Praise the lord the first test podcast is now complete and can be found over at http://learn4fungaelige.libsyn.com/

Its far from perfect but you sort of get the idea of where it is trying to go
Hope you enjoy and would apprecitate any comments or suggestions you have!

As you can see having trouble getting the ping functionallity working on my blog,I am not sure where exactly to put this code,would welcome any knowledgable readers out there who have had this same problem


rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

There is an argument that people are more inclined to listen to there podcasts in front of there pc. So why would service like Podlinez and Fonpods work. The advantage of these services is that potentially it makes it more accessible to deliver content to user. Particularly through wi fi. Everyone has a phone, and in this way there is a potential infrastructure to deliver content.

I think there success as mentioned before is on phones syndicating themselves with popular podcasting shows. Some people, I believe will be put off by the flat rate of these, as it is phones are already expensive/but say for instance, if they where part of your package when you are signing your mobile phone. Instead of getting 100 free texts a month you choose the unlimited podcasts on your phone rate instead.

I am not sure about the success to these services especially with the threat of the apple Iphone coming out soon Handheld devices are getting more and more ubiqtous, and I think most people would choose to carry it all around in one device rather than having there pockets full with unnecessary baggage.
I believe apple if they get this right could make a serious inroad into phone market as well as tightening there stranglehold on podcasting

Went to see Bruce Springsteen concert last night in the Seeger sessions tour. I must say I thought it was one of the best concerts I was ever at. There was a 17 piece band on stage, and I have never seen a band look as if they are having as much fun.

After seeing them live I don’t think the record does them justice. They were absolutely brilliant and I urge anyone who has the chance to go see them

However it got me thinking about how podcasting could be utilized in concerts. If you had a RSS stand there and people could pay for the feed recording of the night. I am sure there are plenty of legal issue and highly encrypted DRM management to think of, but I wouldn’t think any consumer would mind that if they got to relive the show, by the time they got home. I think nowadays you are seeing so much old content been podcast as just another distribution mechanism I think this was really utilize the power of feeds to distribute content quickly whilst meeting the demand of the consumers.

There are lots of varying opinions on podcasting.Many people think that simply posting up an audio of hour long lecture is it necessarily pedagogically enhancing. I believe that many lectures aren’t pedagogically enhancing either. My argument if it is important enough to say once it is important enough to listen back too.

There seems to be a fear from lectures that it will leave them redundant. Certainly although I haven’t started recording yet it is a daunting task posting up your class for the scrutiny of world listeners.

To quote Charles Martin” podcasting requires teachers and students to think more deeply about our content, look for new connections when using media, and be more reflective about the ways we teach and assess students.”

This is a link to video on a presentation of podcasting in Duke University .Initially there where a lot of negative press with Duke. The college in collaboration with Apple decided to give all there first year students I-Pods .Its was sort of looked upon as jumping into tech without thinking about the teach. What most people didn’t realise is that Mp3 players can be used to record lectures, store computer files, and listen to course-related audio segments. This is beneficial for any student. I believe that Duke were setting up an Mp3 infrastructure for there students.

The interesting features from this video is that are that there is a video option where they record the lecture so that you are not missing out visually. Also how they supplement the podcasts with PDF and other lecture material. All the information is open source and is a paving the way in digital distribution.

In the continuation of the Lectopia trial, since January 1, 2006 Duke has seen an additional 16,623 hits to its recordings (compared to 34,367 since the system was installed), with over 300 additional lectures recorded. That is a total of 500 lectures and usage of over 50,000.hits

Here is very interesting paper i found in podcasting over at Washington
http://catalyst.washington.edu/projects/podcasting_report.pdf

I must admit I think I have never listened to a podcast on my mp3 player. This is mainly because when I am commuting I like listening to music. Also since I have got a bike I find I am cycling most places, and this requires full attention

One of the perceived failures of podcasting initially was that the inability of people to get Rss feeds. When podcasting first came out I like lot of other people I suspect I subscribe to lots of shows with different topics and content, but soon found my hardrive filling up with lots and lots of shows.

I began becoming more selective and found that I listen most when I am at my desktop using it streaming from the sites. This same view was shared recently by paper which was undertook in Washington University. With 81% listening on there pc computer

These is also a really good podcast over at david noble booruch speaking to Lyne Horn about utilizing mobile phones in the classroom, as always it is well worth a listen, and give you an idea of teachers using mobile phones constructively in the classroom.

I think that with phones getting better and better soon, mobile phones companies will realise, the market in citizen journalism and education benefits that I think children and parents are both interested in.

There are lots of benefits of been able to listen back to what your studying these include

• Reviewability
• Clarification of theories, arguments
• Self paced learning
• Immersive environment in language learning
• Helps with pronunciation and flow of language
• Helps with note taking

This is where the power is in podcasting.

In the next couple of years students of all ages I believe will be submitting audio files for assessment. I would argue that too much emphasis is on the written side of language particularly in assessment. After all to keep a language alive it must be spoken!!

Student I think with the choice of submitting a written piece of language coursework and oral piece would choose and audio piece every time.

They have the tools, they probably enjoy more than sitting down writing and assessment, and they can share there product with the rest of the class. This way its collective learning!!

Saw some really good stuff on Web 2.0 and its biggest success, these can be mostly found over at guardian website which is well worth a look.

• Blogger used here
• Flickr over there
• Del.ici.ous down there
• Feedburner used to create this Rss feed
• Wikkipedia
• NetVibes etc

There are some good audio files of interviews and overall it’s a good introduction on how these different softwares started.

Dr Andy Breen and Dr Siân Jones, both Physics lecturers at the Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at UWA, are using MP3 technology to make voice recordings of their lectures available to their students via the internet in the form of podcasts.

Once recorded, each 50 minute lecture is transformed into a 30megabyte file which can be downloaded by students registered on the course onto an I-Pod or other similar MP3 players from the University’s Blackboard web pages.

Dr Andy Breen has been ‘podcasting’ lectures since the autumn of 2004 and is believed to be one of the first in the UK to use the technology in this way.

“The initial reason for doing this was to provide support for students who were having difficulty taking notes and was driven partly by the Disability Discrimination Act. As things have worked out the podcasts have been far more successful than I had anticipated and are used regularly by a good proportion of our students,” he said.

This is one of those what are the future hold videos.This sort of make you scared about how competitive things will probably get,have a look and see what you think

Saw this good article about how mobile phones, versus the whole I pod .Its a bit of an empty argument ,either way however wins it will make it easier to consume podcasts, and I believe you will see more mobile phones companies start koping-on the power of product placement beside some of the more popular podcasts

Saw this today give the audience what they want and it will grow, it a bit like if you build they will come, in field of dreams. This is a good example of the popularity of podcasts to digest content.