21 April 2023
Educational project
Podcasting Lab: Experimenting with Auditory Ethnography
This project aims to provide Cultural Anthropology students with the knowledge and skills to make their own podcast episodes and series. This will be achieved by creating a course module that focuses on podcast making. The episodes generated via this course may be used as a starting point for the Cultural Anthropology Podcast Channel.
Background
Podcasts are increasingly used in academia, for research purposes, in education and as a tool of public outreach. There is growing research on how podcasts can be used in education, particularly as a means of engaging with students, and there is a prominent focus on the use of podcasting in language learning. In anthropology, podcasts can be a means for exploring multisensorial and multimedia ethnographic methods and for establishing “aural intimacy” with listeners. Podcasts can be used in a substitutional, supplementary, and creative manner and are often used within broader blended learning processes wherein they are used alongside other teaching tools. Advantages of podcasting in teaching have centered on the focus on listening, the time-shifting ability, and accessibility. Podcasts can be used in a substitutional, supplementary, and creative manner and are often used within broader blended learning processes wherein they are used alongside other teaching tools. Crucially, podcasts are also a means to disseminate academic knowledge, helping to build bridges between academia in society.
Project description
In this proposed project, we want to set up a course module whereby we explore podcasts as a medium of knowledge production, transfer, and exchange, and as an assessment tool whereby students develop crucial academic and professional skills. This course module is a form of blended learning whereby we will combine digital methods (such as knowledge clips, podcast listening, digital peer-feedback) and traditional instructor-led classroom activities (lectures and in-classroom discussions). In the module, we will use knowledge clips and digital peer-feedback mechanisms. In addition to a final assessment product, i.e., a podcast episode, students will also reflect on the creative and collaboration process in the form of an individual reflection report. To set up this module, we suggest the following plan:
- September 2022-September 2023: Development and creation of course module.
- September 2023-September 2024: Implementation and evaluation of course module.
The course will be evaluated through an evaluation form and in-depth interviews with several of the students.
Aims
The primary goal is to create a level 3 course module of 5 ECTS that focuses on podcast making. This course module has two interrelated components:
- Podcast listening as a form of knowledge dissemination and transfer: Students will become acquainted with several different types of formats, and learn how to critically listen, analyze, and evaluate such podcasts. In-class discussions will complement individual listening sessions.
- Podcast making as an academic product and assessment tool: Students will learn how to make their own podcast episodes, and in this way exercise a range of skills. Students will hone their research skills, work on developing an argument, excercise presenting skills, and lastly develop marketing and creative skills.
Results
The outcomes of this module will include:
- A course manual on podcast making with insights into using podcasts in academia as a learning and assessment tool.
- Approximatively 15-20 podcast episodes that can serve as an example for the University and could serve as the start of a Cultural Anthropology Podcast Channel.
- Assessment material and knowledge clips that can be used in other courses and programmes.
- Evaluation report of best practices that can be shared with other teaching staff.
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