X-ray of the sound universe in communication studies in Spain: podcast application in the classroom
Abstract
Introduction: the revolution of audio format is clearly demonstrated with the success of sound pro- ducts played through the podcast format and the appearance of new technological devices such as smart speakers. At this stage, this work focuses on how this situation is being transferred to classrooms and specifically to the studies of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication in a communicative rea- lity in constant transformation. Methodology: this research applies a multi methodological approach and qualitative and quantitative analysis, based on the collection of data from teaching guides of Jour- nalism and Audiovisual Communication studies in 20 Spanish universities and the analysis made by teachers on the phenomenon of podcasting and its use in classroom. Results: the analysis determines that study plans of these Degrees need a reformulation comprehensive of the rapid and revolutionary evolution of radio medium and its audio products. In this sense, podcast needs to be incorporated to teaching plans. Conclusions: main conclusions ratify results of this research, but show that despite its use podcast does not appear as a relevant format yet. There exists an explicit desire to make podcast an ally of the necessary transformation in classroom, due to the acceptance and increasing consumption of this format by students.
KEYWORDS: Journalism; Audiovisual Communication; Podcast; Radio; University; Spain.
Radiografía del universo sonoro en los estudios de comunicación en España: la aplicación del pódcast en el aula
RESUMEN
Introducción: la revolución del audio es un hecho que se constata actualmente con la expansión de productos sonoros a través del formato pódcast y la aparición de nuevos dispositivos tecnológicos como los altavoces inteligentes que incentivan su crecimiento. Ante este escenario, el trabajo se centra en cómo se está trasladando esta situación al aula y en concreto a los estudios de los Grados en Periodismo y Comunicación Audiovisual en una realidad comunicativa en constante transformación. Metodología: esteartículoaplica una investigaciónconenfoquemulti-metodológicoyanálisiscualitativoycuantitativo, basada en la recopilación de datos a través de las guías docentes de los estudios de Periodismo y de Comunicación Audiovisual de 20 universidades españolas y del aporte de docentes sobre el fenómeno del podcasting y su uso en el aula. Resultados: el análisis determina que los planes de estudio de los Grados estudiados de la muestra requieren de una reformulación que permita recoger la rápida revolucionaria evolución del medio radiofónico y sus productos de audio así como que el pódcast empieza a incorporarse en la planificación docente. Conclusiones: las principales conclusiones ratifican los resultados de la investigación y evidencian que el pódcast todavía no figura como formato relevante, a pesar de existir un uso no contado del mismo, pero se observa un deseo explícito por hacerlo aliado de la necesaria transformación en el aula dada su aceptación y un consumo cada vez mayor por parte del estudiantado.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Periodismo; Comunicación Audiovisual; Pódcast; Radio; Universidad; España.
This text is born within the framework of the Educational Innovation Project PIE 19-073 of the Universidad de Málaga (2019-2021).
How to cite this article / Standard reference
Olmedo Salar, S.; López Villafranca, P. & Muñoz, Cámara, E. (2022). X-ray of the sound universe in communication studies in Spain: podcast application in the classroom. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 80, 21-39. https://www.doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2022-1770
Translation by Paula González (Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela)
Keywords
Journalism, Audiovisual Communication, Podcast, Radio, University, Spain
Introduction
The radio field has been present as a relevant medium in the training offer of the Spanish Faculties of Communication Sciences, as well as television and the press, which have formed the triad of traditional media. In recent years, radio creation as well as listening and reception processes have been altered by technological reconversion, new modes of consumption, the expansion of mobile devices, and smart speakers (Herreros, 2004; Ortiz and López, 2013; Prata, 2008) (Herreros, 2004; Prata, 2008). For this reason, this work is based on the interest in knowing how the sound innovations of the radio and the podcast format are being transferred to the classroom in the studies of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication and what are the methodologies with which their use is being implemented.
