Ritu Lakhtakia, Julliana Newman,, Andrew Liew, Jon Bowles, Steven Inglis, Kelly Soady. (2021). Podcasts for the Delivery of Medical Education and Remote Learning. National Library of medicine.

Nicolas Trad, Robert Corty, Dave Zohrob, Shreya Trivedi. (2022). How podcasts teach: A comprehensive analysis of the didactic methods of the top hundred medical podcasts. Medical Teacher.