Pros and Cons to Podcasting in Distance Learning

I'll start with the pros, since, in my opinion, they far out way the cons.
I have recently had a chance to podcast in my on line masters technology class. Hearing everybody's voice made the learning experience more intimate. I was able to connect better with my classmates and get a better idea of what they are like, giving more of a personal touch.

Podcasting also offers a clear understanding of tone and emphasis on feeling and comprehension. For example, if students are working on a group project and reading passages of a book via podcast are necessary, students struggling with meaning or sentence structure can hear how others interpret the passage and gain a better understanding of what was read.

Podcasting also allows for guest speakers, from remote locations, to engage the class in a lecture offering a richer educational experience.

A con to podcasting is the time and preparation involved. I am not one to be able to put my thoughts into a podcast without having to write them out and edit profusely. Therefore I am often doing double work. The editing process is more involved for me.

If you are a poor public speaker, creating a podcast can be a daunting task. Making sure you sound just right, you don't make too many mistakes reading, and you are able to articulate your words may be more challenging for some. (However, another pro is that you can do as many retakes as necessary to get it right).

Depending on the forum, specifically for me in my grad class, when we were to create a response via podcast, I didn't have the original posting in print to refer back to. I needed to take my own notes about the podcast to create a response back to the professor or colleague. This was somewhat tedious.

Podcasting in my e-learning experience has been great. I am enjoying learning new techniques in which to deliver my lessons to my middle school students. I have had a very positive experience and will continue to podcast in the future.