The Application of Mindmapping (the Case of Podcast)

Last week we discuss about podcasting in class.

When I was in China, I used podcasts which were recommended by my friends for a while, such as Himalaya (https://www.himalaya.com/cn) and Lizhi FM(https://www.lizhi.fm/). They are beneficial tools for us to use in instructional design, development and evaluation.

I used to listen to news about the economy and some stories before going to bed at night in Himalaya. It takes advantage of our fragmented time to learn. So based on this feature, we can create or find some learning materials for students to learn before class.

In the second experience, I taught elementary school students New Concept English as tutor in China. I used audios of texts provided on the platform to replace traditional CDs and tapes. Therefore, we can make full use of the podcast to enrich the teaching methods and content while teaching.

The third experience, when I was studying Korean at the university, the teacher asked me to read the text after class and share it with her. Because the social software such as WeChat has a limitation of the duration of voice messages, I created my own radio station on Lizhi FM. Then I recorded and shared it through this platform. It is an easy and available technique for presenting homework.

After reading last week's materials and according to my own experiences, we can summarize the following advantages and disadvantages of podcasts:

Advantages	Disadvantages
l  pick up missing information l  revisit complex material l  work through material at one's own pace l  catch up on a lecture that was missed l  examination revision l  save time	l  requirements for equipment and bandwidth l  limitations for those with hearing impairment l  no instant interaction, low participation for students l  higher requirements for teachers' ability of technology (radio production skills) l  higher requirements for students' learning autonomy

There is no doubt that podcasts can only be used as a complementary form of face-to-face teaching. Podcasts are much more appropriate for student's informal learning and cannot completely replace traditional teaching methods. Besides, podcasts have higher requirements for students' learning autonomy. For students with high self-efficacy, the above advantages can enhance their learning, while the advantages are not so obvious for students who are not motivated to learn. Therefore, effective evaluation and feedback are also very necessary. Teachers need to supervise students and interact with students by other ways.

When we think about something, mindmapping provides us an opportunity to analyze things clearly. Taking Podcast as an example, I made a simple mind map.

References:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/how-to-start-a-podcast/

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c5dd/a0851367ef6582fad42be08a2454ad9dd869.pdf