From the first initiative to incorporate radio into the training of journalists, promoted by the Official School of Journalism of Madrid in 1954 (Legorburu, 2016) when it was included as an optional subject until our current moment in times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the radio universe has undergone a significant transformation. This process has not diminished the amazing power of audio and has given it the ability to make the listener see thanks to technological convergence and the possibilities offered by new reception devices. This enormous evolution requires a review in the translation to academic studies, at a time when the radio is facing a paradigm of permanent transformation and has ceased to have a monopoly on the creation and distribution of audio (Pérez, Valdés, & T, 2018).
Despite this current situation of uncertainty, the temporal and analytical course of radio teaching in the Spanish university has enjoyed a full insertion in the academic field, its consolidation in teaching and in the lines of research in the period of the Spanish Transition being fundamental (Legorburu, 2016). In the White Book of Communication Degree studies (2005) in the branch of Journalism, the radio was directly linked to the journalistic information editor profile, but also less intensely associated with the other three profiles, such as that of researcher, teacher, and communication consultant, editor or person in charge of the press or institutional communication, and portal manager and content editor. In Audiovisual Communication studies, it is also present for performance as an audiovisual director, audiovisual producer and manager, audiovisual script and production design, and visual and sound post-production.
The teaching of the sound and radio universe must be reconsidered in the face of a situation in which external factors come together, such as the emergence of the Internet, the conversion from the analogical to the digital era, the new mobile devices and forms of consumption, as well as the need to acquire new skills given the appearance of new professional profiles and the adaptations of the existing ones. Circumstances that require a different and more flexible education to adapt to a changing world, in a context in which training has evolved "towards the use of multiple communication media and practically unlimited personal experiences in space-time possibilities" facilitated by the technologies (Elías, 2021, p.198-199; Jiménez et al., 2014); although, this technological expansion indeed requires that attention be paid to implementing public policies that allow the incorporation of digital culture in education, that encourage student participation, and media literacy (Aparici and García, 2017).
Besides these necessary considerations, academia must not forget its duty to educate in a broad and full sense of the word, understood as a firm commitment to the theoretical foundations that radio communication entails, as defended by Costales and Badía (2018). These authors maintain that the devaluation of theoretical training in the field of radio communication increases when traditional models and methodologies have been exhausted in their teaching and, therefore, " fail to captivate the student in the same way that the possibility of being in a radio booth or in a studio with the technological components of these times" (Costales and Badía, 2018, p. 56). For all these reasons, it is necessary to promote the creation of teaching-learning environments that respond to the professional and academic challenges presented by contemporary society and in which radio continues to be a reference medium, which is demonstrating its permanence, versatility, and credibility (Pedrero and García-Lastra, 2019).
The educational podcast, implementation and challenges
One of the keys to the process of transforming the sound universe is the podcast (Pérez et al., 2018) and its rise as a new sound consumption format is unstoppable. In the US, 28% of the US population over the age of 12 was a podcast listener in 2021, growing 17% over the previous year, and 62% of those over the age of 12, representing 176 million people, consume weekly online audio according to the Study: The Infinite Dial 2021, conducted by Edison Research. In Spain, 51% of Spaniards already listen to podcasts and 61% of listeners confess that their consumption has increased due to the pandemic (Spotify, 2021). However, even though the format is obtaining a relevant position as a sound creation, backed by a great reception, its implementation in the educational sector does not accompany its social emergence. In fact, although the academic literature records the potential of the podcast in the educational field and experiences progressive incorporation into the pedagogical dynamics of the classroom (Pérez and Sánchez, 2014; Sanchís et al., 2021), in Spain the process of incorporation occurs more slowly than in other contexts, such as the North American one (Callavé, 2020). The need for extra time for teachers to make a podcast, as well as the weaknesses in the technical knowledge to make a production of a certain quality, could affect the more forceful incorporation of this format in teaching practices. However, the podcast is presented as a very favorable tool for its implementation in teaching processes, especially in the field of communication (Martín et al., 2021).
Today's students, especially the generations recognized as millennials, those born between 1982- 1991, are "mobile multitaskers" students, which places the podcast as a very suitable way of learning (Long & Edwards, 2010). However, to achieve a greater incidence in the educational commitment, the podcast must be framed in didactic planning so that it is linked to the objectives and competencies of the subjects offered (Solano and Sánchez, 2010). According to the proposal of Borges (2009), from a teaching point of view, there is a wide range of applications and open possibilities for podcasts in the classroom: master class or lecture-casting, indications for field work, explanations for laboratory work/ simulations, reinforcement or consolidation of specific content, basic or preparatory content, comments/ personalized information, extension/current content, and teaching and institutional promotion (Borges, 2009, p. 44-46).
