Podcasting at Bath Spa University

The team have experimented with different types of assessment, using podcasting as the central practical element. Here you can find example assessment briefs, hear a selection of student submissions and read our reflections on the outcomes.

Assignments

Essay vs Podcast
L4 Podcast as Evaluation
L5 English: ‘Voices in Conversation’
L5 Everyday Media Making Projects & L5 Participatory Media
L5 Sports Podcasting
L6 Podcast as Calling Card

Essay vs Podcast

Students were asked which method of assessment they preferred. Here are their responses.

When you’re naturally quite a creative person, it makes it more fun and you get more out of it.

It gave me so much more creative freedom, I could really express the actual topic.

L4 Podcast as Evaluation

Listen to the produced podcasts here

Assessment brief

sample-brief-Digital-Content-Creation-L4

Staff reflection

I gave students a choice between a written reflection and a podcast.
The structure given is the same for the podcast and the written reflection with marking criteria split between grammar/spelling or production values.
The outcome is that only one or two students have decided to do the podcast.
I think they feel it’s more onerous as they still need to do the planning and research and they can write in their own time. Podcasting means being more organised to have time for post production
Think about how to adapt the assignment so that it’s more appealing (could also not give them a choice).
Simplify the structure
Fewer examples needed in terms of research – -so that more of the reflection is about their own learning and how it can help them in the future.
Production values – recording as a group? Or individual.
More use of the podcasting suite – preparation and working with someone to drive the desk could mean that you have a quicker output.
Plan or script?
Referencing reading and viewing.
Including examples from research interview/finished film
I will do a discussion for the module evaluation to get some ideas on what they think would make them more likely to do it.
One student said he already knows how to make podcasts and thought it more useful to be able to write the essay. One thought it was too much work.

L5 English: ‘Voices in Conversation’

Listen to the produced podcasts here

Assessment brief

‘Voices-in-Conversation-L5-English-module-assessment-brief-and-rubric-

Staff reflection

Summarise your ideas about podcasting when we started the group.

We were looking for ways of assessing students in a module that focused on speaking (conversational speech in particular), confidence, methodologies of conversing

Hoped it might give them confidence and valuable experience – demonstrating digital fluency, creativity, and communication skills

How have you been using podcasting with your students?

We used it for the second assignment (first was a group discussion). We introduced the technology in class (just using Audacity) and pointed students towards training online. We didn’t demand much sophistication – though many of the students were already using this tech and producing their own podcasts – so the standard was often quite high (by our standards!)

Faith: to add to Jenni’s point (above) – my students were the opposite – absolutely no experience of creating anything recorded, and most didn’t know how to use the recording function on their phones.

What training needs have the students had to accomplish this kind of assignment?

See above. Not much that was formalised – we ran out of time.

(Faith): my students managed fine, but found the process quite stressful (often this was because of the group element of the assessment, rather than the technology itself). Low attendance towards the end of the module – when the training took place – didn’t help either. Some students in English see ‘content’ as ‘set texts’.

What have been the results?

Often very good. Some students used it very thoughtfully and created work that was collaborative and interesting to listen to.

(Faith) My expectations were LOW, given the issues noted above. The outcome wasn’t as good as those created by Jenni’s groups – with the majority of mine delivering spoken versions of essay-like material (with alterations to tone and sense of audience). Having said that, students managed the task far better than I expected.

Reflection – what do you think it has allowed you to do with students which was not possible before?

I think we all got interested in different things. For me (JL) I was very interested in getting students to think of the question of audience, and how to communicate complex ideas and research to an audience in an interesting way. This isn’t something they think about very often and students really got hold of it. We discussed in class how to define an audience and orient your communication towards it. Work produced was often excellent.

Faith: in our subject (English) we see a lot of intelligent and hard-working students whose essays never reflect their abilities. These students flourished in an environment that allowed them to find a verbal form for their ideas, reading and research. Lots of them didn’t want to hear their own voices at the start of the exercise – that genuinely mortified them. They got over this, and that was great.

What went wrong?

Some groups felt very pressurised. Some expressed longing for an essay… Some groups collapsed and didn’t submit work (though not very many). Creating a viable and comparable resub has been difficult (as the podcast involved group work).

Inclusivity issues were far, far greater than we anticipated. We thought that we had foreseen most of the hurdles and built them into the assessment, but we had not. Conversations with colleagues in Wellbeing were part of this picture – not through any fault on their part, just different approaches and different student needs. The amount of staff time needed was far higher than on a conventional, individually-composed, essay-based module. Jenni had better results due to group dynamics BUT ALSO due to the amount of work she was prepared to put into supporting the students.

