Podcasting: is it a technology for informal peer learning?

We describe a semester long pilot project in which a podcasting system was created to support informal peer learning in a problem based medical curriculum with so called Net Generation students. Students could create short podcasts that communicated their understanding, difficulties or opinions to their peers about the weekly clinical problem under investigation. Student activity was logged throughout and a focus group was held at the end of semester. About one quarter of the student cohort used the podcasting system but very few students created podcasts. Students were interested in listening as consumers of content and a small group visited the site weekly to check for updates. However, student engagement with the podcasting system required incentives. It seems that in the absence of quality content, the technology itself does not provide enough incentive to drive participation.