These possibilities can be expanded with other paths of complementarity such as student contributions to the topics with individual or group work carried out in the format, becoming a "creative outlet" for students to communicate, share ideas, and even bring expert voices to the classroom (Armstrong, et al. 2009, p. 88).
Furthermore, the podcast promotes improvements in the oral and expressive capacity of the students themselves (Saussure-Figueroa, 2021), in fact, its use is highly recommended for learning second languages (O'Bannon et al., 2011; ; Sandoval, 2020) (Santiago & Bárcena, 2016). Specifically, in the field of communication and its application in subjects such as Communication Theory, it means taking into account its audience, transferring very specific content, and synthesizing complex theoretical ideas into pleasant narratives (Taylor & Blevins, 2020).
In the review of the literature on the educational podcast carried out by Celaya et al. (2020), it is pointed out that the most common uses are concentrated in the substitute and complementary categories to the lessons, leaving creative production relegated because it is more expensive.
The flexibility that the podcast provides in the teaching-learning process is one of the most positive aspects that strengthen the application of this resource, an advantage to which is added the possibility of experimentation and many students perceive it as a genuine improvement in the study environment (Heilesen, 2010). Thus,Salmon and Nie (2008) collect more virtues that podcasts offer in the educational field for students:
• The selection of the specific moment of study.
• The possibility of selecting where to study.
• The fact of being able to set a rhythm and a study sequence.
• The incorporation of more up-to-date material, enriched with contributions from other
colleagues.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the podcast has been a very useful tool that has allowed teaching sessions to continue, creating a close bond by listening to the voices of the trainers themselves who presented the topics in detail (Wake, Fox, & Strong, 2020). Its value has been increased by being a valuable tool for online or mixed learning (face-to-face and virtual), as is the situation that is being experienced in the pandemic in educational environments, thanks to its ability to adapt and whose use motivates student learning (Lewis & Francis, 2020).
There have been three fundamental factors for the arrival of the podcast in the classroom and for it to experience growth, such as "the significant penetration of the Internet, the ease of access to software for the creation and digital editing of audio and video files, and the growing implementation of mobile devices suitable for the consumption of sound files” (Piñeiro-Otero, 2012, p. 2).
Furthermore, another component that has facilitated its introduction in the educational field is its regular use by university students. In most cases, they can download them to listen to them, record them, and use platforms or create pages to spread them (Solano and Sánchez, 2010).
Likewise, the proliferation of smart speakers would come to favor the sound universe. Converting these connected speakers into a new radio or music player in the home may be a trend, taking advantage of their ease of use for audio playing (Vacas, 2019, p. 309). Therefore, the circumstances are given for the podcast to penetrate classrooms in a relevant way and position itself as a daily tool in teaching-learning processes.
Objectives
This work has the following main objectives:
1. X-ray the subjects related to radio in the Degrees in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication in twenty Spanish universities, identifying the incorporation of the podcast in the study plans as a format and tool for classroom dynamics.
2. Know the use of the podcast by the teaching staff through the case study of the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Universidad de Málaga.
As secondary objectives, the following are proposed:
1. Determine the procedures and methodologies of innovation in the context of radio subjects and how the podcast is applied.
2. Know the axes of content that structure the subjects related to radio and sound innovations.
3. Check if the podcast is a widespread tool in teaching praxis.
Methodology
In this work, a combined methodology with a mixed approach based on content analysis and survey is applied. Following the proposal by Sánchez (2013), an analysis table is proposed with four comparative lines that are based on the study by B Barranquero and Redondo (2009): thematic axis, the character of the subject, type of subject, and continuity relationship. In this way, with the informative crossing, quantifiable data are obtained that allow knowing several aspects of the current study plans: the predominance of specific subjects of Journalism and Communication or general training; its practical or theoretical character; the differentiation between compulsory, core, and basic training subjects; the suppression of subjects or the incorporation of new ones related to new technologies, and, additionally, the variable of the applied methodology is incorporated.
