Abstract:

Introduction:
Podcasts seem to be effective supplemental learning tools in various ways, e.g. by being flexible, convenient and support students’ self-directed learning. Yet, the usability of podcasts of long duration (i.e. over 30 minutes) in nurse education has not been well characterized. Here we present an evaluation of the utility of such podcasts.

Background:
Newly developed electronic rich media compendiums (E-compendiums) that cover all lectures in anatomy & physiology, microbiology and hygiene for nurse students were read by a professional voice and recorded, and the audio files were made available as podcasts on iTunesU. Each of the files used in this evaluation lasts between 30 and 103 minutes, covering the content of one E-compendium. From iTunesU our students had access to download the podcasts to their PCs or mobile devices. The podcasts were available both in audio only (mp3) and in an enhanced version including also the graphics of the compendiums, i.e. students using the enhanced podcasts on a device with a screen could also study the appurtenant illustrations while listening.

Method:
Over a five week period eight lectures were given in anatomy & physiology, microbiology and hygiene. The use of the corresponding eight podcasts on iTunesU were then evaluated by the use of an anonymous electronic questionnaire on our learning management system (It’s learning).

Results:
Of the potentially 213 students, 107 (50%) did participate by answering the questionnaire. Of the 107 participants 58% used the podcasts on an iPod / iPhone or other Apple devices. Over the five week period the students used 3.5 podcasts on average. However, only 2.5 podcasts on average were used in full length. When asked “to what extent the podcasts contribute to learning” (5-point Likert scoring, ranging from “highly” to “not at all”) 75% of the students said that podcasts contribute “highly” or “to some extent”, whereas only 7% reported that podcasts contribute only “little” or “not at all” to learning. Thus, a majority of the students consider podcasts of a long duration as a useful learning tool. When asked “when do you use the podcasts?” the results showed that most of the students used their podcasts during transport (51%) or just sitting down listening (51%). However, the podcasts were also used in other settings e.g. after going to bed (31%) and during housework (27%) confirming the flexibility of podcasts and showing that podcasts of a long duration are useful in various settings.

We also compared the use of podcasts with traditional learning activities. When asked “in respect to learning, what situations are the podcasts better for you” the results showed that 59% of the students reported that podcasts were better than independent task solving, and 61% of the students stated that podcasts were better than reading textbooks. This suggests that podcasts of a long duration are a good supplement or possibly a useful substitute to reading.

Conclusions:
This brief evaluation of a relatively few podcasts and a short time of usage clearly indicates that our podcasts of a long duration are useful and flexible supplemental learning tools. Importantly, the podcasts may also act as substitutes for independent task solving and reading of textbooks for a subset of the students. This latter is important and needs to be considered in our future development of didactic tools in higher education.