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Bryantville Elementary School
29 Gurney Dr.
Pembroke, MA 02359
April 7, 2024
Dear Whomever it May Concern,
After conducting scholarly research, I believe that the use of podcasts should be
implemented into the school. Podcasts are a way to help engage and motivate students to
increase their learning. Before we dive into why podcasts should be implemented into the school,
I want to provide background knowledge on what podcasts are. Rime et al. (2022) states, “A
podcast is a piece of episodical, downloadable or streamable, primarily spoken audio content,
distributed via the internet, playable anywhere, at any time, produced by anyone who so wishes”
(p. 1270). There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts available via the internet. They are on a
variety of platforms such as Stature for Android apps, Apple podcasts, and Spotify. People make
podcasts for a variety of reasons. One reason being that they are interested in a specific topic.
Topics for podcasts include educational, comedy, fantasy, sports, news, etc. Another part that
makes podcasts so great is the fact that more times than not, they are free to download and listen
to. Because of this, you can listen to them at any time of the day and anywhere. They can be
listened to in the car, while working out, lying in bed, eating dinner, etc. No matter where you
are, you can be educating yourself on topics that interest you or simply because you want to learn
more about the topic.
Podcasts are best used when they have engaging content, such as using welcoming and
send-off phrases, introductory and closing music, consistency in content and schedule, and using
a “hook”. By using engaging practices like these, it gravitates listeners to continue listening to
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the podcast. Listeners remember the phrases and “hooks” that are used in podcasts. When people
listen to a podcast or any type of video, the first couple of minutes determine if they will
continue to listen or turn it off. This is why it is important to have welcoming phrases and
“hooks” at the beginning. If the beginning of a podcast is engaging, then people are more likely
to continue listening to it. Not only is the beginning important for podcasts, but the ending is also
equally important. Great podcasts have a satisfying ending. This is because people who listen to
podcasts want to finish on a high note. They want everything to be answered by the end of the
podcast. Just like reading a book and watching a movie, people want the ending to be just as a
good as the beginning. People want endings to be exciting and to help wrap everything together.
The beginnings and endings of podcasts are what engage listeners the most. Without them,
people would not be invested in listening to podcasts. Lastly, having a consistent schedule and
content help keep people listening to podcasts. Without consistency, people would not know
when to listen to podcasts. All of these engaging practices are the reasons why podcasts are so
successful.
Podcasts who use the engaging practices should be used in the educational setting
because they engage, motivate, and interact with students. Teachers can use podcasts to help
engage their students with different types of educational topics. Not only do podcasts engage
students, but they also keep students interested and wanting to know more. Podcasts are also a
great tool to use to help students improve their listening skills. After having students listen to a
podcast based on the content that they are learning, the students will want to continue learning
about it.
Listening to podcasts within the classroom is a great tool to use to help engage students,
but there is also another way to implement podcasts into the classroom. This other way is having
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the students create their own podcasts based on the content that they are learning in the
classroom. Besser et al. (2021) states, “Student-created podcasts have been shown to improve
reading, writing, and listening skills and promote student engagement and collaboration and lead
to gains in literacy development” (p. 750). By having students create their own podcasts, it helps
them dive deeper into the content that they are learning in various subjects. They can build a lot
of critical thinking skills when teachers implement podcasts into the classroom. Also, students
get excited about doing a project like this. It gets them motivated to learn the content that they
are currently working on. Besser et al. (2021) also states, “…podcasting aids students in learning
to use storytelling techniques that feature the importance of logical and coherent thinking…
incorporating either audio or video podcasts allows for a greater ability to personalize and
accommodate learners” (p. 750). Overall, either listening to podcasts or having the students
create their own podcasts helps to engage and motivate students to grow their learning skills.
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References
Besser, E. D., Blackwell, L. E., & Saenz, M. (2021). Engaging students through educational
podcasting: Three stories of implementation. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 27(3),
749–764. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-021-09503-8.
Rime, J., Pike, C., & Collins, T. (2022). What is a podcast? considering innovations in
podcasting through the six-tensions framework. Convergence: The International Journal of
Research into New Media Technologies, 28(5), 1260–1282.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565221104444.
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