One of the consequences of the pandemic lockdown has been my increase in the number of podcasts I am listening to. Like an “audio”holic, I will listen to any podcast that crosses my path at least once, as I do think a diversity of content is important. To me, a good podcast is like eavesdropping on an intelligent conversation between two experts in their field.
When talking about podcasts in education, teachers tend to look focus on getting students to create their own podcasts. However, podcasts can prove to be a very effective and accessible form of professional development. The term podcast originated at the same time as the Apple iPod even though you did not need an iPod to listen to a podcast as numerous applications are now available to catch your podcasts. Podcasts have had two Golden Ages since they emerged in the mid-2000s and the current Golden Age does not seem to be ending anytime soon.
One of the great advantages of podcasts is the ability to multitask. You can easily walk the dog and listen to a discussion on the use of UDL in education. Podcasts allow you to tap into other global education networks like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America are all as accessible as easily as a podcast created down the road.
Podcasts are designed to be listened to whenever and wherever they can fit into daily routines. My favorite type of podcasts are short, 10 to 15-minute podcasts that can easily be listened to standing in a queue, for example. Most podcasts tend to hit 30 to 45 minutes in length. When you get to the stage of 60- or 90-minute-long podcast, most people tend to play podcasts at 1.5 or even 1.8 speed. As a Mayo man in exile, long car journeys home is perfect for the uber-long podcasts like TWIG or Hardcore History
With nearly 1,000,000 podcasts available today, there’s bound to be a podcast for you.
Some of my recommendations are
Education Podcast Network – several podcasts are collated into a single feed. They tend to cover a range of topics and are not specifically ed tech related.
Cult of Pedagogy – one of the most popular podcasts in education and covers a range of topics
Teaching in Higher Ed A podcast aimed at third level but has loads of good advice for other levels with a focus on digital pedagogoy, teaching, student and work/life balance
Teachers’ Educational Review Australian podcast that covers a wide range of topics
UDL in 15 min – short regular podcast focusing on interviews of practitioners of UDL.
Inside Ed Sean Delaney, a lecturer in Marino has hosted this podcast with a focus on Irish Education for nearly a decade.
Anseo.net podcast – Simon Lewis, a principal in Carlow hosts this regular podcast on a range of issues while wishing he was Minister for Education.