Perfect Podcasts

I attended a Podcasting Special Interest Group last week (MEL SIG). One of the things which I took away from the event was that podcasts do not need to be perfect before being released to our learners.

I’m sure we’ve all been in a situation where we create a recording (audio only or a screencast) and worry about editing it to make it perfect. Obviously in certain situations we may need to do this, but there are also some (hidden) merits of releasing a ‘rough and ready’ recording to students.

From one of the presentations at the event, it was found that students preferred a non-polished recording as the surroundings/background was familiar to them. Also, because the recording wasn’t scripted, it was more authentic and real.

So, next time you think about creating a podcast or screencast and are put off by making it professional, don’t be!