Podcasting as a tool to take conservation education online

Abstract

Traditional forms of higher learning include teaching in the classroom on college campuses and in-person adult-focused public outreach events for non-students. Online college degree programs and public outreach platforms have been steadily emerging, and the COVID-19 pandemic has, at least temporarily, forced all related ecology and evolutionary biology programs to move to online delivery. Podcasting is a form of online mass communication that is rapidly gaining popularity and has the flexibility to be incorporated into the pedagogical toolbox for the online classroom and remote public outreach programming. Podcasting is also becoming more popular in the ecology and evolutionary biology field. Here, we describe the great potential of podcasting to transform the learning experience, present a case study of success from the United States, provide a table of podcast recommended by ecologist responding to a listserv, and provide a road map for adoption and utilization of podcasting for the future.