Process:
- Analysis of the radio subjects of the Degrees in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication of 20 Spanish universities, public and private (ANECA): 36 subjects of Journalism and 43 of Audiovisual Communication, of the programming corresponding to the 2019/2020 academic year. Their choice has been determined by the longest time trajectory of each of the educational centers. Contents, methodologies, and contributions of innovation are analyzed, considering those subjects in which reference is made to the radio, the radio field, sound, and narration.
-Procedure for reviewing websites and teaching guides.
Table 1. Sample of universities with a Degree in Journalism
Source: Own elaboration (2021)
Table 2. Sample of universities with a Degree in Audiovisual Communication
Source: Own elaboration (2021)
Formal variables:
-Teaching course.
-Nature of the subject: Compulsory, Basic Training, or Optional (Sánchez, 2013).
-Variables of content in Journalism: Radio genres, formats, history, techniques and writing, speech, radio company, audience.
-Content variables in Audiovisual Communication: Radio genres, formats, direction and production techniques, writing and oral techniques, radio workshop, speech, radio company, language, and narratives.
-Use of the podcast: Yes/No.
-Explanation of the use of the podcast: theoretical/practical. Methodological variables:
-Methodological approaches: flipped classroom, case methodology, problem-based learning, gamification, cooperative learning, others.
-Identification of theoretical part and practical part.
On the other hand, a questionnaire addressed to the teachers of the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Universidad de Málaga has been applied as a case study composed of 17 questions and has, besides a fixed and structured part, another of open questions for knowing in-depth the reasons for the use of the podcast. The tool for collecting the information has been the Google Forms app since it has been carried out during a pandemic situation throughout the months of March-June 2020.
The questionnaire addressed to teachers has two fundamental parts. The first part focuses on a series of general questions (gender, age, the educational level at which you teach...) and also includes questions to find out about the habits of radio and podcast consumption by teachers.
The second part is the one that collects the largest number of open questions and seeks to know qualitatively the position on the use of the podcast in the University with questions such as the advantages/disadvantages of its use or why they use or not the podcast in the development of their classes.
The total number of teachers that make up the population for the teacher questionnaire, centered on the Faculty of Communication Sciences of Malaga, amounts to 110. The breakdown by the department is as follows:
• Department of Journalism (41 teachers)
• Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising (69 teachers)
The teaching staff is divided into two types: exclusively Bachelor's Degree teaching, or Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree teaching. 56.2% of the responses exclusively make up the Bachelor's Degree faculty, and 43.8% are Bachelor's and Master's Degree faculty. No response from exclusive Master's teaching staff has been collected.
Regarding gender, there is a predominance of females (58.9%) over males (41.1%) in the responses. The age group with the highest number of responses is that of people over 45 years of age, with 52.1%. Next comes the age group between 41 and 45 years old (13.7%), the age group between 36 and 40 years old (12.3%), and the age groups between 30 and 35 years old and under 30 years old, both with 11%. The representative sample of the questionnaire addressed to teachers is 86 people, with a trust level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%.
Results
Results of the teaching guides
The analysis of the guides of the Degrees in Journalism shows that radio subjects appear mostly as a compulsory subject (81%), giving them core importance in the training of students in the field of knowledge, while the electives (16% ) are usually linked to speech subjects and in a testimonial way to Basic Training (3%), taking on a more complementary vision. These results also correlate with the courses, since the third courses are those that gather a greater concentration of subjects (39%), as well as the second (33%), affecting this distribution in the same way to public universities and private. The first and fourth courses usually include speech and introductory subjects in the radio field (14% in both cases).
The content axis of radio techniques and writing is the one with the greatest representation (38%), followed by radio genres (18%) and speech (18%), while approaches aimed at formats (8%), history (7%) as well as the audience (7%), the radio company (2%), and direction and production techniques (2%) have less representation. Therefore, there is a greater emphasis on the promotion of linguistic, grammatical, and structural skills, than those focused on planning and management of the environment or knowledge of its future.
