Podcast
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Webcast
What is webcasting?
Webcasting is using the internet to broadcast delayed or real-time music or video programming. Is there a difference between podcasting and webcasting? Yes! Podcasting and webcasting are both ways of putting audio content on the internet, but the delivery methods of the audio are different. With podcasting a listener downloads the audio on to his or her computer, but with webcasting audio is streaming. Also, webcasting is more costly and requires a higher level of technical expertise than podcasting. How does webcasting work? Basically, audio or video content from an audio/visual system is transferred to "streaming media" software running on the host’s PC equipped with capture cards. The content is encoded, and then sent to a specialized server. This server distributes the webcast onto the Internet - either as a live broadcast, or as "on demand" content stored for later access. A user is able to view or listen to a webcast because a program on the user’s computer (RealPlayer or Windows Media Player) converts the data stream from the webcast server. |
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RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
Why RSS? Will Richardson calls RSS "The New Killer APP for Educators" in his book "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" He has great information in this book on the numerous uses of RSS and the benefits of using it with your students. I say "Read the Book" or you can check out this resource as well "RSS: The Next Killer App For Education" from 2003.
There are a few RSS services out there to choose from but I use Google Reader, it is easy to use and organize. Here is a couple of great articles I found that helped me get organized with Google Reader: "How To Organize Your Google Feed Reader" and here is the other one: "Prioritizing and Organizing Feeds in Google Reader" |