Podcasting for training purposes

The topic I have chosen to research further is podcasting. Up until this class I was unfamiliar with all the possibilities that podcasting brings to the table and after the last session I realized this is a technology that I am letting pass by without looking to what it can do for me. After reading a few articles I decided to use the following, Just-in-Time Training by Elizabeth Agnvall and The Changing Face of Workplace Learning by Anders Gronstedt.

The piece by Agnvall speaks to the point of we have podcasting as a technology why not cash in on this idea and put it to good use within the organization. Oddly enough many companies have already started doing this in the form of training sessions. Agnvall goes on to state, “While experts agree that mobile training will never replace traditional face-to-face learning—just as e-learning has not replace classroom instruction—movile devices can be added to the toolkits of corporate training” (Agnvall 2006, p. 68). Agnvall believes the employees who benefit the most from this tool are mostly the sales force because they are always on the go and do not have the time to sit in front of a computer during the day or take time away from selling to go to an all day training session somewhere. Agnvall goes on to recognize the technology is evolving and video will be the next addition to the podcasts. Finally Agnvall states, “As the systems become more robust, people will be able to add more interactivity, the lessons will become longer, and [employees] will create courseware—These are going to be the standards for mobile learning” (Agnvall 2006, p. 71).

Gronstedt’s article speaks to a lot of the same aspects as Agnvall’s but adds how to determine what type of podcasting will work for different organizations and how to get your employees excited enough about it to welcome podcasting with open arms. Gronstedt believes the more entertaining the podcasts are the more employees will be attracted to them. Grondstedt goes through the steps of creating an effective podcast, entertainment, format, length and frequency, and turning over the control to the employees. Ben Edwards, IBM’s director of new media communications, says the following about entertainment in podcasts, “There’s definitely a premium on entertainment—we model programs on radio and TV formats, so our shows refect the reality of the media landscape outside of IBM” (Gronstedt 2007, p. 22). The length of a podcast is based on the type of message you are trying to send. Grondstedt suggests a sales training session should be no longer than 15 minutes and whiteboard “vod” (video podcast) be no longer than 5 minutes. The frequency also depends on the type of organization and where the organization houses the podcasts. For example a larger organization may have the capability of putting out more frequent podcasts were as a smaller company may not. Overall Gronstedt, like Agnvall, does not believe podcasts will take the place of training as we know it now but will be an extension and reinforcement.

After reading the two articles I decided the following for my thesis:

I am researching podcasting as a training technique within the work place because I would like to find out the success and adoption rate in order to understand how podcasting is evolving into an extension of training as it currently stands within the work place.

Podcasting, in this instance, is converging the typical style of training with the technology of video and radio to broadcast to many individuals either simultaneously or to archive for when an individual has the opportunity to listen to it or en some cases watch as well.

The two articles I briefly summarized earlier directly relates to my topic because they speak to how podcasting is currently being used within the organization and how it can be better used to effectively broadcast training for all employees to use. I believe this type of training would greatly improve an organizations training style but I need to research it further in order to understand it more thoroughly and find out the most effective way to do so.