The ideal MP3 player - the ongoing search

Sandisk has been continuing to refine their MP3 players and come out with a few new models. I've been trying out the Sansa Clip and really like it.

It has all the features I look for in a good MP3 player for schools: rechargeable battery, built-in recorder, low cost, and a display. It also has a few new things (for Sandisk) such as a clip and a standard mini-USB connector. And it's super small, and I like small!

TiVo Season Pass

Here's a new way to think about explaining RSS -- RSS is like setting up a season pass to something on TiVo.

It doesn't cost anything.
It isn't a commitment.
It's easy to cancel.
It's just an easy way to get stuff delivered to your hard drive automatically.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month.

There is a free curriculum unit on African American history available from K12 Handhelds. It includes an interactive ebook, a virtual field trip, and more.

Also, my mashup this month features audio from black history, as well as some great music. Give it a listen, and make sure to check out the free offer for a lucky listener on the site.

Also, on the mashup page is a list of multimedia resources you can use in your own classroom. Many of these are open, sharable resources that you can use with students to create your own mashups or other multimedia projects.

Come to Seattle!

This weekend NCCE recorded a Skype interview with me about mobile technology and the upcoming conference in Seattle. NCCE is one of my favorite conferences. The conference has a great energy level, and the presenters and the attendees are a step ahead on the technology curve.

This year, I'll be facilitating 3-hour workshops on audio and video podcasting. Participants will receive a recording headset and a podcasting CD as a part of the workshop.

I'll also be doing a workshop called "Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate Instruction." This is a new workshop that I'm really excited about. Bring your own laptop and mobile device to participate. It's also available as a free open wiki if you'd like to do it on your own or with a group at your school or district.

I'm presenting several sessions in Seattle. The one I'm most excited about is called "Free Content + Open Tools + Massive Collaboration = Learning for All." This session is about the big world of open source tools and content. Pretty cool stuff and I'll share a lot of resources that you may not know about.

See you in Seattle!

Podcasts by secondary students

My first mashup for the new year will feature podcasts by secondary students. If your middle school or high school students produce a podcast or if you have a favorite, post it here or drop me an email.

21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition for Students

In 2008, NASA will celebrate its 50th anniversary. This year's 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition asks students to consider the question "What do you think is NASA’s greatest exploration achievement in the past 50 years and why?" and to create a podcast with their thoughts.

The contest is open to students ages 11-18, and entries are due January 4. Visit their web site for all the details.

NCETC session materials

For those who requested them, here are the presentation materials from my sessions NCETC. Just for fun, I've used a few different slide sharing programs here, so you can compare and contrast; see notes below.

Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate Instruction [Google Docs]
(See also the workshop wiki for this here.*)

Podcasting: What You Need to Get Started [Google Docs]

Using and Creating Mobile Video for the Classroom [SlideShare]

Free Content + Open Tools + Massive Collaboration = Learning for All* [in a wiki; no slide sharing needed :)]

* Licensed under Creative Commons. Feel free to use any way you like.
Other materials are under all rights reserved copyright; email me if you'd like to use them in a way other than showing them online as they are here.

Free online workshop

Well, the workshop on "Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate Instruction" that I wrote about earlier is pretty well finished. I'm really happy with the content in it and think this is a great resource for schools using mobile tech and looking for resources.

I've structured this in a wiki, and it is intended to be used for either a face-to-face workshop or as an online self-guided learning experience.

This is licensed under a CC BY SA license, so you are free to use it for your own purposes as well.

This is my first attempt at using a wiki to facilitate both a F2F workshop and a self-guided experience. If you go through it, let me know what you think.

Differentiating Professional Development

In my on-going quest to differentiate instruction for teachers as a part of workshops I do, I've been experimenting with using blogs and wikis as PD tools.

The latest installment in this is a hands on workshop on using mobile technology to differentiate instruction (coincidentally) that I am outlining in a wiki. I'm hoping that this wiki will also be able to be used as a self-study tool for those who aren't at the workshop (or for those who attend and want a refresher or more in-depth learning later on).

Here's a preview of a section on using ebooks.

We'll be using this at my "HANDS ON: Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate Instruction" at NCETC on Mon., Nov. 26. If you'll be there, I'm really looking forward to this. (This is a bring-your-own-laptop-and-mobile-device workshop. Contact me for more info.)