What has been the feedback on it? (If any).

Hardly any. I wonder if we could gather some – just about this aspect. What do you think Faith?

Anecdotally, some students really enjoyed it. Students did well overall – their marks were higher than average.

I (JL) thought it was really valuable.

How will you use this learning in the future?

I think next year I’ll try to make podcasting more of a part of every session – listening in class rather than just asking them to listen. I think using them as a resource, and analysing them will help students to engage more creatively with them, when they come to make their own.

I added it to an L5 S2 module (ie the following semester) as an option for a ‘presentation’ assessment, although only two students took that option up! I think the skills learned did filter through though.

What else do you have to add about your experiences of podcasting as reflection so far?

The marking was really enjoyable. Can’t think of when I last said that!

Because they were speaking rather than writing, students used their own language and forms of expression rather than faking a kind of academic language. This was great.

Like Jenni, I loved hearing their voices. There is something magical about it (perhaps this sounds odd to Media colleagues)… especially as my lot were so openly petrified to start with. I think it’s empowering for them, although I know they have a way to go.

What should we include in a podcasting website which shares our learning and some ‘how to’ approaches?

I think, from our students’ perspectives, not to get too hung up on the tech. Our students are unlikely to develop technical expertise. The lesson for us, really, was that you can jump in at a basic level quite easily. We hope students will engage more fully over time, but they don’t have to to get something out of it.

The need to consider audience. Who would listen and why?

(Faith) I would include some tech ‘how to’, in terms of how to use a phone to record, how to listen back, how to ‘warm up’, how to get over ‘cringe’ or ‘ick’ factor (preferred student word) when first hearing yourself, how to translate things you like about the work of others in your own production.

L5 Everyday Media Making Projects & L5 Participatory Media

Listen to the produced podcasts: Everyday Media Making | Participatory Media

Assessment brief

L5-Everyday-Media-Making-Project-brief

Assessment brief

Sample-brief-from-Participatory-Media-module-L5.docx

Staff reflection

Podcasting reflection on use of podcast in Participatory Media and Everyday Media Making modules.

Common set of questions to all staff in project

Summarise your ideas about podcasting when we started the group.
- Popular approach to supporting students articulacy.
- Apparently less painful than essay writing.
- Convivial but performative
- Low tech for Creative Media students and pretty straight forward for others
- Learning by doing
How have you been using podcasting with your students?
- Assignment and training
- Performative discussions
- Opening up questions of participation and access
What training needs have the students had to accomplish this kind of assignment?
- 2 workshops with Technical Demonstrator training support on demand

What have been the results?
- 2 L5 Participatory Media projects used podcasting with external participant involvement
- First formal assignment (2022-3), replacing an essay, generated 25 x 12 min podcasts with supporting documentation, see L5 Participatory Media brief
- 2 L5 Everyday Media Making independent project submissions presented podcasts along with websites
- Two years running following introductory workshops 2 groups of students have set up own independent podcast..both were still live at time of writing

Reflection – what do you think it has allowed you to do with students which was not possible before?
- Greater freedom and variety of register
- A tactic to get media students listening…my part of a response to the observation that you can always tell a student film by crap sound
- Student self reflection on participation and access easier
- A shared experience
- Practical work within my professional skillset and workshop time…instant media
What went wrong?
- Time management and all the other dog ate my homework stuff
- Equipment availability at intensive time, production bottlenecks
- Always needs more training and development time
What has been the feedback on it? (If any).
- Positive see above and interviews on this page
How will you use this learning in the future?
- This staff network
- Break the L5 Participatory Media assignment into two parts and get the running order/outline in a week ahead of podcast deadline
What else do you have to add about your experiences of podcasting as reflection so far?
- Good way to avoid formal essay writing whilst creating leverage for doing the thinking. Students have to really own the ideas and talk about it in their own language. Listen to student feedback above
What should we include in a podcasting website which shares our learning and some ‘how to’ approaches?
- Do it as a regular podcast in short 10 min chats…not a great long we have cracked it celebration!

L5 Sports Podcasting

Assessment brief

SPORTS_PODCASTING_ASS_BRIEF

L6 Podcast as Calling Card

Listen to the produced podcasts here

Assessment brief

CME6100-Folder-Brief-Personal-Project