Online Podcasting: The Latest Communication Technology

Online podcasting seems to be the latest technology fad. But it is not just a fad, online podcasting is very popular and is being embraced by the educational community and used by large corporations, such as television networks to distribute audio and video recordings to the masses.

Podcasting In Education

The effect that podcasting has had on instructors and students is amazing. Classroom lessons and lectures can be recorded and distributed directly to students, broadcast in real time over the Internet, viewed by downloading or accessed with a browser as an online podcast. The availability of online podcasts allows for many more students than can fit in a single classroom to obtain classroom lessons for review either at a different time, in a different place or replayed as many times as necessary for enhanced comprehension.

Personal interviews, small group discussions and even science demonstrations can be accessed through online podcasting. Students can playback these podcast sessions at a more convenient place and time, making geographic location restrictions obsolete. The potential future of online podcasting technology in regards to education is endless. With minimal hardware and software requirements, students could be reached in every corner of the world enabling all people to get a quality education.

Podcasting In Business

Business applications for online podcasting are far reaching also. As corporations become worldwide conglomerates communication needs continue to grow. These reasons make podcasting another great way to reach colleagues, business partners, clients and employees around the globe.

The telephone is difficult because of time zones, one person is sleeping while the other is working, so using technology like email and podcasting is more efficient. Email is great but using podcasting technology means that groups of people can participate in either or both the recording and the playback. Visual props and examples can also be used during an online podcast, further clarifying specific topics. These online podcasts can then be stored for later use again and again as needed.

Employee instructions, guideline or benefit presentations can be distributed to many people at once or one at a time in an instant. Sending the podcast file or a link to the online podcast to employee email boxes can save a considerable amount of time and money.

Imagine the possibilities for marketing. Distributing recorded sales presentations to potential clients could be streamlined and customized. These podcasts make it easy for one client to share the presentation with another potential client, kind of like electronic word of mouth advertising.

Major television networks are starting to offer their most popular television shows in podcast format making them available for viewing on a personal computer, laptop or even a cell phone. This technology is promising to be even more widely used in the future as more and more people learn how to use it.