Audio Books & Media Downloads

#22 & #23


We have been using audio books for many years, as would most libraries. The most obvious use is for sight impaired clients, or those with other learning difficulties. In fact my association extends back to the 70s when I was working as an OT. We had the most complex tapes that came from the ‘Talking Book Library’ that kept reversing on themselves. You needed to be a rocket scientist to work them out. So cassette tapes, CDs, via an Mp3 player or any other of the formats available these days are sooooo easy.

E-books I have grown to love when I thought I wouldn’t. I will still collect hard copies of my favourites, but how many things do we read and discard – all that crime fiction for instance. As a keen traveller, both commuting and overseas, the e-book provides the perfect solution to the weight problem. And speaking of weight, what a good idea to put all the school text books onto an e-reader so that overloaded schoolbag that causes scoliosis in young backs can become a thing of the past.

I would love to see a standardisation of format so the reading devise would then not necessarily be restrictive.

I have been following with interest the debate between publishers and libraries on the logistics of ‘lending’ e-books and will wait with bated breath for the final solution.

Of other downloadable media, the most obvious to me being music, I think the biggest issue is copyright in all its complexities.

YouTube and TeacherTube

#21 & #22

YouTube has replaced the ‘Idiot’s guides to everything’!

There is a how-to for anything you can think of, and then more. So long as you are a little discerning you can find more than adequate instruction. There is a lot of rubbish – just try searching ‘Australian history’ on TeacherTube, but also much of substance.

YouTube is also a source of immediate world news coverage. Every world event will have images on YouTube before even a TV camera has time to get there. And there is many a humorous clip to get across a message eg. the Mr Bean series.

There is much to love.

Podcasts

#20

I do use podcasts and have subscribed to The Book Show from Radio National. I am however rather recalcitrant in actually getting around to then listening to them – a bit like all those TV shows I used to tape because I didn’t have time to watch them live. So where was I going to manufacture the time to watch them later!!!

However unlike the videos I can load these onto my Ipod/phone and listen to them on the train – much more portable.

I have, up till now, viewed them much like an audio-book and have focussed mainly on literature. But reading other people’s blogs I see I really should at the very least check out TEDtalk, seems to be everybody’s favourite.

Rollyo

#19

I was having extreme difficulty trying to drag the bookmarklet to my favourites until I realised that only worked with Firefox and I am using Explorer. I am still having trouble getting it to do what I think it should and everytime I use a different computer and try to login, it doesn't recognise me - only on the one where I originally registered.

Can anybody help?

However I do like the idea of custom building a search engine - like a much more refined look at 'hot lists' that we librarians are so good at creating only far more efficient for the end-user.

Google Custom Search

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Wikis

#18

I like Wikis as they are easy to establish, simple to use and collaborative. There are so many immediately do-able projects that lend themselves to Wikis that even the busiest teacher/librarian can get started immediately. The most obvious are reading lists compiled by both librarians and students (individually and collaboratively), book reviews, local history projects, subject lists of websites etc. I know that there are probably other more sophisticated tools, but sometimes I think sticking to the KISS principle is the best way to go.

The down side is that they are freely accessible, which leaves them a bit vulnerable. But the interesting thing is that once a community is established it tends to self-regulate, as illustrated by the most obvious wiki, Wikipedia.

We have started using what I think is probably a wiki, called Libguides - it allows nominated users to create/edit pages that are publically available.

I thought the sites provided for exploration were very good, but I couldn't find a "how to..." amongst them, if you needed one. I found this one pretty useful, wikiHow, so thought I would share it.

Delicious

#17

I think delicious is a really useful tool (I sound like the Fat Controller!) Moving between home and work computers and sometimes between work computers means my favourites are available wherever I am.

The Public/Share facility then makes it truely a social networking tool.

Thumbs up from me.

RSS Feeds and Subscribing

#14 & #15

I have subscribed to e-newsletters in all their inceptions since the begining of public use of the internet. And whilst I still think this is a useful way of receiving updates on what is happening in my fields of interest it can lead to a very crowded mailbox, especially if you are away and don't read work emails for a while.
Therefore the concept of RSS feeds is very sound on many levels; timeliness, convenience and provides much broader coverage than is available from e-newsletters alone.

I have suscribed to a number of my favourite websites and have had discussions with a teacher regarding setting up a blog for student assignments and being alerted to new postings via RSS.