I have limited experience with podcasts. I have listened to them from time to time upon recommendation of a friend or colleague and generally, they were about a new trend or movement related to inclusion or disability; homelessness; or something related to social justice. AND THEN a friend sent a link to a really funny podcast, I have no idea what the title was, nor can I find the link; but it was funny! That was the first time I gave any thought to listening to a podcast for pure entertainment; I have missed so much. It is interesting to me, that I accessed podcast first for learning and later for entertainment and I was a little late to the game on that! Ordinarily, I am considered an early adopter, but not so on this! Podcasts began as entertainment and information in 2004. With the increased access to audio players, there was increased interest in exploring podcasts as a learning technology. Duke University was the first into the field in the United States; they gave iPods to new students and encouraged academic staff to explore learning and teaching applications of podcasting (Salmon, Edirisingha, Mobbs, Mobbs, & Dennett, 2008).
King (2011, in The Professor's Guide to Technology) opened my eyes to the vast possibilities of integrating podcasts into curriculum for adult learners. As I read, idea after idea occurred to me regarding adding to what we offer at KIT. I am sure our Director of Curriculum grows tired of my excited emails, messages and phone calls with "one more idea for..." I think we could use podcasts to supplement live and online learning events as well as for resources to share following consultation, or as part of coaching. Some of our learners may be able to apply the information more easily if they hear the response vs. read it. For visual learners, we need to consider how to supplement the recordings to maximize their learning potential. One big challenge could be creating videos with children and youth in their youth programs. Getting permission from the programs and from parents for any minors who appear in videos can be difficult. When you are considering children who are diagnosed with a disability or who engage in disruptive behavior you have to consider confidentiality and you want to be mindful of footage that could potentially be humiliating to a child/youth. The following are some of the uses of podcasts that I think we could use:
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ): Whether we are on-site observing children/youth in programs, or providers are calling the Inclusion Support Center for consultation to support a child/youth who is struggling in their program, there are many consistent, common areas of need. I think we could address the most common in a FAQ format and a podcast, whether it's audio with graphic support or video, would be much more dynamic than a written response. King and Cox (2009) suggest that auditory responses for FAQs often opens more opportunity for in-depth explanations and examples. I think a challenge would be figuring out how to catalog the podcasts on our website, linking it to our online learning center and keeping it up-to-date. Thankfully we have a top-notch digital team who can help us explore and overcome the challenge!
- Tutorials: We often make recommendations for supporting children and youth that may include visual supports, breaking down tasks, using conditional choices, etc. Our learners consistently list "add videos" to evaluations asking how we could improve modules. A podcast to demonstrate strategies could be very helpful. These could be role-played or animated scenarios with supporting text. The videos or links could also be included in written reports or recommendations, which are delivered electronically.
- Expert interviews: This could be such a strong tool! I think one really powerful use would be interviewing self-advocates (people with disabilities who speak for themselves) regarding policy, practices, and needs for creating truly inclusive communities. Also interviewing leaders in the fields of inclusion, child/youth development, positive behavioral supports, etc.
Oomen-Early, Bold & Gallien (2011, in The Professor's Guide to Technology) briefly address the need for designing an accessible online classroom. They focused on providing text for people who may have a hearing impairment and students whose native language is not English. They also address the requirement for real-time captioning to meet the needs of learners who are deaf.
There is so much more, to accessibility, such as being able to increase text size for people with visual impairments, compatibility with augmentative technology for people with mobility or other impairments, etc. Accessibility is a complex challenge that I believe will be ever-evolving.
I am excited to continue to explore podcasting and how to integrate it into our work at KIT. I believe podcasts can increase engagement with a wide variety of learners and give us more effective ways to "drive home" the messages. I think challenges for us as an organization will be figuring out which technologies will work best for and then implementing them. The Program Team creates curriculum and has so many ideas and desires for integrating technology, but we also have many other roles and responsibilities that can limit dedicated time toward this. The digital team includes graphic designers, marketing, and technology specialists who also get excited about integrating technology. The challenge is our services are vast and ever-evolving and sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day to put in adequate time to research new technologies, learn them and integrate them. Please don't misunderstand, we use a variety of technologies and offer high-quality curriculum and resources, but we strive to always be better and may not always be able to move forward as quickly as we would like to with new technologies! 
You can check out our Online Learning Center at Kids Included Together with a free 2-week trial.
References:
King, K. (2011). Podcasting. In K. King, & T. Cox, The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology (pp. 33-50). Information Age Publishing.
Oomen-Early, J., Bold, M., & Gallien, T. (2011). Using Online Asynchronous Audio Communication in Higher Education. In K. King, & T. Cox, The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology (pp. 51-65). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
Salmon, G., Edirisingha, P., Mobbs, M., Mobbs, R., & Dennett, C. (2008). How to Create Podcasts for Education. Berkshire, England: Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.
