Teaching project "Coffee break podcast",
Prof. habil. Jürgen Karla

Challenge

How can students be introduced to digital communication media? How can these be practically integrated into e.g. a social media strategy? How can students be motivated to reflect on programme content and at the same time use it in the context of science communication?

Solution

My goal with the teaching innovation project can be concretized in several ways: I would like to instruct students of the module "Social Media" in the use of digital media and enable them to create them. The creation of podcasts by students is planned as a field of application. In these podcasts, graduates (and lecturers) will be interviewed about their theses, for example, and the results will be made visible. In addition, topics of university life are to be addressed, e.g. questions of higher education entrance qualifications, studying abroad and as a guest student in Germany, to name just a few examples. These will then also be used for science communication via the channels considered in the "Social Media" module.

Advantages

The produced podcast series is part of the overall examination performance in the module "Social Media".The students are given the opportunity to further develop their competencies and skills with digital media. Through the publication of the podcasts, information from the university and about our Degree programmes can be made available to pupils, other students and (local) businesses.

Details

Implementation of the teaching project in the module "Social Media" (compulsory optional course in the 5th semester of the Degree programmes Business Information Systems) with the learning outcomes:

• Students will be able to develop the conception (across project phases) of a podcast production.
• Students will be able to design an editorial plan for a podcast production incorporating a social media strategy.
• Students will apply knowledge of technology and pre-production, production, and post-production processes.

The students prepare the publication of the results (podcast episodes).

Teaching/learning education methods or digital media.

The teaching method was changed to a project-based method. I supported the learning pedagogically by withdrawing from the position of a frontal lecturer as a lecturer and by supporting the students as a coach. As digital media, the full range of digital audio-based media were made the subject matter - doing justice to podcasting.

Stumbling blocks

The upstream test run could still be carried out live in the lecture hall. Limitations due to pandemic conditions then led to a switch to online-based methods. The private technical equipment at the students is of course not at the highest level for the production of audio content (microphone, headphones, broadband internet connection, sound insulation). The university's inventory could not be provided. As an audio-based medium, speech is naturally a core component of a podcast. Not every student is naturally comparably articulate as a radio host - however, in the university context, this also brings an entirely intentional authenticity.

Recommendation

http://www.jkarla.de/lehre/podcasts-produzieren/

http://www.jkarla.de/lehre/podcast-gast-werden/

Links / Notes

Karla, J., 2020. coffee break podcast: experiences with production in teaching education and use in science communication. kommunikation@gesellschaft 21(2), pp. 1-13.

doi.org/10.15460/kommges.2020.21.2.633 (open access)

Karla, J., Hoffmann, S., 2019. podcasting in digital teaching education and science communication, in Barton, T., Müller, C., Seel, C. (Eds.), Hochschulen in Zeiten Der Digitalisierung. Springer Vieweg, Wiesbaden, pp. 173-182.

doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-26618-9_11

Coffee Break Podcast: www.jkarla.de/podcast