Podcasts as Learner-Created Content in Higher Education

Using podcasts in higher education has caught more and more attention among educators and researchers, but there is still a strong need for research and academic publications to focus on certain issues, such as the role of the learners. Instead of lecturers (teachers, scientists, and experts), learners (students, trainees or pupils) produce a podcast with a specific content called learner-created content (LCC). This study aims to find out how students experienced the creating of content as learning material in the form of podcasts. The results are two-fold. First, using podcasts included four categories: (1) the development of meta-skills, (2) mobile learning, (3) support for content learning, and (4) facilitating student involvement. Second, the students saw podcasting as a study tool. The study proved authentic, internally and systemically valid and opened up logical generalizability. Some recommendations are given for a better educational use of podcasts in higher education. Seppo Tella University of Helsinki, Finland