If not, stay tuned for the final version of this. I'll post a note when it's done (or as near to done as wikis get :).

Science podcasts

Awhile back, I posted some links for some science podcasts. This is one of the richest areas for high quality podcasts, and I've put together a new list and mashup of what's available. Enjoy!

Student podcast contest

It's time for the 2nd Annual 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition for students.

The challenge is to make an audio or video podcast answering the question "What do you think is NASA’s greatest exploration achievement in the past 50 years and why?"

The competition starts on Oct. 1 and ends after they've received 1,000 entries in each category (or on Jan. 4, 2008 if that comes first). This is open to U.S. students age 11-18.

See all the details on the 2nd Annual 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition web site.

Parent podcasts

The beginning of another new school year, and it's a good time to think about how to facilitate strong home-school communications. With everyone's schedules getting busier and busier, this is difficult.

One way to communicate so that people can participate on their own schedules is through podcasting.

The latest of my mashups highlights how schools and other organizations are using podcasting to get information to parents.

[Image: Reprinted with permission from ClipArt.com; copyrighted property of JupiterImages used with permission under license.]

Teacher resources for using podcasts

With more and more great educational podcasts out there, it's getting hard to choose which to use in the classroom. One thing that sets some podcasts apart are those that provide teacher's guide and lesson plans for the classroom.

Here are some podcasts with teacher's resources that you might want to check out:

The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation - Podcast Activity Guide (More Smithsonian podcasts are also available here.)

NPR's Science Friday podcast - Kids' Connection site with a wealth of resources including curriculum activities and standards correlation

Some podcasts, like the ESL Podcast, have more extensive learning guides that are available at additional cost. A sample is included here.

If you have lesson plans for using podcasts in the classroom that you'd like to share, let us know. We hope to post a collection of these in the future.

[Image: Reprinted with permission from ClipArt.com; copyrighted property of JupiterImages used with permission under license.]

Mashup on museum podcasts

The newest show in Karen's Mashups features podcasts from museums. These are good resources to bring virtual field trips to life or to supplement a wide variety of curriculum units.

Let us know if you have an idea for a topic for one of our future mashup shows.

[Image: Reprinted with permission from ClipArt.com; copyrighted property of JupiterImages used with permission under license.]

PD podcasts

My newest mashup with audio podcasts for professional development is up.

If a part of your job is providing professional development, you should be thinking about podcasting as a delivery option.

The next mashup will be on museum podcasts. Post or email me your favorites!

Podcast on Ed Conferences

The newest episode of Karen's Educational Mashups is now up. This show features podcasts from educational conferences. This is a great way to get the professional development benefits from conferences that you may not be able to attend in-person.

Image courtesy of Todd Fishburn.

Differentiating Instruction with Mobile Technology

At NECC last week, I presented a session called "Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate and Enrich Instruction." The ISTE folks had wanted to podcast the session, but I wasn't crazy about the legal agreement they were using. (It wasn't Creative Commons and gave pretty extensive rights to Apple.)

So....I created my own digital version of this session for folks to download:

Audio only (MP3)
Video version (streaming, for viewing in a browser; loads faster, but lower quality)
Video version (WMV, 320x240, for Win download)
Video version (MOV, 320x240, for Mac download)
Video version (M4V, 320x240, for ipod download)

If anyone is interested in a higher resolution version to share with folks who weren't able to attend, email me, and I'll try to send you a CD.

For those who are interested, I audio recorded this with a very inexpensive Olympus WS-100 pocket recorder. I edited the audio in Audacity and brought it all into Windows Movie Maker for editing. The visuals included exported jpgs from my presentation slides and screen-capture videos made with Camstudio. I used HandShare to create the Palm movies (which is the same software I used to present). Creating the whole thing took about 4 hours.

It was a lot of fun making this and was a good way to reflect on my own style of presenting (and hopefully refine it for upcoming events).

I hope this is a useful resource for you all.

Free audio resources you can use

The next episode of Karen's Mashups is up, and this is my favorite show so far! In it, I highlight a variety of sources for "copyleft" audio content that can be used free of charge in your own podcasts, movies, PowerPoint presentations, etc. The post includes links for all the sources used plus more.

The next show will feature similar copyleft visual content (photos, clip art, videos). I'm also presenting a session called "Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate and Enrich Instruction" at NECC. This presentation will include how to create and use this kind of content. If you're at NECC, stop by and say hi!

