The Informal Mobile Podcasting And Learning Adaptations for Transition (IMAPAL4T) research project aimed to answer the questions: How can undergraduates' informal knowledge and experience captured and delivered through podcasts support transition into HE? Do students perceive that they benefit from podcasts and if so how?
Studies identify the critical importance of the first year for shaping students' attitudes and approaches to learning. Positive transition into HE has a direct impact on students' later learning experiences.
Most interventions to support transition from school to university are institution-driven such as courses on study skills. The knowledge and experience of students who have already made the transition have rarely been exploited. Such knowledge is considered to be 'hot knowledge' (Ball and Vincent 1998). Studies of students' preparation for HE report that potential applicants consider 'hot knowledge' to be more trustworthy than communication through 'official' sources (Hutchings 2003).
Podcasting can capture this 'hot knowledge' and make it available. IMPALA4T used podcasting to develop a new approach by tapping the knowledge and experience of current undergraduates.
IMPALA4T was built on the ten-factor design model developed during the IMPALA project (Salmon and Edirisingha 2008; impala.ac.uk) and is linked to the University of Leicester's GENIE (Genetics Education Networking for Innovation and Excellence) Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CETL) (le.ac.uk/genetics/genie/).
