Podcasting in Education: Student Attitudes, Behaviour and Self-Efficacy

The aim of the present study was to describe the characteristics of podcast users, compare uptake across courses, examine preferred modes of use and satisfaction, assess the impact of podcasts on lecture attendance, and evaluate reasons for use and non-use. Participants were 273 undergraduate students enrolled in six diverse courses at a large Australian university. Results suggested differences in uptake and satisfaction across courses, with later year students more satisfied than first year students. Although podcast users were older, worked longer hours in paid employment, and attended fewer lectures than those who did not use podcasts, results also suggest that users had more contact with staff and reported higher levels of academic self-efficacy than non-users. Suggestions for improvements to current podcasting provisions are offered and directions for future research are provided. In particular the need to tap into the use of podcasts for examination revision is highlighted.