Evaluation of Podcasting Project at University of Washington

Here one I thought you’d be interested in. Rather than summarize, here are excerpts from an existing summary published at www.podcastingnews.com, by David Aldrich.

“The University of Washington has published UW Podcasting: Evaluation of Year One (PDF), a report on the University’s experiences with educational podcasting.

Key Findings:

• Most students (87%) listened to the podcasts on a computer rather than an MP3 player, indicating that mobility may not be the driving factor behind student use.
• The majority of instructors reported little or no prior exposure to podcasting. The automatic recording model allowed instructors to use this technology with no reported difficulties.
• Students and instructors both found podcasts to be useful tools for helping students catch up when they missed class.
• The availability of podcasts had no impact on most students’ attendance.

According to report author Cara Lane, “The UW is not only an early adopter of podcasting, but also a pioneer in early efforts to gather student data and evaluate the current use and future potential of this new educational technology.”