The Advantages of Radio Learning in School

Radio and communications is a career path that interests many young students. In order to give them an early start, it's best that radio learning take place in a classroom environment. In the past large amounts of equipment were necessary, but with the advent of Internet radio, teaching students how to create podcasts and how to be tech savvy is becoming easier on educators.

The major benefit of radio learning in school is that it teaches students a new and possibly job-related skill. What you learn in school often determines where you can work, and students with experience in working on smaller radio productions in an academic setting may find that their expertise is needed in the job market. Students who learn tech skills in the classroom may find that those same skills are in demand at a local radio station, or that their ability to cut sound bytes together may be needed for an opening at a recording studio.

The medium of radio may also help students (and even teachers) create better ways of learning. For instance, rather than simply giving a lecture in the classroom a teacher might record a short radio program which he could make available to students through the Internet. This way, students could refresh their memories at home while doing an assignment. For teaching history, students could put together historical dramas that might be much more memorable than dry text in their book detailing the numbers won and lost in World War II.

Working together in groups is one of the most essential skills that people need in the workplace. By encouraging students to put together radio pieces, students are challenged to work together to complete a project. In addition to learning how to cut sound and mix programs, students will learn how to divide responsibility and how to problem solve not only technical issues but also group dynamics. While students could learn this through writing a group paper, the medium of radio may prove more challenging as well as more fun.