Podcasting to engage industry in project-based learning

The value to teaching and learning of industry engagement in engineering education is difficult to dispute. Industry partners provide real-world cases which place in context the theoretical content conveyed by the instructor. Unfortunately, the time and effort required of the industry partner wishing to contribute projects and expertise to a learning programme make it challenging to bring this contribution to fruition. Podcasting offers an opportunity to facilitate this contribution and make it less resource-demanding. Multimedia podcasting content can accommodate the different ways in which students learn (e.g. VARK-video, Aural, Read/write and Kinesthetic sensory modalities for learning). Multimedia content also addresses the problem of student engagement. This paper describes a case study of an application of podcasting to a final year design module at Loughborough University. The students were assigned a master-planning project on which to work. An industry partner (i.e. the lead architect) was engaged to record an audio-visual session in which he gave an account of the key design considerations and the rationale for the master-planning project. Later, in a dedicated module lecture session, the audio-visual podcast was played. This was the first time the students were introduced to the master-planning project. The students were briefed about the scope of the podcast content in order to ensure that students clearly understood the context and purpose of the podcast. To further contextualise the podcast content, a real scenario directly relevant to the module’s intended learning outcomes (ILO’s) was selected. The design focus of the module meant that the podcasting project included the architect’s account of the design and development processes. The results show that most learning styles were accommodated. The students performed very well in the test and rated the podcast very highly in a questionnaire which solicited their subjective reaction to the experience. It is concluded that podcasts offer genuine value in terms of convenience for industry partners to contribute. The significant value of podcasts to the teaching and learning experience is in the improved engagement and motivation of students, accommodating most learning styles, facilitating self-paced learning and encouraging active participation and learning. Podcasting leverages and augments synergy between industry and academia bringing strong benefits to both.