Ebooks

With the recent price drop of the Kindle and the updated Kindle DX, along with iBooks and the imminent Google Editions, I thought it would be good to address the ebook phenomenon.

A little history before I begin my post:

There have been an increasing number of ebook readers to have been released over the past few years. They began to reach prominence with Amazon's Kindle, with free 3G and a huge library of books.

Before that there was the Sony ebook reader, and since then we have seen Barnes and Noble's Nook and Apple's iBooks for iOS devices (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch).

Now, not only are there dedicated ebook readers, but also generic ebook stores. The Kindle Store for example works on Kindles, iOS devices, and Android devices. Google Editions is supposed to launch this summer with the ability to display books on any device with a web browser.

One of the great advances was in E-Ink technology. This is the screen technology used by the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and others. This allows the ebook to be presented to look like a traditional book - it looks like ink on paper. This means that it an be read in direct sunlight without problem. Also, this allows for ebook readers' battery life to stretch into weeks.

All of this growth in the ebook industry is a great boon for teachers and students alike. However, in many areas, ebooks have not received the enthusiasm and acceptance that other technologies have. In this post I will outline the upsides (and downsides) of ebooks and ebook readers.

Pros:

• The weight is far easier to bear - This allows students to carry more books than ever before. Most 1lb readers can carry upwards of 1,000 books in their memory. This means that students have their books with them all the time, they don't carry only today's books.
• Delivery is fast, easy, and cheap - Most ebook readers have a direct Internet connection and can download books directly to the device, typically in under a minute. Because their are no printing costs and limited distribution costs, the books are often significantly cheaper.
• There is no availability problem - If the store offers the book, it can be purchased instantly.
• Books and annotations are backed up - If the device is broken or lost, the owner's books, highlights, and notes are backed up (iBooks and Kindle) and will be available on the owner's other device or replacement device.

Cons:

• Books are not resalable - Once purchased they are yours forever.
• Most mainstream ebookstores use DRM - this means that you are limited in what you can do with your ebooks. In the case of iBooks, your books can only be read on iOS devices.
• The readers are expensive compared to traditional paper books.

In short, ebooks do what a technological progression typically does - where the traditional technology (paper books) was strong, eboks are weak, and wear paper books were weak, ebooks are strong.

However, they have many strengths to offer the classroom environment.

Podcast Creating

In keeping with my rework of the blog, I am not going to do much more than mention a few tools and link to them, but as always, if you have questions or comments please email me or post them below.

Audio Podcasts

There are quite a few good audio recording and editing packages, but one of the most versatile and powerful is Audacity. It can easily record and edit together a professional sounding audio podcast. It is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it can export to regular MP3 files as long as you download the LAME library.

GarageBand is similar to Audacity and has a mode specifically geared towards podcasting. It is easy and integrates well with iWeb, if you are using that for your website. It can also export as regular MP3 or AAC files to be used with pretty much anything.

Video Podcasts


Video podcast depend on much because of the varying edit methods and file types and more. So, one of the biggest issues is keeping it simple.

The best way I have found to do this is using FLIP cameras. They are relatively in expensive and come with their own editing software that is the same on every computer (Windows, there is also a slightly different Mac version included). You can use this software or other software such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

Publishing
Now, for what makes a podcast a podcast - publishing and updating. Now viewers don't have to go to your site, they don't have to download anything manually, it all just works.

The magic behind this is RSS (Really Simple Synchronization). To do this, you must have an XML file that contains your podcast details. This is a little complicated, but thankfully, there are tools to do this for us.

The best I have found is Podcast Maker. This allow for easy configuration of servers and uploading. Unfortunately it is Mac only and I have not found a comparable Windows tool. If you know of one, please post it in the comments or email me. I will continue my search and let you know if I find one.

As always, if you have any questions or additions, email me or post a comment.

Podcasting

Podcasting is something that has been gaining traction in the world at large and especially in the educational world recently. Given my recent experience with some relatively new and enthusiastic podcasters, I would like to do a short post or two about this new phenomenon.

Given my recent experience, I would like to first explain what a podcast is and is not.

A podcast is not just an audio or video file on the Internet such a embedded sound or YouTube video. It can be composed from those things, however it needs more.

A podcast is constructed from episodes. So, a video or audio file can be one episode of the podcast.

One of the neatest things about podcasts is that they automatically update. So after you create a podcast, the next day as people grab their iPods, iPhones, Droids, and Zunes, they have automatically downloaded your latest episode. It is similar to a radio or TV show that your listeners and viewers can experience on demand - either on their computer or portable device.

In short, a podcast is an automatically updating "show" that people access over the Internet, whether on their mobile device, computer, or TV set-top box.

Technology in Education

Previously here was a post on technology in education. Given it's large size, and given that it dealt more with the ideals of classroom technology rather than practicalities (which is the focus of this blog) I have moved it.

You may find it here:
http://www.ezaptechnology.com/teched.pdf

Finishing up Google

I am nearing the end of my list of Google products. There are many more, but I have only one or two more with which I am familiar and can easily use in the classroom.

I am not sure what to do next. I have several ideas, but I'd like to hear from you.

What are some ways you use technology in the classroom?
What are some technologies you think would be cool to use in the classroom?
What is a current task you do or problem you have that you think could be eased by technology?

Drop a comment or shoot me an email, I'd love to hear from you!

My email is blog@ezaptechnology.com.

Thanks!

Google Translate

Google Translate is an excellent app that can introduce students to the world of languages.
This app, as all automatic translators are, is not perfect - however, it is excellent when introducing students to a language. It is good for social studies and geography as well.

It can show students the variances in languages and also show the variance in alphabets.

This tool can be used to translate student-designed sites (maybe in Google Sites) into a foreign language, so that students can see their words represented to the rest of the world.

As you can imagine, this is also an excellent tool in a second language classroom. It can be used to approximate translations and help students expand their vocabulary and reading material beyond was in taught in the classroom and expose students to material that interests them presented in the language they are learning. Google Translate can be used to help the process information they they have not yet learned in class.

I am sure this also has many application in an ESL setting. If you know or can think of any, please email me or place a comment. I love to know different ways of using technology in the classroom!

My email is blog@ezaptechnology.com.

Similar Images

Google Image search has always been a boon to me, whether preparing images for a class, or finding a picture to include in a report.

However, occasionally I cannot find exactly what I want.
I may want a picture of a Jaguar (car) and get pictures of the animal.

Recently Google has unveiled Similar Images.
This allows you to find one image that meets your criteria, click "Find Similar Images" and find others like that.

For instance, if I search "Eiffel Tower" I will get many results.
I can click "Find Similar Images" on one that is lit up at night, and find many pictures of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

Try it out now!