Concerning the study of the audience, with a representation of 7%, there is incorporation in the teaching programs linked to the audience as an active and analytical element through the General Media Study (EGM by its acronym in Spanish).
Source: Own elaboration (2021)
Regarding the Degrees in Audiovisual Communication, a large part of the subjects related to radio are compulsory, as is the case in Journalism, however, they are less representative (74.4%). This fact causes the elective subjects to experience a slight increase (25.6%). Regarding the distribution by courses, a similar scenario to that of Journalism is identified, with the third year (32%) being the course that brings together the largest number of subjects, followed by the second (26%), first (19%), and fourth (14%). 9% corresponds to electives without enrollment in a course, but which are offered for the second cycle, which is the third and fourth courses.
Although in Journalism the content axis of techniques and radio writing is the one that has the greatest representativeness, with little presence of the direction and production approach, in Audiovisual Communication the reverse occurs. In this Degree, the technical content is particularly relevant, accounting for 41%, which is far from the rest of the content related to radio, with sound generically being the second most present with 14%, followed by 12% by writing and oral techniques as well as language and new narratives.
Subjects related to formats obtain a representation of 7% while the rest of the content has a more testimonial presence: Genre and speech (5%), radio company (2%), and radio workshop (2%). Therefore, the content leadership is evident with a technical axis around the radio medium and its implementation, highlighting the existence of a wide range of content.
In general, in the methodological query, there is a substitution or equivalence of the word methodology for "directed actions" or "training activities". This formula seems to make it closer to classroom practice, specifying the teaching proposals in more specific ways. Although it is true that remaining in the list of activities, does not allow us to see the most comprehensive approach to the process.
In 100% of the subjects, the existence of master classes and individual or group practices is indicated. In the 36 subjects of the Degree in Journalism, general information is provided on the dynamics of practical and theoretical content. However, only in 8 subjects are the methodological procedures applied in the classroom specified in more detail: the case method (40%), the flipped classroom (20%), problem- based learning (20%), cooperative learning (10%), and gamification (10%).
In the case of the Degrees in Audiovisual Communication, the explanations around the methodological issues are extended more extensively. Of the 43 subjects, 26 specifically incorporate methodologies applied to the classroom, which represents 60.5% of the total. Of the exposed dynamics, project-based learning is indicated in 8 subjects (30.8%) and role-playing in 18 (69.2%).
In both analyses, weakened information on the teaching-learning processes is revealed as the methodologies in the subjects are not specified. At the same time, this action subtracts the possibility of giving value to the applied procedures and goes directly to the criteria and evaluation elements.
Regarding the incorporation of the podcast in the Degrees in Journalism, only in 7 subjects does the podcast appear explicitly, which represents 19% of the total. In 43% of cases, the podcast has an application intended for both practical and theoretical content, such as in the subject of Genres and Radio Programs at the Universidad de Navarra and Radio Journalism at the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. On the other hand, as a didactic resource, it appears in the subjects of Informative Radio and Speech Techniques at the Universidad Carlos III and Radio Journalism at the Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes (28.5%). With a practical approach (28.5%), it is included in the Radio Theory and Technique courses at the Universidad Cardenal Herrera Oria (CEU) in Valencia and Radio Communication at the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca.
Table 3. Incorporation of the podcast-Journalism
|
Focus |
Representation |
|---|---|
|
As theoretical and practical content |
43% |
|
As practical |
28% |
|
As a didactic and/or referential resource |
28,5% |
Source: Own elaboration
Besides the analysis of the teaching guides, it is interesting to point out the cross-cutting approach recorded by the documentary review carried out, which expands the possibilities and serves as inspiration. In this sense, the proposal made on the subject of Genres and radio programs at the Universidad de Navarra stands out, in combination with the subject of Genres and edition of newspapers and magazines. This synergy proposes a journalistic research project on a relevant monographic topic, which consists of the design, production, and preparation of a 32-page journalistic supplement and a 5-episode podcast series.
On the other hand, in the Radio Theory and Technique course at the Universidad Cardenal Herrera Valencia, the podcast appears linked to the Educational Innovation Project: Creation and dissemination of transmedia content: A proposal for integration from the Communication degrees based on women's sports, in which there is the possibility that the practices form part of a university podcast file on the Soundcloud platform and the visibilitas.com website.
