A. What is podcasting?
Digital audio (and/or video) file that is made available for download via syndication. Each audio file can be called an episode; many episodes make up a series.The files are usually retrieved with software applications (podcatchers or aggregator) using RSS. Kind of like an on demand radio show. Podcast content varies wildly. If you can think or talk about it, it can be the subject of a podcast. Podcasting started in about 2004.
It is both a noun and a verb. As a noun it can refer to the content in an episode. "Listen to a podcast." As a verb it can refer to the action of sending the episodes content out through syndication. "Irma Minerva is podcasting."
Here are some terms defined.
Check out this video on Podcasting in Plain English by commoncraft:
B. Why would anyone want to listen to a podcast?
- Great for the auditory learner.
- Can listen can do it while doing other activities.
- Asynchronous - listen on your own time.
- Portable - download to a player and listen from wherever. (at the gym, gardening, on a walk, etc)
- Easy once you subscribe to a feed; automatically receive new episodes when they are produced.
- Interesting article - "Podcast trumps lecture in one college study
Researcher: Students who listened to a lecture via iTunes U outperformed those who attended in person -- pause button a factor"
- Examples:
- Irma Minerva's Audio Magazine
- Utah Valley University Library
- Denver Public Library (stories for kids)
- Mohawk College
- WHAT are libraries podcasting?
- WHICH libraries are podcasting?
E. How to subscribe to podcasts:
- iPod --> iTunes
- non-iPod--> Juice (see PDF Adding Podcasts to Juice)
- Other choices (handhelds, phones, linux, etc)
- Try adding podcasts to your RSS feed aggregator such as Bloglines (see PDF Adding podcasts to Bloglines) or GoogleReader
- Or, you can just listen to them directly on the web as you find them...
Contact Beth FW or Hannah and we'd be happy to work with you to create a podcast for Irma's Audio Magazine! You can also check out my basic steps on creating a podcast page.
II. Video ... or how to waste hours of you time:
A. Vodcasts
These are video podcasts. You can subscribe to vodcasts just like a podcast. Find them in many of the same places as above for the podcasts. Or try searching Vodcasts.tv. Here is one University Library creating vodcasts. And for fun I like these two: Geek Brief TV (3-5 min"Shiny, Happy Tech News") or Goodnight Burbank (think "the office" or "daily show"). Fun library orientation video from Farifield U. (choose your own adventure type drama :)
B. Other places to find videos
III. Audio... free books & music
A. NC Digital Library: Downloadable Audiobooks
If you have a public library card, you can download digital audiobooks through NC Digital Library's contract with OverDrive. Overdrive requires a separate download the first time only of the Overdrive Media Console in order to download books, play and/or transfer to a portable device.
Start by logging in with your library card number, then search the catalog, add items to your eBookBag, proceed to check out, and the downloading begins. Go to the Digital Media Help page for detailed information on how to download and transfer depending on format and device.
NOTE: Mac and iPod users - You CANNOT directly download audio books to these devices. (most need to be WMA compatible and iPod is not) You must first burn them to CD and then transfer to your iPod. But also check out the Greensboro Public Library's listing of free audiobooks for iPod users.
If you were wondering... as of Jan 2009 NC Live no longer subscribes to Netlibrary Digital Audio books.
B. Streaming Music
Did you know the Music Library has many streaming music databases? You can choose from:
- American Song ,
- Classical Music Library,
- Contemporary World Music,
- Naxos Fantasy Jazz,
- Naxos,
- Smithsonian Global Sound,
- African American Song,
- Database of Recorded American Music
- Pandora
- Grooveshark
- Jango
- Live Streams from NPR Music Stations
- OR, try searching for your favorite radio station.
