For older readers, the high school research paper meant taking an assigned topic and spending long after-school hours in the public library navigating the mysteries of card catalogs and the Dewey Decimal System, scanning the pages of thick books to find a relevant nuggets or two, compiling bibliographies and footnotes, followed by the arduous chore of putting all those elements together, typed and double-spaced, into some sort of coherent manuscript.
Over the past 25 years, much has changed, and the process of putting together a research paper is a lot less complicated in the age of the internet.
Nowhere is that likely to be more apparent than at Mississippi School for Math and Science where at least one traditional research paper has been replaced with podcasts.
According to the latest data, there are more than a million unique individual podcasts, with about 104 million American podcast listeners and 78 million podcast views. Podcasts advertising revenue exceeded $1 billion in 2021.
Still, research shows half of all Americans have never listened to or viewed a podcast.
A podcast is a digital audio file made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically. Think of it as radio-on-demand but for computers and mobile devices.
The subject matter available is endless, everything from politics to pop culture and every specialty interest imaginable.
Even The Dispatch has a podcast in the fall for Mississippi State football analysis.
The idea of converting the traditional research paper into a podcast came to MSMS English teacher Thomas Easterling two years ago as a work-around for the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s students were given a prompt — heroes and villains from their hometown — and set to work.
Some of the basic elements remain. Students must still research their subjects, provide citations and write a script. With the podcast format, students must do more than summarize facts; they must use sound editing software to mix their audio reports, adding ambient noise and music.
The purpose now is as it was for previous generations — telling a story, based on solid research in an informative and entertaining way.
But the biggest difference may be the MSMS students actually seem to enjoy the experience, which probably seems suspicious to older readers.
By embracing this new platform, the old “research paper” doesn’t have to be a tedious and dreaded undertaking.
That’s a good thing, we think. When learning is fun, the lessons learned stay with you and you are likely to embrace them.
Even more, the students are learning a practical 21st century skill.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
