Audio books have been used in education starting with the use of records then moving to cassettes, CDs and have now moved to audio books in mp3 format. In the early days, many of these audio books were recorded for the seeing impaired. But now this industry has gown and there are hundreds of services that offer both abridged and unabridged versions of audio books that are compatible with just about any device. Not only do we see the art of traditional storytelling returning but there are additional benefits to this media. There is something unique or maybe even comforting about listening to a great book either being read live or in a recorded format. Audio books can provide the chance for educators who lead busy lives a chance to keep up with the latest literature and trends in education….while allowing them to continue on with activities. These tools also continue to offer their traditional benefits to those with special needs or as a way for educators to meet the different leanings styles of their students. Educators at all levels are using differentiated instruction to help meet the needs of the learners in their classroom. This strategy is growing in popularity to help support student learning. Educators are finding that it is easier for both struggling students to tune in to audio versions of books and stories. The use of audio books in allows students including ESL students, to have spoken language modeled for them, which essential for building vocabulary and help with literacy and language skills. By allowing children listen to the story on a portable media device, it gives each student the ability to move at their own pace, moving forward or back and giving the ability to repeat sections over again. On top of this, audio books can expose students to the joy and pleasure of reading which they not have seen in the past.

CREATING CLASSROOM MP3 KITS
So let's take a little detour here and take about MP3 kits. It really does not take much to arm your classroom with a kit of mp3 players. For the busy educator, simpler is better….and that is with both the use and management. When it comes to the mp3 players…I prefer the Apple shuffle or nano. The shuffle is more affordable at only $79.00 each and a classroom set may not be too far out of reach. The only down side to the shuffle is that it does not have a display, so navigation of audio books can be cumbersome at times. On the other hand…the Nano gives you a few more features….like a display, but starting at $149, a classroom set may be harder to reach. But, with the new iPod Nano, with the display, students can navigate the content easier and also get the benefits of reading accompanying text.

Shuffle
$79.00
1 gig
No Display
Can be custom engraved
1 year warranty
Replace the ear buds with more sanitary headphones

 Nano
$149
4 gig
Display for easy navigation
Can be custom engraved
1 year warranty
Again, replace the Apple ear buds with more sanitary headphones

In this kit you will also want to have some usb chargers to keep you ipods batteries topped off. I usually suggest one charger per ipod…. and to also shop around at your local superstores for these items…they can be picked up for under $10.00.  Finally, I would encourage numbering each iPod…now this can be done with the free Apple engraving or can be done with some simple labels. These numbers help with the management.

WHERE TO GET AUDIO BOOKS
Now the final step is to get the audio books for your classroom or for your professional growth and development. Sometime ago…I was introduced to Audible.com and its many genres offered. They are the leading provider of spoken audio entertainment, information, and educational programming. This service offers audible books, stories, newspapers and magazines. Content from Audible is downloaded and can be played back on your computer, put on CDs, or can be listened on
hundreds of portable media devices.Some other great features that I like about Audible.com is that they offer quality of the recordings and the narrators

HOW TO GET A FREE AUDIO BOOK
Now audilbe.com is offering all of my listeners a FREE Audiobook download of your choice. Just go to www.audiblepodcast.com/techteacher or go to the techteacher web site and look for the audible link in the right hand column. This is an exclusive offer just for my techteacher listeners only that is not available on from this website.

SUGGESTED AUDIO BOOKS
Now I have been listening to tow great books while I drive to work and walk on my treadmill….the first book I highly suggest is The Google Story This is a fascinating detailed history of a idea started by two Stanford University students…Larry Page and Sergey Brin which has grown into an Internet empire. The other great listen is iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It - This is a book from Steve Wozniak one of the founders of Apple computer. This too is a fascinating listen and at will be interesting no matter if you are new to technology or was there at the birth of the personal computer. Not only is this book entertaining but it also gives you a historical perspective of Apple computers.  My daughter would like to suggest the Fancy Nancy by Jane O Conner. This story is about a girl named Nancy who believes that more is ALWAYS better when it comes to being fancy. From the top of her tiara down to her sparkly studded shoes, Nancy is determined to teach her family a thing or two about being fancy. And we can"t forget about my son’s top picks….the Boxcar Children series. These classics, which were created by Gertrude Chandler Warner in the 1940s… still hold the attention and inspire the imagination of children even today.

So if you are ready to either jump in with both feet or just experiment with audio books…go to www.audiblepodcast.com/techteacher   to get your free audiobook.

Thank you again for listening to the the techteacher podcast network and don’t forget to visit my web site for more great tip, tricks and technology integration ideas.