Another aspect is its use as an Open Source, forming part of the available and complementary material, as is the case of the Informative Radio material of the Universidad Carlos III.
In the Degrees of Audiovisual Communication, the podcast appears in 10 of the 43 subjects, and in all the teaching guides the podcast is incorporated both in the part of the theory taught and in practice, except in the matter of Radio Language of the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, which only appears applied to practical teaching.
On the other hand, it is necessary to point out that web hosting as well as the link with the platforms are also present in the programs and, for example, in the case of the Audiovisual Communication Degree of the Universidad de Extremadura, more than 60 students have participated in the creation of the SaveSound podcast platform, born within the framework of the Radio Production course.
Regarding the trends in the analysis as a whole, the incorporation of new terminologies in the explanations of radio subjects can be observed, such as “crossradio”, “transradio”, “transmedia”, and “visual radio”. Furthermore, allusions to the fiction format and dramatizations appear both in the preparation of scripts and in the speech or group works as proposed in Radio Formats of the Degree in Audiovisual Communication of the Universidad de Málaga. It even becomes important as a subject, as is the case of Radio Drama at the Universidad de Salamanca. It is also worth noting the openness to proposals for creativity and sound experimentation proposed by the Radio Production course at the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, incorporating sound art through Soundscape.
Additionally, it should be noted that continuity of teachers is observed when there are two or more subjects related to radio in consecutive courses, an aspect that could be considered positive for the monitoring and planning of contents.
Teacher questionnaire results
This part of the research intended to offer a case x-ray of the application of the podcast in the classroom in the branch of communication.
From the start, it was considered interesting to know about the consumption of radio and podcasts in daily life by teachers, to later ask about their use in teaching practice. In this direction, 61.6% of teachers consume live radio to a greater extent. The next option with the highest number of responses is that of all the options equally (live radio, deferred radio, and podcast). For their part, 9.6% listen to podcasts to a greater extent, 8.2% prefer pre-recorded radio, and 5.5% do not consume any of the options regularly.
The data shows that there is still no predominant consumption of podcasts over traditional radio by teachers. This may be related to the predominant age group in the research since teachers over 45 years of age are more used to listening to live radio and spend less time consuming podcasts.
38.4% listen to the radio or podcast every day, while 21.9% listen four or five days a week. 26% do so two or three days a week, and 6.8% consume it only on weekends.
The types of content that are consumed to a greater extent, whether in traditional radio or podcasts, are news (72.2%) and music (62.5%). Culture is in third place with 29.2%, followed by magazines (20.8%). In this question, a maximum of three options could be chosen. Subsequently and in this order, other contents are placed, such as politics (16.7%), sports (15.3%), humor (12.5%), science (9.7%), video games (1.4%), and religion (1.4%).
Source: Own elaboration (2021)
The second part of the questions, which includes a greater number of open questions, pursues the objective of knowing qualitatively the opinions of the teaching staff about the use of the podcast at the university.
The main question aimed at knowing the usefulness of the podcast as an educational tool at the university for teachers shows that for 15.1% of teachers it has a very high utility while for 43.8% it is high and regular for 32 .9%. Only 6.8% consider that it has little utility and 1.4% that it has no utility. Since the vast majority of responses are between a medium utility and a very high utility, the results allow us to see a widespread opinion favorable to the implementation of the resource in the teaching practice at the university.
Another of the questions raised was whether they believed that the podcast could complement the explanation of the teacher. In this case, 76.7% maintain that the podcast can have this function as a complement to the teacher's main explanation, while 21.9% consider that "maybe", and 1.4% affirm that "no". Therefore, there is a general tendency to consider the podcast as a complementary tool for teaching praxis.
Asked about the positive impact that the use of the podcast could have on students, 8.6% of those surveyed chose a very high positive impact, 46.6% a high positive impact, 37% a medium positive impact, while that 8.2% placed it in a low positive impact. The null positive impact elicited no response. In this way, 91.8% of the answers range from a medium positive impact to a very high positive impact. Regarding the explanation about the impact on the use of the podcast raised in the previous question, the answers have been very varied with a predominance of opinions favorable to the positive impact on the student body. Among the reasons offered, the following stand out:
• “Students can access the content at different times, paying more attention as it is a sound content”.
