Studying with Podcasts

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MS
MShttps://dittodigital.co.uk
The author spent the first part of her career working in IT and IT Project Management in the oil industry and investment banking on complex global projects involving the management of outsourced project teams. She now runs a digital marketing company with particular expertise in technical SEO and Content Marketing.

Studying for a professional business qualification using podcasts is becoming evermore popular. It’s an attractive alternative to traditional classroom courses that may be difficult to attend for a variety of reasons. And whilst there are many online training courses as another alternative, these require an internet connection and computer. There are often situations where you have neither of these. In fact, I wish that when I commuted into London by train and tube standing all the way, I could have made better use of my time keeping up with the latest techniques in project management.

But whilst podcasts certainly fill a gap in the arsenal of training tools, and provide an option for those unable to attend an instructor-led course, they do not necessarily provide a better or easier way of learning; particularly if you are studying for a serious professional qualification. However, if used to complement a traditional course or an online e-learning course, then they certainly are a very valuable tool in reaching your training objectives.

So if you are considering studying using podcasts then look out for those that are integrated with online or classroom modules and also provide written study guides or manuals.

 

There are, of course, a number of advantages to studying through podcasts:

  • You can study when and where you like; whilst travelling on trains or planes, whilst walking in the countryside or even while lying on the beach.
  • It’s a fun way to learn so it’s very motivating and effective.
  • It is less expensive than attending a traditional classroom-based course.
  • It’s available anywhere, which is particularly relevant if you don’t live close to a training centre.
  • There is access to the expertise of an instructor through email or community forums.

 

But there are also some disadvantages that you should consider:

  • It’s easy to just listen idly to the podcasts without actively studying the material.
  • You don’t have to engage with an instructor or other learners so there is no impetus to fully absorb the information.
  • You need an mp3 player! I wonder if there are any courses which offer the mp3 player for free as part of the course?

 

But overall, podcasts are an easy and exciting way to learn at your own pace and they are likely to become more and more popular and be more widely available.

 

 

 

 

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Project management has developed into a fully-fledged chartered profession since the granting of the Royal Charter in the UK to The Association for Project Management (APM) in 2017. Training courses for project managers were already available and highly popular to help people gain professional project management accreditation, but with this wider recognition of the profession it is now seen as a desirable career path for many. Whilst the APM has the coveted Royal Charter and continues to develop its APM PMQ (formerly the APMP) programmes, there are also other internationally recognised qualifications that continue to be highly regarded such as PMP and PRINCE2.

Organisations have become increasingly project-focused in this era of rapidly emerging new technologies and they value the expertise that comes with experienced and fully qualified project teams and managers. By investing in their project management capability businesses can be confident of delivering their new projects in time and on budget more often and more successfully. Many major corporation are now training their people to have the right project management qualifications as well as relevant experience, through internal Learning & Development (L&D) programmes; or by using external project management training providers.

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