The new EdTech Posse Podcast is available at http://edtechposse.ca. This week we (Rob Wall, Rick Schwier & I) examined (very informally) what it might mean to be an educational technologist in Canada. An interesting discussion ensued. Check out the Podcast if you like.
Tag Archives: Podcasting
Dijjer: Open Source P2P Software Ideal For Podcasts
I noticed a few people mentioning (can’t seem to find the posts now) that having one’s podcast listed in the iTunes Podcast Directory could potentially lead to a surprising increase in bandwidth due to greater exposure/downloads. If you are hosting your own podcasts, one tool that could potentially reduce bandwidth costs is a new open source P2P tool called Dijjer.
I haven’t got a chance to use it, but it seems to work somewhat like Bittorrent, and the setup is a breeze.
You don’t need to install anything. Just put a file on your site as you normally do, but add “http://www.dijjer.org/get/” to the beginning of your links:
normal link: http://mysite.com/video.mov
dijjer link: http://dijjer.org/get/http://mysite.com/video.mov
For Dijjer to work, people must have a Dijjer client running on their machine (available for Mac/Linux/Windows). Therefore, the bandwidth is distributed across Dijjer users. However, to download a Dijjer supported file, a user doesn’t need to have the client installed.
Sounds interesting, I wonder if it will get the network support it needs to be successful.
EdTech Posse Rides Again
For simplicity’s sake, I’ll just repost this notice from Rick’s Cafe Canadien on the EdTech Posse Podcast #3.
The EdTech Posse Podcast #3 is finally available. Actually there is another one waiting in the wings (and for editing). In this podcast, Wall, Shareski, Couros and Schwier talk about Laura Turner’s list of “Twenty Essential Skills Every Educator Should Have“, as published on the THE Journal website. Hope you like it. We finally think we have the technology for recording conferences sorted out.
Learn Morse Code Subliminally
With a busy routine, who has time to learn anything consciously anymore? So, I thought I’d try a bit of subliminal learning and since Morse code is still king, why not start there.
I think this has been around for a while, but check out this little audio file of the Morse alphabet with verbal cues. Of course, it’s now on my iPod, and may be downloading to yours as you read this, so we can now both groove to the beat of Morse as we learn new (old) ways to communicate electronically. :-)
See the complete resource from VE1VAC here.
Additionally, if you want to hear the “world premiere Morse code podcast”, it’s found here. Yes, there’s a real message there.
Podcasting from CNN … Disney … ESPN … CBC …
I just noticed that CNN is offering Podcasts, and of course the new iTunes Podcast directory offers many more of commercial type podcasts. So not that I ever really believed that Podcasting was really the new pirate radio, but what happens to the format when the market becomes so saturated this quickly? D’Arcy Norman certainly begins to ask the right questions about the relevance of multiple iPod directories, but I guess I am thinking even beyond this … the old question … what happens when ‘x’ becomes too commercial?
I know this question has been asked before re: blogging and RSS, however, in my opinion, listening to a podcast, due to the audio format, requires much more attention and time from me than it takes from scanning through my RSS feeds, looking for what catches my eye. If Goldhaber was correct in his classic article, “The Attention Economy and the Net“, it would seem to me that Podcasting in its current incarnation as an attention-heavy format may still be at a long-term disadvantage. I’m not writing off the format, however, but I certainly see some major changes necessary in the short term.
Edtech Posse Podcast #2
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, the self-proclaimed EdTech Posse (currently myself, Rob Wall, Rick Schwier, Dean Shareski) has recently been formed as a joint project in educational PodCasting. Our goal is to produce high-quality, recorded discussion around issues in educational technology.
This week, due to scheduling conflicts, Rob Wall is the lone rider for the team, and he does a great job of keeping the momentum going. Be sure to check out Podcast #2 as Rob details the background of the Posse, and describes the content of upcoming Podcasts. More podcasts are on their way, so stay tuned here or at our new site, edtechposse.ca.
Porncasting?
Hmmmm … did I coin that term? If I did, I’d rather not take credit for it.
I think you can finally declare that a technology has made it when the pornographers begin to exploit it. In this particular case, it’s happened to podcasting. I guess we should have seen this coming.
Of course, I only listen to podcasts “for the articles.”
The Inaugural EdTech Posse Podcast
Rob Wall, Dean Shareski and I had some fun last night as we recorded our first EdTech Posse podcast. The conference call was facilitated via Skype and recorded by Rob with MixCast Live. Rick Schwier, who is also a part of our core group, was unable to make the conversation last night, but you should be hearing his voice in podcasts to come.
I think just the mere fact that the three of us were able to host and record a conversation that was facilitated from three different geographic locations, and then serve this out on our respective blogs, in itself, shows how easy the technology is becoming. It’s a perfect example of “small tools, loosely joined”. But of course, “content is king” (actually one of the subtopics of our podcast), so listeners can make the final judgement. Just remember … it’s our first time.
At the very least, I found that the process of podcasting with others in my field can be an excellent professional development opportunity. It’s wonderful to be intellectually stimulated (even that late in the evening), and to connect to others with similar passions and goals but often diverse experiences. I can’t wait for the next one!
Feel free to take a listen, and I hope to be a part of more conversations in the near future. And as Rob said, we’re recruiting … so if you are interested in being a part of a podcasted conversation with others in the area of educational technology, let us know.
iPods in the Classroom
Since I’ve purchased my iPod, I’ve found myself trying to justify it as an educational tool vs. merely a personal music player. While Podcasting is one route, I am still looking for other ideas. Well, Edugadget recently featured an article titled ‘iPod lessons for all of us“. The article extends what Apple has already suggested, and together, these sites give a few good ideas of how to use the iPod (or similar) in the K-12 setting.
Podcasting and the Pope
It’s easy to say that the media coverage behind the sad passing of Pope John Paul II is unprecedented. We have never before lived in a time where media, both mainstream and independent has infiltrated our lives in so many ways. So I wasn’t surprised to see the 1000’s of blogs covering the illness of the pope, and his passing. But for some reason I was surprised to see that Father Roderick Vonhögen of the Archdiocese of Utrecht, The Netherlands is podcasting. I absolutely love the iPod/Catholic priest graphic at CatholicInsider.com.