Utilizing Podcast and Vlog Formats to Enhance the Learning Experience

The traditional atmospheric science classroom remains dominated by the use whiteboards and slide presentations. For years, outreach tools have been focused on websites and the occasional use of animation or video. New social media platforms provide excellent an opportunity to engage in both formal and outreach environments, but fall short when educating or informing on more complex or lengthy topics. Leveraging new communications platforms such as podcasts and vlogs provide a unique opportunity to engage, educate and inform in the age of an increasingly mobile learning environment. In the past 5 years, monthly podcast listener levels have grown to include roughly 25% of American adults. The podcast format is well suited to the communication of topics that are more complex or that require more time than is often available in traditional channels, whereas vlogging incorporates the benefit of adding a visual component but in a less rigid way than is found in professionally produced animations or recordings. These personal communication platforms encourage higher engagement while also providing an opportunity to explore more complex and lengthy topics that have traditionally been confined to lengthy printed texts and static graphics. The high participation levels in these platforms have the added benefit of greatly lowering the initial outlays needed to produce quality outputs as well as reducing time spent educating users on instructional platforms. Leveraging podcast and vlog formats in combination with social media platforms provides an excellent opportunity to enhance the learning experience in both traditional and outreach environments.