2004 – Podcasting “invented” (according to Wikipedia… remember Adam Curry?).

2005 – The New Oxford American Dictionary names “podcast” as word of the year.

2005 – K12 Handhelds hosts their first podcasting workshops.

2007 – First generation iPhone introduced.

2007-2009 – K12 Handhelds produces and publishes Mashups podcast (and does lots and lots of podcasting workshops).

2010-ish (?) – K12 Handhelds does their last podcasting workshops. (Around this same time, someone brings a “podcasting is dead” article headline to one of my sessions.)

2014 – Serial podcast is produced. Podcasting surges in popularity.

2017 – Podcasts are bigger than ever (though people still don’t know exactly what one is and use the term incorrectly).

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Category:

These are very small touch screen devices — smaller than a tablet but not a cell phone!
(These devices have the capability to install a variety of apps. There are many other devices that support audio and video playback, but not other interactive uses.)

Manufacturers and models:
These devices used to be more plentiful with Palm and Windows mobile handhelds, but now there are just a few.

• Apple (iPod touch)
• Samsung (Galaxy Player)

Pricing:

$200+

Strengths:

• Ultra mobile
• Low cost

Weaknesses:

• Limited uses
• No built-in keyboard
• Consumption-oriented

Killer applications:

• Multimedia viewing
• Ebooks

Things to consider and some opinions:

• Think about your curriculum goals before deciding on any devices.
• While these devices are no substitute for a laptop, there is still a lot you can do with them. (Remember all the great things teachers and students did with Palm handhelds?) Having a few of these low cost, highly mobile devices can be a boon for differentiation.
• These devices come with different operating systems (Android, iOS) and have different applications available. If you start by thinking about what you want to accomplish with the devices and then look for a device that has applications that support that purpose, you’ll be ahead of the game.

The post Mobile devices: Handheld multimedia players appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

Before you go out and buy a more expensive USB headset, you might consider getting a 3.5 mm headphone adapter:

If you’re interested, here are two models you can check out.

The post 3.5mm headphone adapter appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

(As background, AAC is the default audio setting on iTunes. It works great with iTunes or an iPod, but doesn’t work with other players like a Sandisk, Zune, Palm, etc. MP3 is a much more compatible format that is preferred. If you don’t change this setting, all the music you rip on iTunes will not be accessible on other players.)

To change this in iTunes:
– Go to the Edit menu (iTunes menu on Mac).
– Select Preferences.
– On the General tab, click Import Settings.
– For Import using, choose MP3 encoder.

Doing this will save you a lot of time if you ever want to listen to audio on some other device.

The post iTunes import settings appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

Podstock Southwest is being held on Aug. 6-7 in El Paso, Texas.

I’m presenting sessions on open content resources, Web 2.0 and mini-laptops, and Web 2.0 applications for personal and school use. If you’re attending, stop by and say hi.

And if you can’t make it, here’s a wiki with all the session materials.

The post Looking forward to Podstock Southwest appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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!

The post The ideal MP3 player – the ongoing search appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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.

The post TiVo Season Pass appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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!

The post Come to Seattle! appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

The post Podcasts by secondary students appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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

The post 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition for Students appeared first on K12 Handhelds.