In a national first, Ufi, the company behind learndirect, the UK's largest eLearning network and Kineo, the leading rapid eLearning organisation, have pooled their knowledge and expertise in this effort. Called 'Podcasting Reviewed', the guide will help those new to the podcast concept to decide if it could be an effective learning tool. Most importantly, it will also give hints and tips on how to go about setting up, creating, and sharing a podcast.


Kirstie Donnelly, Director of Products and Marketing at Ufi/learndirect says, "Ufi/learndirect seeks to set new standards in the use of technology and learning to improve the experience for its customers. To that end, we're constantly exploring new technologies to identify and maximise the benefits for learning, which sometimes means taking risks and experimenting.


We're keen to share our insights and findings with the industry as a whole, as well as with our partners and stakeholders, to maximise on value and return so we can all learn and share experiences - hence this new set of discussion papers in partnership with Kineo.


This first paper shares our experience with podcasting and where we see benefits, but also acts as a toolkit to help others explore podcasting to benefit their learners.
We are really excited about the potential interest these discussion papers may generate and look forward to ongoing debates with colleagues in the learning field about what works best and why."


Stephen Walsh, Kineo partner, says, "We're delighted to be partnering with Ufi/learndirect on these practical guides. We feel they will be a valuable contribution to the understanding of new and emerging topics in eLearning, increasing knowledge and sharing best practice with suppliers and buyers of eLearning alike. We applaud Ufi/learndirect for sharing its insights to benefit the eLearning industry. Kineo has innovated in emerging areas such as podcasting and rapid development, so we're delighted to share our views and experiences in collaboration with Ufi/learndirect."


The guide has an accompanying podcast by Donald Clark, a Ufi Board member and an advocate of eLearning and technology, discussing the benefits of podcasting. 'Podcasting Reviewed' is the first in a series of guides and discussion papers through which Ufi/learndirect and Kineo will explore key issues in the eLearning world.


Topics of further 'how to' guides by Ufi/learndirect and Kineo currently in production include:

• Learner Support
• Rapid eLearning
• Personalisation.