With the birth the birth of web 2.0, came the confusion and difficulty of finding these incredibly cool tools. In 2006 the web community got a helping hand from the web 2.0directory service called Go2Web20.net. This is a directory of over 1600 web 2.0 applications and services. On top of that, if offers and attractive and engaging interface that will truly suck you in and become one of your top favorites. Check out this tool today: http://www.go2web20.net/

Back for a second year, the K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2007 conference theme is "Playing with Boundaries�. This year's conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 8, 2007. The following two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats� and a culminating “When Night Falls� event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations.

http://k12onlineconference.org

Have you ever wanted to know what is taking up all that room on  your hard drive or if you have any multiple copies of images of files? Have I got the tool for you. I was turned on to this tool about three years ago and would never compute without it. SpaceMonger is a scanning/data management and visualization tool that gives you a visual image of files and directory sizes on your hard drive or on other external data storage  drives.  SpaceMonger uses something called Tree Maps to create a color coded visual representation of the contents of the selected drive; this shows at a glance which files and folders are using the most storage space. It also reveals if you have any multiple copies of media files. It is easy enough to use and will truly make your computer just a little lesS cluttered. If you would like to download a FREE copy, please go to: http://www.sixty-five.cc/sm/v1x.php

Many of us remember the early days of the Internet….when little things like chat rooms, streaming music and videos from web sites excited us. Even today, the web continues to evolve from its original intentions of simple text information to one of services like YouTube, Flickr, and Wikiopedia. This retooling of the Internet is not only exciting but is also a great resource for us all.  As educators, we should not only be thrilled about this new web, but we should also take advantage and always looked for the educational values in these tools. Today I will be sharing a new evolution to the web…streaming Television…and it is called Joosst. It is not available to the public yet….but a public release is set for the end of the year.  I have been lucky enough to have access to it for a while because I am a beta tester for them.

Now when I originally heard about this product I was a little skeptical. But after doing a little research, I found that the creators of Joost -Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis who were also the minds  behind Skype…which is a phone service that allows you to use your computer and the Internet to make phone calls and Kazaa which is a peer-to-peer file sharing service…are also the minds behind Joost. Now Joost originally began back in 2006 under the code name "The Venice Projectâ€?…sounds like a covert operation…but it was actually real project in they used teams of programmers from around the world  to help develop this unique piece of software which would allow users to watch television over the Internet. This really peek my interest so I sign up to help test…. and all I can say is that these two great minds have done it once again.

Now, Joost technology uses peer to peer technology to broadcast television shows over the Internet…and that is as deep as I will go on that. The installation of the software was very simple and I think was easier than setting up my current television. It has been written for both the Mac and the PC platform…sorry Linusx users. It has a very simple user interface that looks much like most DVD player programs. And unlike my TV, the shows can even be streamed wirelessly and does it in great quality. It is television so it does have ads and commercials. Unlike typical television viewing, the user can select , subscribe and control the content, getting what they want ,when the want ...the media  trend of 21^st century. Not only do you have the ability to go to a  high-quality full-screen picture, it also offers hundreds of full-length shows. It offers everything from music, sports, travel, adventure, wildlife, sci-fi and animation from some of the world's best-known TV channels. Just click a channel from the list to choose from the list of featured content and kick back. Or you can search for your favorite content or show. The best thing is you still get the joy of flipping channels….you got to love that. Joost also offers some additional no cost features- a built in search tool, instant messaging so you can communicate while watching your favorite shows.

Now, that I have briefly covered the feature of Joost, let's get to the educational value of this program… it is the content. Now currently the educational content is limited…but it continues to grow as the Joost team negotiates with tv networks.  But the current networks that I have found are Discovery, The Best of National Geographic, National Geographic History and Exploration, National Geographic Wild, Wall to Wall Documentary,  Terra - Nature of Out World, Chat Planet and much more. These channels could be used for all grade levels for enrichment and like real televsion; there are channels that are not appropriate for children, but customization of channels can help control this. So if there is content that hold little or no educational value…it can be taken off.  Again, as the popularity of Joost grows, so will the content that they provide.

Now I do have a few invites to give away to my listeners so you can try it in advance…because right now, it is not available to the public. If you would like an invite…send me an e-mail with your first and last name and e-mail address….this is required by Joost for the invites…and I would love some feedback on my podcast.

Also, don't forget to visit the TechTeacher Network website at: http://thetechteacher.libsyn.com/

PODCAST UPDATE: Joost is now open for Public Download.