podCALGARY

I have been discussing the potential of podcasting as an educational tool on numerous occasions recently and wanted to post a very important resource.

Several months ago Apple announced iTunes U a free support service for university and college educators. Simply summarized; if you record it - they’ll share it.

There are multiple reasons for educators to consider this technology. Podcasted classes from the UofC have been well received by students and incorporated into lesson plans. An 8 minutes NUTV documentary titled Techno Education explained the need for technologies like this to be included in the classroom and to successfully extend it.

The two most common technical concerns relate to sharing the content and recording it.

“They can listen to and view that content on their Mac or PC, or transfer it to iPod for listening or viewing on the go. Instructors can easily post and change content on their own without impacting the IT department.”

Source: apple.com/education/products/ipod/itunes_u

But that is just Apple – you also have the support of podCALGARY. We are personally interested in working one on one with educators in our community to make podcasting possible. So drop us a note and let us know how we can help (EMAIL).

Doug Nouwen
Founding Member, podCALGARY

Yahoo! has launched an online video competition dubbed: Yahoo! Talent Show. The distinguished panel of judges will include Maria Sansone, Tom Green and the Ninja of Ask a Ninja.

In addition to winning $50,000 there is also a development deal to be had to produce a show on Yahoo! The criteria for winning: “original Internet video talent.”

Contest closes Nov 27 – 2006 Vist: http://talentshow.yahoo.com for all the details

A mixed bag of news has come from hardware and software manufacturer Microsoft.  According to SeattlePI.com’s Todd Bishop there is still no pod-catching support in the new Windows Media Player. (READ MORE)

This function was anticipated (by some) for use with Microsoft’s new portable media player the Zune. According to an MS spokesperson – the job of transferring podcasts to your Zune is yours to deal with.

While this may sound cold they have made a major advancement in the realm of on demand content with the X-Box.  Console owners that have access to the X-Box live store will be able to download full length TV shows in HD as soon as the 22^nd of November (06). (READ MORE)

This news isn’t revolutionary on it’s own but it does illustrate an important step toward on-demand content.  As producers it’s important for us to be mindful of how people may receive our content in the future. 

How else can you reach you audience?