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1. Brief Description: Radio broadcasts are distributed to individual radios over the air through broadcast towers, as well as on the internet. This method of distribution makes radio broadcasts suitable for reaching large areas, and large numbers of people.

2. Standards and Goals: (when, how and where to use for instructional meaningful connections, how would this be used in the real world) Radio broadcasts should be used to provide education in subjects which can be easily understood without needing to be seen. Learning how to paint, for example, would not be an appropriate use of radio. Learning to troubleshoot and repair a car, however, may be appropriate.

3. Application to types of learning:

     a. Cognitive objectives: (Prior knowledge, reading ability, vocabulary levels) The need for prior knowledge is limited to the ability to operate a radio or access a station online. No reading ability is necessary for radio broadcasts, and reading ability is not likely to be impacted by radio broadcasts.  Radio broadcasts should take care to use vocabulary which is easily understood by readers when possible, and to define words which are not commonly known, especially jargon specific to a given subject. Radio may be useful in teaching learners to recognize significant sounds to identify whether a device, machine or instrument is working properly, as well as to troubleshoot potential problems. Radio may also be used as language learning tool, improving learner’s ability to recognize the sounds of words and the rhythm of speaking in sentences and paragraphs.

     b. Psychomotor objectives: (interpretive movement, physical and perceptual abilities) There are no movement or physical requirements for learners using radio broadcasts, and instructors require only the ability to speak clearly, unless the use of music or some other, more involved sound is being used.  The ability to perform other actions while listening to a radio broadcast allows learners to practice tasks while listening, though it cannot be listened to at one’s own pace or individualized in the way that other audio formats may be. Learners must possess the perceptual ability to hear and interpret sound.

     c. Affective objectives:(senses, what attentive needs and abilities, value/emotion requirement, motivation to learn)
Radio broadcasts require learners to listen critically, as there is no option of repeating sections of the broadcast. They must be able to focus on understanding what they are hearing and be able to maintain their focus throughout the length of the lesson. Radio broadcasts can be used to improve focus, limit distractions, and promote calm, such as using music during tasks which require concentration.  Radio broadcasts may be used to induce a desired emotion through tone of voice, volume, rhythm, sound effects, music, or narrative story telling.

4. Strengths: 

• Very Accessible to learners
• Can be very stimulating and engaging.
• Essential for the vision impaired
• Great for learning of a second language.
• Ability to be used while engaged in another activity requiring visual attention, such as driving or cooking.
• Able to easily reach very large numbers of learners.
• Able to interact with learners through the use of live calls and email.

5. Limitations:

• Use of other’s material may lead to copyright violations.
• Can be easy to lose focus on the broadcast.
• Difficult to know what pace to use, as there is no opportunity for feedback during lesson.
• Limited opportunity to answer questions or rephrase to facilitate better understanding.
• Can be difficult to gain access to air time.
• Can be costly to produce compared to other audio formats.
• Lesson must be designed for a broad audience, making it impossible to focus on the needs of any one group in the audience.

6. Special Features/Creative ideas: Radio broadcasts can be focused on specific subjects with car maintenance, personal finance, and religious education being common topics. Radio has the unique ability among audio formats, of being able to interact with the audience through email and telephone calls.  Radio has even been used along with mailed materials to provide distance education. Radio broadcasts can also be used to model conversational rhythm and pronunciation for language learners, adding a layer of instruction that is difficult to replicate with text alone.

7. UDL/ Accessibility requirements:

Provide options for perception:

• Provide the same information through different modalities by providing a text transcript of audio presentations. This can be used for those with learning or hearing differences, or those that can’t easily take notes and listen at the same time.
• Translate into different languages if needed for English Language Learners

Provide options for self-regulation:

• Provide sufficient alternatives to support learners after the lesson to listen on their own with volume considerations (Ex. increased volume for those with hearing impairment), rate of speech options,  and comprehension needs

8. Technology Related Websites:

• TedTalks (with captioning and transcripts in various languages) – https://www.ted.com/topics 

9. References:

CAST (2018).  Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org