• “They serve to illustrate through examples topics explained in class, they can improve the student's motivation and oral expression”.
• “They encourage participation and offer a modern, close tool with ample possibilities”.
• “If they are not excessively long and are well done, podcasts can entertainingly provide knowledge
and help to better retain content”.
• “They encourage students to have a critical and open attitude, and allow them to move away from the typical presentations that are usually used in class”.
The main negative aspect that teachers mention for the podcast is the lack of visual content. This is a topic previously pointed out in this research, and it is that more and more podcasts are accompanied by images or videos to liven up the content, giving rise to those known as video podcasts or vodcasts. Due to the large number of teachers who point out the need to include visual content so that students pay attention, it is a factor to take into account in future sound creations.
Concerning the question “Do you think that virtual teaching can favor the use of tools such as the podcast?”, 87.7% of those surveyed answered “yes”, 9.6% “I don't know/I don't answer”, and 2.7% “no”. In the daily use of the tool, only 1% of teachers use the podcast daily in their classes, 8% use it often, 36% have used it at some time, and 55% have never used it. In this regard, it is clear that a large percentage of teachers have never used this resource in their classes, despite a very positive assessment of the format.
Among the most common uses of the podcast applied by teachers, who claim to be consumers of the format, it stands out to use to illustrate some explanation; expand topics; as complementary material of some theme; broadcast interviews of relevant people in the area; introduce topics; summarize blocks, and offer expert discussions. Moreover, other teachers point out that the podcast allows the flipped classroom methodology to be used or to reinforce the material seen in class. Some have produced a podcast with positive results, such as practical assignments on radio subjects.
Teachers who say they do not often use the podcast in their classes, give various reasons such as the following:
• “The contents of some subjects do not favor its use.”.
• “I only prefer live content”.
• “I have a lack of technical knowledge and it takes a lot of time to develop it”.
• “My subjects require more visual than oral support”.
A large number of teachers who do not use it in class mention that, although they have not yet had the need or the opportunity to use it, it is a resource that they do not rule out for the future. Regarding this last point, 34.3% of those surveyed who have never used the podcast affirm that they have considered it. A large number of teachers who do not use it in class mention that, although they have not yet had the need or the opportunity to use it, it is a resource that they do not rule out for the future. Regarding this last point, 34.3% of those surveyed who have never used the podcast affirm that they have considered it. The type of activity in which the podcast is developed in class is also relevant. 23.1% assure that they use it in theoretical classes, and that same percentage is registered in practical classes. 17.3% maintain that they use it in both cases. Therefore, a potential trend is glimpsed in its future application in the face of a manifested and favorable predisposition for its use.
In the section on advantages of the use of podcasts at the university level, teachers point out the following:
• “It is a material that can liven up and break with the master class together with other teaching resources”.
• “Promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and meaningful learning”.
• “It reinforces the content taught in class and improves oral and linguistic skills”.
• “It favors the creation of practical exercises for students without the need for great technical requirements”.
• “It is one more option for presentations and explanations of complex theoretical issues. It's easy to use. You can complete it collectively. It encourages participation.”.
• “It can be close to the students, it is a communicative vehicle of our time to which they are in a certain way more accustomed perhaps than to traditional radio. It is convenient to provide it through a link without looking for anything else, the offer is very wide and varied”.
• “The advantages are many, confirmed by the students themselves who have obtained better results in the subject”.
• “It is an asynchronous model (students access the content at the most suitable moment for them)”.
• “You don't limit the content to a simple explanation in class and it serves as content reinforcement. It helps to escape from the monotony of classes. It allows students and teachers to expand their knowledge with an enjoyable and flexible content/format”.
• “First-person testimonials and from experts can make the message more effective. The podcast format can also make the teaching-learning process more attractive and effective”.
• “The maturity of the students allows learning to become a process of discoveries and not a finished and untouchable final product. Students can consult the content at any time and situation and from their mobile”.