PD "stickiness"

I do a lot of professional development workshops. (One time I counted and figured I worked with over 2,000 administrators and teachers over the course of a year. )

There are two main types of workshops I do: workshops at schools and districts for specific projects and conference workshops. In general, I like the former better, because I know what I am teaching will be put to immediate use. Conference workshops, on the other hand...I'm not sure. The energy at conferences is always high, and everyone is very excited, but I think a lot of people go back home and get entrenched in their everyday lives and maybe don't use their newly-learned skills so much.

Part of how I gauge this is through how many follow-up emails I get from people. (I always tell people how much I love hearing from them after a workshop, because then I know they're out there doing great things.) This year, I've seen a real difference with podcasting workshops. I have heard from a lot more conference participants in the months after the workshops. I've gotten emails from people who are podcasting with kids, emails from people who are teaching their own workshops back at their districts, calls from people with questions as they're in the middle of projects, etc. It makes me know that after these workshops, people are going back and podcasting!

That's fun. I'm glad the workshops are "sticking" and even happier that podcasting is proving to be a useful medium for people. It is energizing me for a busy summer/fall full of workshops. Keep those emails coming!

New Edition of Handheld Book

There is a brand new 2nd Edition now available of the popular book Handhelds for Teachers and Administrators by Tony Vincent and Janet Caughlin.

This new edition has a lot of new information, including a section on podcasting, which includes tips for using Audacity and information on publishing your podcast. Even if you already have the old edition of this book, it's worth getting this update. It also includes a new CD with more lessons, software, podcasts, and movies!

Video-based professional development

The newest show on Karen's Educational Mashups is up. This show features different ways that video resources are being used to provide just-in-time professional development. With all the time pressures on teachers, I'd expect this to be a growing area as schools look for creative solutions to building professional learning environments.

New media player/recorder options

In the ongoing quest to find the best sub-$100 media player with a built-in voice recorder, I've just spent some time looking at Sandisk's new offerings, and I like them.

The reason I haven't liked Sandisk's low- to mid-range players in the past was that they required AAA batteries. Now, most of their new devices are rechargeable.

I've done some recording with the Sansa c250, and the quality is cleaner than most devices I've used in the past. (Hear a comparison here.) This device also supports photos and video (though on a pretty small screen) and has a micro SD slot to add memory. This is the first device under $100 that I've seen with these features.

The Sansa Express is even cheaper. It has voice recording and expansion, but has no color screen.

On the high end, Sandisk also has the Sansa Connect which has a wireless connection that can be used for Internet radio or downloading music. It's also integrated with flickr for photo downloading. On their podcast, Engadget recently speculated that all media players will have integrated wireless of some kind (cell or WiFi) in a couple years.

Then there's the new Sansa Shaker. You shake it to change songs. I have to say that I don't really get that one.:)

New mashup is available

The new show from Karen's Mashups is up. This one features podcasts produced by elementary students. You'll be impressed by the great work done by these kids and by how much thinking and learning is obviously going on.

If you're doing a workshop or presentation on podcasting for schools, please feel free to share any of these mashups to show the power of podcasting.

Podcast observations

In producing episodes for my podcast, which is a mashup of various podcasts and other digital content of interest to educators, I've been listening to lots and lots of podcasts. As such, I have some observations and suggestions to share about podcast production.

- Production issues - The quality level of podcasts varies enormously. Many podcasts would benefit from just a little clean-up in a program like Audacity or GarageBand. Here are some easy fixes that can really help your podcast sound better: 1) Amplify audio of people who don't speak up. 2) Adjust your levels to be consistent, so that various speakers, music, and sound effects are at appropriate relative volume levels. (If you don't have the time to hand adjust each track, try the Levelator.) 3.) Try a noise removal filter to get rid of a steady hum or buzz in the background.

- Copyright issues - A lot of people are playing very fast and loose with intellectual property. Remember that when you publish a podcast online, the guidelines for classroom fair use no longer apply. Watch out for things like using copyrighted (commercial) music or reading copyrighted literature. There are many public domain, Open Source, or otherwise "shareable" resources you can use, so check them out!

- Feed issues - First, you need a feed to be a podcast. (MP3 files posted to a web site with no feed is not technically a podcast.) Secondly, test your feed with a few different podcatchers, especially iTunes and Juice. I've seen a lot of podcast feeds that don't work in one of the other or either. Also, make sure your back episodes show up in the feed for optional download if people want them.

