MP3 is not the only format for digital audio. There's AAC, Ogg, WAV, WMA, AIFF, and lots more.

MP3 is the most popular format for audio podcasts. It makes for a fairly small file size and is compatible with all web browsers and portable audio players. AAC is a similar format championed by Apple and iTunes. AAC produces higher quality sound at the same files size as MP3. Additionally, AAC allows for chapter markers, changing artwork, and hyperlinks. Unfortunately, AAC encoded audio is not able to be played as universally as MP3.

GarageBand 3 (part of iLife '06 suite of software), Macintosh software for creating music and podcasts, allows for exporting as AAC but not MP3. Of course other programs like iTunes could be used to convert the AAC file to MP3. That extra step is an inconvenience for those who want to publish their podcast as an MP3.

Apple's new GarageBand '08 (version 4 and part iLife '08), has some improvements for podcasters. One of them is the ability to export directly to MP3. By clicking Export Podcast to Disk... from GarageBand's Share menu, podcasters can choose to compress using either AAC Encoder or MP3 Encoder. If your podcast is not enhanced with the extra features of AAC, you might as well use the more compatible MP3 format.

For both the AAC and MP3 encoders, GarageBand offers four preset compression settings: Mono, Spoken, Musical, and Higher Quality.

Below is the information GarageBand displays when selecting the various MP3 settings. I've included the size of a sample podcast for comparison. Notice that a sound file in the Higher Quality Encoder setting is six times larger than the same file exported using Mono Encoder.

Mono Optimized for spoken podcasts. Produces small file size which download fast. 32kbps, mono, optimized for voice. Size: 2.9MB	Spoken Optimized for spoken podcasts. Produces small file size which downloads fast. 64kbps, stereo, optimized for voice. 5.9MB
Musical Ideal for podcasts with voice and music. Download times are moderate. 128kbps, stereo, optimized for music and complex audio. Size: 11.7MB	Higher Quality Ideal for podcasts where music is the focus and even higher quality is desired. 192kbps, stereo, optimized for music and complex audio. Size: 17.6MB.

Shouldn't everyone choose the highest quality sound they can get? Well, the higher the quality the large the file size. Larger file sizes take longer to download and take up valuable megabytes on file servers, in iTunes, and on portable players. If you use a hosting service with limits on storage and bandwidth, larger episode files might use up your monthly allotment.

GarageBand's presets make a really handy reference. In fact, podcasters using Audacity and other recording programs could use these same settings when encoding audio. You'll have to manually input the settings after choosing Preferences > File Formats. Under MP3 Export Setup, change the Bit Rate to match GarageBand's preset. For example, set the Bit Rate to 64 for a Spoken podcast.

Whatever software you use to compress your podcast's audio, I suggest exporting the same sound file with different settings. Have a listen to each one and balance sound quality with file size when settling on a compression setting.

Labels: podcasting

Audacity is free audio recoding, editing, and encoding software. You can combine audio from many sources, including voice recordings, audio downloaded from the Internet, and music. By choosing Import Audio from the Project menu you can add MP3, WAV, and AIFF files. Audacity is a great choice for podcasters and others who want to produce quality audio recordings.

But look out! By default, Audacity only references imported files. That means that when making an audio project, you must not move or delete the original files you imported. If you do, Audacity will have a gap in its playback. This has happened to me before. The waveforms for an imported audio segment were still displayed in Audacity's timeline; however, no audio plays in that section. It was because I thought I'd tidy up my desktop and delete the files I had already imported, thinking Audacity did not need them. I was wrong.

Luckily, Audacity has a setting you can change so that instead of referencing imported files, it will copy the imported files into the master project file. That way if you move or delete imported files, it won't make one bit of difference in your Audacity project. I suggest all Audacity users change this preference to save themselves some possible pain and suffering in the future.

Go to Preferences and choose File Formats. Choose Make a copy of the file before editing (safer). Now enjoy piece of mind that the Audacity project file will play properly after tidying up used files.

Labels: podcasting

A less complicated way to publish your podcast is to use a podcast hosting service. Services like SolidCasts, LibSyn, and PodOmatic allow you to upload your audio file to their site through a Web browser. Then you are prompted to enter information about your podcast. Podcast hosting services then generate the news feed and a website for your podcast.

Some hosting services are free and others charge monthly or yearly fees. While a hosting service is the easiest way to publish, if the hosting service goes out of business or you stop paying the fee, your podcast will be deleted from their servers and, thus, unavailable to your listeners.

There really are many hosting service options. I've created a chart with six selected hosting companies. The chart shows if there is a free version and what you get with the paid version.

