Intro Podasting

Podcasting is one of the fastest growing technologies.
No surprise then that China is the world’s biggest podcast market with a 74 % user rate(estimated 45 million users).
In the US only 23 million people use Podcasting (18%).

So what is podcast/ing and what makes it so fascinating? Podcasting is like broadcasting with the advantage that you don't have to wait for a program or music you like, just go online search for what you like and voila' you can download and listen to it right away. If You like to hear more from this podcaster he will give you the option to "subscribe" (via RSS or direct link) to her or his program. Podcasts can be used in many ways:

You can use it to learn ,teach yourself different skills or just simple entertainment.

Step 1. How to find what you're looking for.

First we all know Google but there are more helpful tools around. For your PC you can use Doppler or ipodder. Doppler 1.3 is an even smaller application that you can use directly on you IPod.
For now I will use ITunes which many of you probably already have.

Open ITunes and click on Music Store from there you click on pocasts and a a few results will appear,see below.

If you don't find here what you're looking for go to the upper right corner and search for the podcast you're interested. Click on the thumbnail to access and listen to it,if you like what you hear and want to subscribe to the podcast just click on the provided symbol. example:

Step 2. The Exercise

Find 2 library related podcasts on your own by typing the words -- library podcast -- into ITunes search bar or do a Google search. Listen to the podcasts.
Post about the podcasts and the articles you read to your blog.
If you want find more podcasts and share with us (not required for this exercise)
Do you want to know more about podcasting, see Podcasting Tools .

Intro IM or Instant Messaging

Step 1.

If you have an E-mail account with one of the large Companies like AOL,Google,MSN orYAHOO you also have access to Instant Messaging, a form of communication as fast as a phone call without the costs. Before you can do that you have to invite the person or be invited.

If both of you decide to chat you can start right away. If the person you want to chat with is online he receives a note through a sound or pop up window when you send a message,if not the message will appear later when he logs in. There is a symbol in your messaging window that tells you the status of the person,either available,currently away or offline,this way you know if you will get respond immediately or later.

Step 2. The Exercise

Create or use an existing e-mail account and invite someone of your contact list, chat with him or her and save the conversation.Create a new contact (someones e-mail) and ask to be invited to experience both ways of starting a chat. Post your experience on your blog.

Extra: create an meebo or pidgin account and chat with people from different provider


Intro downloadable audio

An audio book is a taped reading of a book or book condensation reproduced in audiocassette or CD form. An eBook is an electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer or by using an eBook reader. So what does that make an Audio eBook? Well it is a taped reading of a book or book condensation that is available for download online.Now if you were to Google "Audio eBooks" you will get a lot of hits! Not only would you have to figure out if there are subscription prices, but also whether or not the sites eBooks are compatible with your computer or MP3 player, and finally you would need to worry about copyright. So for today's lesson there are two options, you can explore Librivox.org or the Gutenberg Audio Books Project.


Step 1. Where to go

Librivox
There are two ways of listening to a digital audio book.
If you have a high-speed internet connection (broadband, ADSL), you can listen directly via streaming audio. Most people like to download the files for an audio book before they listen. There is a guide which explains How To Get LibriVox Audio Files.

How to listen to LibriVox audio files

Now that you've got some of the MP3 or Ogg Vorbis files on your computer, you can listen to them in several ways:
On your computer
You can play them on your favorite audio player on your computer (e.g., iTunes, Winamp, Quicktime, Windows Media Player - it's highly unlikely that you don't have at least one of them on your computer but if you don't, you can download them for free), listening through your computer speakers or attached headphones.
Learn how to listen with a computer.
On an iPod or similar MP3 player
You can load the files into an iPod or other portable digital audio player and listen while you work out or walk the dog.
Learn how to listen with a digital audio player.
On a CD player
You can burn the files to an MP3 disk or audio CD and listen to them in the car or on your home stereo.

Project Gutenberg

Check out Gutenberg Audio Books Project. Project Gutenberg makes audio eBooks available for some of the same great literature available in plain text. Their listings are divided into two categories: Human-read and computer-generated audio books. These files can be very large, so are not well suited for people using a modem or other low-speed connection. Project Gutenberg does not have a statement about whether or not their files work with Apples or iPods so if you try to download one of these files it may or may not work depending on your equipment.

Step 2. The Exercise:

Visit some of these sites and listen to a few chapters. Create a blog post about your findings. Did you locate a title that you might want to write about? What would you use Audio eBooks for, how could the library utilize Audio eBooks?



Other available downloadable Audio Book Collections:
(Only for subscribing libraries)


Net Library Downloadable Audio Books
The Recorded Books/Net Library collection contains over 1000 downloadable audio books for portable devices and computers supporting the WMA format. The collection includes bestsellers, classics, and the Pimsleur Language Learning Series. You will need to establish a Net library account for yourself. For more information on how to use : demo