- "Sustainability" issues - OK, here comes the rant... A podcast is a series of shows. One or two shows is not a podcast. There seem to be a lot of people out there who got enthusiastic about podcasting, produced a couple shows, and then ran out of steam. iTunes is clogged with shows that have a couple very old episodes or even nothing at all.

If you have an old podcast out there that is no longer "active," you may want to take it out of iTunes and just leave the episodes on your web site for those who want them. If you are starting a new podcast, think about whether you're ready to commit to it. If you're not sure, try just putting a few episodes on your own web site and see how it goes before you publish a feed. Another great approach is to produce a show or two for one of the podcasts that takes guest-produced episodes.

Hope these thoughts are useful. If you have your own suggestions to share with fellow podcasts, please post a comment.

Michigan's proposal for an MP3 player for every student

Michigan has a new legislative proposal on the table to purchase an iPod or other MP3 player for every student (not surprisingly probably influenced by Apple).

Interesting, but wouldn't a handheld that could play music and video podcasts, as well as act as a word processor, assessment tool, ebook reader, study tool, and web browser be a better use of the funds? It probably doesn't matter, since this proposal is unlikely to be funded, given Michigan's current budget situation.

In my opinion, the money spent on hardware like this is wasted if an equal amount is not spent on curriculum and professional development. Projects that start with "a _____ [insert device of your choice] for every kid" instead of "every kid learning _____ [insert skill of your choice]" are doomed to fail. We've been down that road too many times already.

New podcast for educators

I am happy to announce my new podcast "Karen's Educational Mashups."

This podcast is a compilation of excerpts from podcasts and other free audio and video content of interest to educators. Shows will air twice a month, and each show will focus on a different topic. Some will be focused on content for students, while others will feature professional development content for administrators and teachers. Our first show is on history-related content. The second show will be aimed at library media specialists (and everyone who loves books).

Podcasting is definitely a hot topic in ed tech right now. Creating your own podcast isn't for every teacher, but every teacher can use some of the great FREE content that is already out there to differentiate instruction. This show is designed to help you discover some of that great content and to spark ideas. There are a lot of great podcast directories out there, but this is a different approach to helping you find podcasts of interest to you.

I hope you enjoy this podcast. If you have ideas for future shows or a favorite podcast or other content source that you'd like to see featured, drop us a line at mashups@k12handhelds.com or leave a voice mail at 206-984-2258.

Final thoughts on NCCE 2007

Well, NCCE was a great conference this year as always. I consistently find the sessions at this conference to be a step ahead of most other conferences.

I'm on the plane on my way home now, and here are a few thoughts after this year's conference:

- Web 2.0 is quickly evolving beyond just wikis and blogs. The evolution of web-based tools, like word processors, presentation tools, graphic organizers, etc., is moving fast. (See previous post for links to some of these tools.) We may really see desktop software become a thing of the past. And the potential for collaboration with these tools takes my breath away.

- Teachers (and presenters) need to be more aware and diligent about intellectual property and copyright issues. At every event I attend, I continue to see people liberally (and illegally) "borrow" copyrighted music, etc. I also see a lot of this in classrooms. We need to model better behavior for students. There's so much great Creative Commons licensed content out there. Try using that...or create your own...or have your kids create it.

- Podcasting continues to be hot, hot, hot. While I am occasionally frustrated by how much educational technology is moved by fads, I do think podcasting has solid educational applications. Even if you aren't moved to create your own podcast, there is so much great FREE content out there that can benefit you, your students, and the community. If you haven't checked out what's out there, do it today!

- It's time for schools to block less and teach responsibility more. I know there is a lot of pressure from parents and the community, but we can educate them. There is too much great free content out there that is being blocked. Our kids are losing out as a result.

- Educators are the greatest group to work with. I talked to so many people who were enthusiastic and passionate about their work and the students they serve. This is one of the things that makes me really love my job.

Thanks to all of you who attended my workshops and sessions at NCCE. Thanks also to the fantastic NCCE team...Heidi, Adina, Jeff, Randy, Dave, Debby, Glenn, and everyone else. See you all next year in Seattle.
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Ed podcast mashup

New versions of the first ed pdocast mashup are up for video (WMV and MP4). Also the audio file is fixed now.
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NCCE podcasting session follow-up

Thanks to everyone who attended my whirlwind "Podcasting: What You Need to Get Started" session this morning at NCCE. Here are a few follow-up things I said I'd post:

- Philips GoGear 1 GB MP3 player (This is the small inexpensive flash player I showed.)