My recommendations? If you are going to pay, I suggest LibSyn (short for Liberated Syndication). It's $5 per month and you receive 100 MB per month of storage and unlimited bandwidth (downloads). This is the service I use. I like the per month model because LibSyn archives all past episodes. I probably have close to a gigabyte hosted there by now. If you are going with a free service, I recommend SolidCasts.com. SolidCasts has no advertising and they give you 100 MB free "for life." Be aware, the 100 MB limit is not monthly and means that once you fill it up, you'll have to delete old episodes to make room for new ones.

Labels: podcasting

Learning in Hand: iPods Episode #7: iQuiz is online and it's all about iQuiz.

iQuiz is a game for iPods with fun game show sounds and slick graphics. iQuiz comes with sample quizzes, but the real power comes from teachers and students making their own quizzes. iQuizMaker is software for Mac and Windows computers that makes it easy to create quizzes and sync them to iPods. iQuizShare.com is a site for downloading and sharing quizzes. Like iQuizShare, iQuizr.com is a place for downloading and sharing quizzes with the added feature of being able to create quizzes online.

iQuiz comes pre-installed on all iPod classics and iPod nanos that play video. It's available for older full-sized iPods that can play video for 99 cents from the iTunes Store.

Listen to all 13 minutes of Episode #7 for how-to and a few valuable tips. Also, check out learninginhand's Quizzes page.

Labels: ipod, learning in hand: ipods

Believe it or not, more people have access to mobile devices than desktop computers. Many handhelds can access the Internet, including cell phones, Palm handhelds, Pocket PCs, Nintendo DS's, and Sony PSPs.

The problem is most websites are not convenient to use on a handheld's small screen. So, many sites provide a mobile version of their content. For example, USA Today provides their current news stories in a simplified format at m.usatoday.com.

In 2006, mobile websites got their own top-level domain name: .mobi. When visiting sites like google.mobi on a mobile device, you know you're receiving content formatted for a handheld. Over half a million sites have been registered as .mobi and many more are on the way. Unfortunately, there remains a variety of ways that a website may format its mobile web address, making it difficult to locate a mobile site (if there is one). Once you find a useful mobile site, be sure to bookmark it!

I've added a section to Learning in Hand to help educators use the Mobile Web. I provide plenty of sample sites and tips for classroom use. Educators might be interested in making their own mobile site, so I've included a page with information about ways to create your own mobile homepage. Many web publishers are creating mobile versions of their sites because more and more people are accessing with web with a handheld.

Labels: mobile internet, mobile phone, palm, pocket pc, windows mobile

When you're dealing with multiple iPods in a classroom there are some things you should know. First, it's certainly possible to connect multiple iPods to one computer. When connected, iPods not only sync, but they charge their batteries as well. You can see in the screenshot to the right that I have connected all six of my iPods (including my iPhone). The iPods are listed alphabetically and with tiny icon representations under the Devices panel in iTunes. I can click the name of an iPod to view and edit its contents and sync settings.

Here are some other things to know about syncing multiple iPods:

• iPods can be be the same model or a mixture of models. You see six different iPods connected in the image to the right.
• Technically, 127 USB devices can be connected to a computer at one time. Realistically, you'd never connect that many devices to one machine.
• Syncing many iPods at once can slow down your computer and the syncing process.
• Most computers have four or fewer USB ports. If connecting more iPods, use self-powered USB 2.0 hubs. Self-powered hubs have to be plugged into a power outlet.
• iPods connected to a self-powered USB hub continue to charge even when the computer is powered off.
• You can sync items purchased from the iTunes Store (music, videos, audiobooks, and games) to all iPods connected to that computer. You can authorize and copy that purchased content onto up to five computers.
• You can authorize more than one computer to work with purchased items from more than one iTunes account. Simply log out of one account by clicking on the account name in the iTunes Store window and clicking the Sign Out button. Log into the other account, and then they will both be authorized. (Notice that you are not deauthorizing the computer, just logging out). This can be valuable if you have a combination of content purchase through a school account and your personal account.
• Most schools aren't using content purchased from the iTunes Store, so you probably don't have to worry about the five computer limit. Since podcasts are free, they are not considered purchased content.
• You may want a consistent naming structure to keep each iPod clearly identified in iTunes. It might be easiest to name iPods by numbers. For example: "01 Vincent" "02 Vincent" etc.
• You can only make changes to an iPod's settings when it is connected. When disconnected, the iPod's name and icon disappear from the Devices panel.
• Sync settings (playlists, podcasts, calendars, contacts, photos) must be set up for each iPod individually. Think carefully about these preferences the first time you set them so that you don't have to make changes later. For example, choose Sync All Songs and Playlists if the iPod have enough storage space. Otherwise, each time you make a new playlist, you'll have to update each iPod's settings.
• When using more than one computer for syncing, designate which iPods are synced to which computers. If an iPod has been synced with Computer A and then is connected to Computer B, the iPod will ask if you'd like to replace all items from Computer A with those from Computer B. That's probably not a big deal, but it will take time to copy those files. Also, you'll need to input the sync settings again. It's just easier to have each iPod sync to one computer. Using color-coded stickers is a simple way to indicate that iPods with green stickers sync to the computer with the green sticker.
• If a student brings an iPod from home to school and syncs to a school computer, you'll run into some issues. The data from home will have to be erased and replaced with data from the school computer. When the student syncs at home, the data from school will be replaced. Sorry, there is no way to merge the content from school and home together.
• An exception to the above: Files placed in an iPod's Hard Disk Mode are not replaced when syncing. This includes Notes.
• iTunes syncs the time code where you stop audiobooks, videos, and podcasts from one iPod and copies that information to all iPods. This means that students who watch videos and listen to podcasts may have their audio or video begin in the middle of an episode (nothing the iPod's Previous button can't fix immediately by rewinding to the beginning).

