Becoming a Millennial

105. iPods in the Classroom

University uses iPods in the Classroom.  This is a short CNN video clip that reports on how a music professor and a political science professor at Georgia College & State University (GCSU) are using iPods in their coursework.  (You might need to Browse/Search in the Watch Free Video area to locate this clip.  Enter "ipods in the classroom" in the Search box)

96. Podcasts and Shopping

I enjoy shopping with my wife … I really do. And yet, there are times when I need a little help. My trusty Olympus player has been a great companion for those hours outside the fitting room.

Prior to leaving on our trip I downloaded from iTunes a number of Patrick Norton’s DL.TV podcast episodes. You need to be somewhat of a techie to appreciate these podcasts, but this has been one of my sources this summer for keeping up on the world of technology.

Yesterday between Kohls, Penny’s, and Christopher & Banks I learned about BlueRay, duo-core, P3, Bluetooth, VOIP, the AMD & ATI merger, and all kinds of other good stuff.

There are podcasts on every subject imaginable. You, too, could do a little multitasking on your next shopping trip.

Carry this one step further. Could we package content for our students so that they could do the same with their iPods on their next outing? Schools like University of Michigan and Stanford are experimenting with this and finding it effective.

72. From My 23-Year-Old Son

Dad,
Wow spending money on Beethoven's symphony. I am going to have to dock you points on your report card cause this is definitely not what a millenial would download. If you want some good music with mandolins / sometimes violins or fiddles check out some Hootie and the Blowfish or Dave Mathews Band. These guys really jam. Haha love ya. Neal

14. Ripping My First CD

Neal was home this weekend.  He came up from his new job in Florida to attend a funeral and a wedding.  Both involved his close friends who were involved in the April 26 accident.  He is doing well.

This afternoon before leaving for the Indy airport he asked if I would rip a few CDs to load onto his iPod.  He said I could then talk about it on my blog.  The kids are giving me some pretty good ribbing about my blog. 

So I opened iTunes and popped in his CD. Never having done this before (which embarrasses me a bit, since I'm supposedly a tech guy) I wasn't sure what to expect.  It couldn't have been easier.  iTunes recognized the CD, quickly added all the song titles to the Library, and then I told it to copy all the songs.  It took about 10 minutes to "rip" the CD, meaning to convert each file from the audio format to the Apple AAC format.  Then we plugged Neal's iPod into the USB port and within seconds the entire album was downloaded to his iPod.  He was ready for his trip!

When I got home from the airport run, I tried using both Windows Media Player and Musicmatch Jukebox to see how a CD was ripped using Windows software.  The process was similar to iTunes, very easy and intuitive.  Windows Media Player saved all the songs in WMA format, and MusicMatch Jukebox saved them in MP3 format.  I'll probably use Jukebox in the future because it saves them in the format I want. (Note additional information about Windows Media Player in Entry #16)

12. My First Attempt to Record a Podcast

I'm quite certain that podcasting of lecture content is going to be a new delivery method for our faculty.  Entire lectures can be recorded (easily, I think) and posted for review purposes.  Or, a professor could provide supplementary materials in a podcast.  In fact, one of our chemistry professors for years has provided his students audio materials on cassette tape and CD to help them master difficult concepts.  This could all be podcasted.
(Note -- Graphic from eWeek June 5, 2006)

Yesterday I gave it a try.  I took out my trusty Olympus recorder and began recording.  For content I decided to read my blog entries, beginning from day 1.  Recording is tricky. I found myself appreciating media people who can read a script without stumbling.  I guess with a podcast the key is not to be too much of a perfectionist -- otherwise you find yourself constantly starting over.

I created four short audio files.  My recorder saves them in the WMA format (Windows Media).  The sound quality is great, very clean and clear.  I needed to convert them to MP3 so folks can listen to them on any type of player.  I thought for sure Windows Media Player could do that, but I looked through all the menus and it doesn't seem to have that capability. 

I then tried iTunes and got a pleasant surprise. I went to File ... Add File to Library ... When I selected my first three-minute recording, it recognized that it was in the WMA format and asked if I wanted to convert it to MP3.  Why YES, that's exactly what I was wanting to do!  Very quickly I had all four files in MP3 format.  Mission accomplished.

Now, how to get them into a podcast so others can access them?  I emailed our TU webmaster for a little help with this.  I'll keep you posted ...

8. Olympus WS-320M

For two days now I've played with this $160 device which includes an MP3/WMA player, voice recorder, and 1 GB flash drive.  It's user interface is not real intuitive (kind of like your typical digital watch or alarm clock).  I had to go to the manual several times. 

When I introduce these to our faculty I'm going to make sure I provide a short intro session on how to use it. Otherwise there will be some major frustration.

The beauty of this player is that you slide off the cover, plug it into your computer USB port and you can drag & drop your music files and podcasts.  You treat it just like another drive.  You can remove files, create folders, reorganize, etc.  Very cool.

6. Does it Have to be an iPod?

Today my MP3 player came in the mail.  It is a nifty Olympus WS-320M that can play Windows Media and MP3 files, record voice, and also function as a 1 GB flash drive (the cover actually pulls off to reveal a USB connector). 

At lunch when I brought it home to show my family Carla asked me, "Why didn't you get an iPod?"  It could have been interpretted, "Dad, you're such an idiot -- don't you know anything?" but Carla was nice and I explained that it had some neat features ...  She said it was cool.

It is hard to know whether to stay completely within the Apple world (with iTunes and iPods) where everything works together so well, but where sometimes you lack flexibility -- for example, if you want to convert your iTune song to an MP3 format to play on another device