- Jodix is a good free video converter that will convert WMVs (and other formats as well) to iPod videos without spyware.

- Someone showed me a cute little inexpensive pocket recorder after the session. It's the Olympus Ws-100 digital voice recorder. I've got one on order, so look for more info and a review in a couple weeks.

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Educational Podcast Mashup

OK, Tony inspired me. Thanks, Tony. After my last post, he asked if I could post the mashup I made. Well, it was too long and had some other issues that made it suitable for my workshops and sessions, but not necessarily for a download, but now I've edited it. It's shorter and now includes only pieces for which I have permission or are open source or public domain. (Some of you know how strongly I feel about intellectual property and copyright.)

Here it is:
- Audio only version (MP3)
- Video version with credits (WMV; for Windows)
- Video version with credits (MP4; for Mac and vid ipod)

I hope this gives you some ideas for how you might use podcasting in education. Here are links for the pieces included. If you like them, subscribe!

Bob Sprankle and Wells Elementary (Room 208 and now 209 Podcast)

Spoken Wikipedia

Grammar Girl

Los Angeles County Office of Education

Tony Vincent, Learning in Hand

Radio WillowWeb and Willowdale Elementary

Colonial Williamsburg

Englishcaster.com

LD Podcast

THANKS to you all!

If you like this , let me know by posting a comment here, and maybe I'll do more. It sure was fun to put together.


P.S. If anyone notices a drain on the bandwidth at the Doubletree....it might be me. ;)
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Welcome to Spokane and NCCE

I just got into Spokane for NCCE, and the weather is beautiful!

On the plane on the way here, I put together a quick mashup* of education-related podcasts. It was a lot of fun -- there are so many great podcasts now that it was hard to choose from them all. I tried to pick some from a variety of genres: kid-produced podcasts, podcasts for parents, podcasts about technology (for professional development), podcasts produced by museums, podcasts by educational service centers, etc.

If you're at NCCE or another future workshop of mine on podcasting, stop by to hear the results.
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*This is a good example of one of the features of Wikipedia -- not many other online resources have information about current tech terms and topics.

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ID3 tag editor

Looking for a good ID3 tag editor for Windows? Check out AudioShell. (If you aren't familiar with ID3 tags, they include metadata that tells your media player things like the track name, the artist, and the genre. That's how your MP3 player can know how to play all your jazz tracks.)

This software is free and includes the ability to add cover art to your file. You can edit single files or groups of files with this tool. Once it's installed, you edit the tags by right-clicking the file and selecting Properties. There you'll see an AudioShell Tag Editor tab where you can edit your tags.

Podcasting contest winner

As a part of the podcasting workshop I did at TCEA in Austin, TX this month, we had a contest for the best podcast created as a part of the workshop. Entries were judged on content and technical merit.

The winner was Gabriel Landes from Judson ISD for "What is Podcasting?" Gabriel created a video podcast about podcasting to share what he learned at TCEA with the staff back home. You can view this video podcast here. This podcast is a good example of how podcasting can be used for professional development. It also gives a good overview of podcasting if you're new to it.

Congratulations, Gabriel!

We'll be running another contest as a part of our podcasting workshop at NCCE 2007 in Spokane.

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Science podcasts

Here are some podcasts relating to science that may be of interest for use with middle school and high school students:

Quirks and Quarks - a science-related radio show produced by CBC Radio One in Canada

NOVA podcasts - several different podcasts from NOVA, the highest rated science series on television

Science Friday - the popular NPR science show

The Science Show - a Radio National show from Australia

NPL Celebrating Science Lectures - video podcasts of lectures from NPL, the UK's National Physical Laboratory (a little higher level than the others)

Here is a site that has a directory of many museums that are podcasting. These include science museums. What a great way to supplement your virtual (or real) field trips.

For advanced high school students, there are also a number of universities that podcast their lectures, such as Berkeley.

Of course, as with all podcasts and other web materials, make sure to screen individual episodes for studen appropriateness.

Digital recording enhances student learning

This story from the Des Moines Register has some great ideas on ways to use digital recording as a way to enhance student learning.