Like using Palm handhelds and Pocket PCs, there are all sorts of technical and management issues when using class sets of iPods. If you have worked with multiple iPods in a classroom and have insights, please share them with us in a comment.

Labels: ipod

I want to encourage you to attend Handheld Learning 2007. The conference and exhibition is October 10-12, 2007 at Central Hall Westminster, London. As part of the steering group, I'd like to invite educators from all over the globe to attend.

I blogged about Day One and Day Two of Handheld Learning 2006 last year. I learned a lot in those two days and I look forward to learning much more this year.

I'll be presenting about innovative uses for iPods in learning. The preliminary program is online. A detailed program will be published shortly. Here are some other great sessions, workshops, and seminars:

• Learning While Gaming
• Technologies for Learning 2012
• Reflections on Pedagogy
• Creating Content for Mobile
• Science, Math, and Mobile
• Mobile Application Showcase

I've set up a Twitter group for the conference. If you are attending, please follow these directions to join in. If you would like to read Twitter updates from those attending the conference, this is the page for you.

If you are planning to register, please contact me and I'll provide you a code to save £70 ($140). Last year the conference filled to capacity--early registration is a must. I know, I know: It won't be easy to convince the-powers-that-be to fund your trip to the U.K., but it will really be worth it!

Labels: events, presentations

Apple has updated every single device in their iPod lineup.

iPod touch
iPod touch is a lot like an iPhone without the phone and camera. It has a large touchscreen. Of course it plays audio, video, and podcasts. It is equipped with Wi-Fi and the Safari web browser. Like iPhone, it has an onscreen keyboard that appears when you need it. While I'm disappointed there is no email application, users can use web-based email in Safari. iPod touch is also missing a notes application. One look at the iPod touch home screen, you notice there is a lot of room for more icons. I'm hopeful that Apple will be adding features through software updates in the future. Additionally, there have been so many great websites designed for iPhone. Now that iPod touch can also access the Web,we'll see even more web sites and services will be optimized for the mobile Safari browser in iPod touch.

iPod nano
iPod nano has a new shape to accommodate a larger display. iPod nano now has all of the same features as the full-sized iPod, including video playback and games. In fact, all iPod nanos come with iQuiz, the game with fun graphics and the ability to make your very own quizzes using the free iQuizMaker for Mac or Windows. iPod nano also has been updated with an enhanced interface with slick transitions and a focus on album artwork.

iPod classic
iPod classic is the new name for the full-sized iPod. It's the only iPod with a miniaturized hard drive; all other models use flash-based memory. Hard drive sizes are now 80 and 160GB. That's probably too much storage space for most users. Like the new iPod nano, iPod classic comes with iQuiz and an enhanced interface.

iPod shuffle
iPod shuffle now comes in new colors. It's the only iPod without a screen and has the smallest storage capacity at only 1GB.

With so many iPod choices, which does your school choose? It will probably depend on how much money a school has to spend and if they have a Wi-Fi network. If iPods will be used for listening to select audio and podcasts, a shuffle or nano may be the way to go. If interacting with the Web is important, then iPod touch is a good choice. Apple makes it easy to compare iPod models and prices with their Which iPod Are You? chart.

Labels: ipod