• “It can help students learn to develop podcasts, something that I think can be very enriching. Or as a communication channel from teachers to students”. For their part, teachers also point to certain disadvantages:
• “If they are not attractive or offer useful content, it can be difficult for students to use it”.
• “The disconnection with the teacher is accentuated. I could only understand it for theoretical subjects, stories... or specific to radio”.
• “The overuse and ignorance of the podcast as a tool”.
• “In class, you can't listen to one too long, I think they would lose their attention. In the same class, you should use a shorter one or an excerpt and, more than anything else, ask them to listen to it on their own outside of class for longer ones or for those that are several chapters. It would imply an individual work of autonomy and responsibility of the students”.
• “The lack of time or preparation of the teaching staff”.
• “It may be that by not having an image and something with which to follow the audio explanations, it diverts the attention of the students and is not attractive enough”.
• “Perhaps it is asking too much in the free time of the students”.
Therefore, the lack of the visual factor, the necessary training for carrying it out, and limiting its use to only a complementary function are the aspects that would weaken its application in the classroom. Below are some final considerations provided by the teaching staff who participated in the survey on the use of the podcast at the university and which reveal reflections and nods that the teaching staff makes around this tool.
One of the teachers highlights the versatile nature of the podcast by enhancing the abilities of the student body:
University students can apply their theoretical knowledge to the process of making a podcast, creating their own original content that serves as a sample of learning and is directly evaluable. It encourages the development of key skills such as learning to learn, social and civic competence, linguistic competence, mathematical competence, or cultural and artistic competence.
Others express their first steps in its application, and are already getting positive results: “I have started to use it as a project that the students must carry out in the practical work part of the subject and the results are being satisfactory”. And they even propose it for their teaching practice after responding to this questionnaire, noting that "I had never considered it as a teaching material or resource, we are so immersed in teaching and research tasks, family conciliation... that it is difficult to find other new materials" and sentence: "after this questionnaire, I consider it as something to take into account".
Conclusions
This work makes it possible to ensure that the University is not oblivious to the audio revolution, which is reaching the classroom, but those subjects explicitly collected from the radio are not yet reflecting it in their teaching guides. It would be advisable to make a firm commitment to improving the subject guides, making them more attractive to students. These guides are the document that collects the formal gaze, but it would be positive to subtract certain parameters of formality to convey them towards greater proximity to the student body.
In the methodology, an approach is produced aimed at showing the practices that the subject contains or making a very brief summary about the distribution of theory and practice. The potential to expose dynamic and innovative methodologies that will probably be done and are not counted is not taken advantage of, therefore, "what is not counted, does not exist" and that is what is happening with many interesting teaching practices that are carried out, but are hidden in the standard models of the guides. For this reason, a specific section of tools and dynamics of educational innovation could be incorporated into the teaching guides themselves and make them more visual and suggestive so that it is a presentation with the added value of the subject itself.
Despite the circumstances described, the podcast is gaining a place in the Degrees in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication, but it is not having a development that allows it to extend its potential and its incorporation is being paused. A reflection of this circumstance is its low employment in the classroom, as observed through the teacher survey. Although the conviction of its potential as a tool of interest to teachers in the field of Communication Sciences stands out, it would be necessary to provide measures to solve the weaknesses manifested, which is, for example, the updated technical skills of teachers to make and edit a podcast. For this reason, it is interesting and recommendable that the training and innovation services of the university teaching staff include in their offer courses that are oriented towards the creation of podcasts, thereby facilitating the acquisition of skills for carrying them out. Another issue to take into account for its application in the classroom and highlighted by the research is the possibility of incorporating the visual dimension to the podcast, the so-called vodcast, to increase its attractiveness. Therefore, this format would be susceptible to analysis in future research to determine if the visual accompaniment implies a greater acceptance compared to the exclusively sound one.
Furthermore, this work shows how transversality is wasted in the programming of titles, despite the correlations of radio subjects and their link with television and other audiovisual fields in many of the subjects. This is an issue that all teaching programs suffer from, and it would be necessary to rethink in the face of future changes in the programs themselves and future study plans.