I am always surprised by how many people I run into who think that using anything other than good old fashioned pencil and paper is somehow "cheating." If kids aren't achieving well with paper and pencil, but can succeed with computers, keyboards, digital recorders, or other tools, we ought to give them every opportunity to use these tools.

While most school tests are still paper and pencil, this isn't a very real world way to measure achievement. In the business world, people are much more frequently called upon to communicate through computer-generated reports, PowerPoints, and oral presentations. We should be doing more to help kids be successful with these types of tools or other tools that match their own styles.

Audacity tips

Over the holiday break, I did a lot of recording in Audacity for a reading practice series of videos we're doing, and I picked up a few tips that might be helpful to those of you who us Audacity:

• The Noise Removal tool in the Effect menu is a good way to get rid of that slight background noise that you can often hear during narration.
• To select multiple tracks, just drag up or down, and make sure they are highlighted. (This is especially useful if you want to export just a portion of something out to an MP3 file, but want all the tracks.)
• If you have a lot of tracks, name them to keep track of what is what. To do this, click the triangle next to "Audio Track" at the left of the track.
• There's nothing like some fun music to liven up what can otherwise be pretty dull content!

BBC podcasts

If you're looking for some interesting new podcasts to listen to or to share with your students, BBC has a wealth of materials available.

For current events, having students examine one topic from various perspectives (BBC, NPR, CNN, Fox, etc.) is an interesting way to study bias and to develop media literacy skills.

The Big Toe Radio Show has some great young children's programming, including audio ebooks.

Look who's podcasting now!

It seems like everyone is podcasting these days. If you think it's just a fad, check this out -- the Queen of England is podcasting her traditional Christmas message this year! What's next, the pope blogging?

If you're not up to speed on these exciting new technologies, the holiday break is a great time to explore things that it's hard to get to during the rest of the year.

Happy holidays to everyone!

Kid podcasts about the holidays

Check out these great video podcasts the kids at East Mooreville Intermediate School in Moorseville, NC made:

Holidays - Part I

Holidays - Part II

Thanks to Mr. Van Dusen and all the kids who participated for sharing! (Mr. Van Dusen also won the contest for the best podcast produced during a podcasting workshop we held at the NCETC conference in Nov.)

Free web server space

Several people asked me about places that provide free web hosting space (so that they can FTP their podcasts there and then link to them in a blog). Here are some places that do this:

GeoCities (part of Yahoo) - free package offers 15 MB of server space and 3 GB/month of data transfer traffic

Google Pages (a new service still in the "testing phase") - free package offers 100 MB of server space

If you have a personal account on Earthlink, AOL, or other ISPs, many of them offer free hosting as well.

Here are a bunch more. Note that I do not have persoal experience with these, so read the details. Many/most free hosting services include advertising, but that probably isn't a big issue if you're just linking to content on a blog.

I hope this is useful. If you have used another free hosting service that you like, please post the info here as a comment. Thanks!

Gabcast! Mobile Musings #5

For Gabcast users

Here are some numbers you can use to dial in to Gabcast, in addition to the 800# (which is listed here as well:

1.800.749.0632 - (USA only)
1.641.696.0518 - (Iowa, USA)
1.647.723.3682 - (East Canada, Toronto)
1.403.775.9947 - (West Canada, Calgary

Links to podcasts

Here are links to some of the podcasts I shared in my session today:

Colonial Williamsburg
Engadget
Room 208
LD Podcast
Hopkinton High School Book Talks

Thanks to the producers of all of these great resources. Your work is much appreciated.

These are just a few of millions of great podcasts out there. Go and explore!

Gabcast

For those of you who witnessed my first-ever problem with Gabcast in the session today (and the rest of you as well, I guess :), here's the word from Gabcast's team:

"It does appear that we have a service interruption with our toll-free number. We are in contact with our provider and are working to resolve the issue. If the issue is not resolved soon we will record a Gabcast News item to notify users."

They were extremely prompt in replying to my inquiry, and again, this is the first time I've had a problem with it. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. ;)

Digital audio recorder for the field

Several of you have asked me about a good quality, digital field recorder for audio. I'd recommend the Samson Zoom H4 Handy Digital Recorder. It is very mobile, and you can attached a wireless mic to it if you like. It is available from a variety of sources, including Sam Ash and Zzounds, for around $300.

If you're looking for a decent stationary USB condenser mic, try the Samson C01U USB condenser mic.