Blogging Section of SLA-IT

Podcasting links

Learning Communities Chair Ty Webb sent this email to the IT Division sla-dite list last night containing interesting podcasting resources. I'm reproducing here with her permission.

A while ago, I sent a message about gadgets that referred to Hope Tillman's presentation in Toronto.  In that conference session, Hope talked a little about Podcasts (audio file on a blog or website, linked by an RSS feed).   If you're interested in exploring this technology, here are some sites for you to look at:

Podcast directories

www.ipodder.org

www.podcastalley.com

www.itunes.com

Hosting and technical advice

www.libsyn.com

www.ourmedia.org

CastBlaster creates podcasts and RSS feeds for you

www.castblaster.com

Thanks Ty!

Podcast workshop

The Metropolitan New York Library Council Program is holding an online workshop titled Podcasts as Library Resources on Monday, February 27, 2006 (3:30PM to 5:00PM).

Description:
Podcasting is a rapidly growing form of communication and information delivery in both business and academia. The number of podcast listeners using iTunes alone grew from one million in July 2005 to six million in August 2005. This webinar will present a basic introduction to podcasts and show how they can be useful research and reference tools in libraries. Instruction will outline and share techniques for seeking out existing resource podcasts, including those distributed by RSS feeds.

Objectives:

• Learn to understand podcasting basics.
• Review the history of podcasting and assess how it is being used in libraries today.
• Identify applications for podcasting in various types of libraries.
• Set strategies to identify podcasts for reference services.

Presenter:
Kathryn Shaughnessy is an instructional services librarian at St. John's University in Queens. She has taught in a variety of institutions and libraries representing business, government, and academic organizations. She specializes in innovations in instructional technologies and in the promotion of information-literacy and information-ethics.

You can register online. Registration fee is $40 for members; $75 nonmembers.

Coursecasting at UCincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is the most recent university to jump on the podcasting wagon in letting their instructors record their classes. I see such podcasts become part of institutional digital repositories very easily (maybe someone here have such experience at their learning institution?).

But I was wondering, is there any podcasting being done in the private sector, especially in the non-IT field? What could the podcasts consist of? Seminars and trainings? Communications from the executives? Do librarians/information professionals in the corporate world create podcasts? I would love to hear from you on the subject and I just might try looking on my own.

Podcast: word of the year

The term 'podcast' has been declared Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Wasn't it last year that "weblog" was the word of the year?

Podcasting listserv

There's a new bibliocasting listserv around.

Introducing the Bibliocasting listserv.

The bibliocasting listserv ([email protected]) is
dedicated to a discussion of streaming media in the library
environment. This list grows out of the increasing popularity of
"Podcasting," or the use of RSS and the Internet to download audio
programs (like audio blogs) to computers and MP3 players. A recent
Reuters story states:

"Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults who own MP3 players like Apple
Computer Inc.'s iPod say they have downloaded podcast programs from the
Internet, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found...That means
more than 6 million people are listening to a form of communication
that emerged only last year, according to the nonprofit group."

[ http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/154/report_display.asp ]

So what to post on the list? Examples of how libraries can build on the
growing excitement of Podcasting; Questions on how libraries can use
podcasting and other multimedia information they create to promote
themselves and provide better service; Questions on how to podcast and
other technical questions on streaming media including QuickTime
Streaming, RealProducer,  and others. In addition, the list will
include postings of key articles, reports, and news about podcating and
other streaming media in general and in the the library context.

Bottom Line: We are looking to build a community of individuals
interested in the application of multimedia in the library environment.

SUBSCRIBING TO THE LIST

You can get the listserv in two ways. The first is through e-mail. To
subscribe to the list send an e-mail to [email protected] with
the entire message (no subject line):

        subscribe bibliocasting FirstName LastName

We have also set up a podcast for the list...that's right, you can
listen to the list. Each post is transformed from text-to-speech, and
syndicated using RSS. The RSS feed (podcast feed) for the list is at:

        http://drew.syr.edu/iis4/pod/pod.xml

I haven't used podcasting in any of my blogs;I need to get to it. Have you?

Podcasting intro

Want to know more about podcasting? On December 7, Greg Schwartz of Open  Stacks gave an online seminar on the subject on OPAL. It will be available on the OPAL archives soon. Meanwhile, check out their other programing.