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Resources: Technology Resources

Blogs, PodCasts, Wikis ~

and Things That Get Your Message Out!

by Linda Loder

September 16, 2006

The Internet, coupled with the ever-widening 'net' of broadband accessibility, is no longer a system of information containing searchable text and images. Increasingly, everyone from news broadcasters and politicians to teachers and students, and grandparents and kids, are making use of this accessibility to become creators of, and broadcasters of information in a multitude of media formats.

According to Wikipedia, "A weblog, which is usually shortened to Blog, is a type of website where entries are made (such as in a journal or diary), displayed in a reverse chronological order.

”Blogs often provide commentary or news and information on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting).

"Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio or video programs, over the Internet using syndication formats, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. The term, coined in 2004, combines "iPod", a popular portable audio device, and "broadcasting."

"The term podcast, like 'radio', can mean both the content and the method of delivery. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their files, a podcast is distinguished by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS or Atom feeds."

"Usually a podcast features one type of 'show', with new episodes released either sporadically or at planned intervals such as daily or weekly. In addition, there are podcast networks that feature multiple shows on the same feed."

RSS, in the format we will be using, stands for Really Simple Syndication. All this really means is a simple file format that allows a subscriber to be automatically updated about and pointed to new information that is posted in podcasts, webcasts, and sometimes is just a message telling the subscriber that a web page has been updated.

When Podcasters want people to know that they are posting new podcasts, they use RSS to notify their subscribers. For instance, I subscribe to the RSS feed for Moving at the Speed of Creativity. They interview technology experts around the world and post the interviews, as well as broadcasts of presentations from all over, to their site as sound files (podcasts). I download these to my computer and either listen when I have time or put them on my iPod or on CDs to listen to them on the road!

It is NOT DIFFICULT to create these sound files. I learned how from a, guess, PODCAST!

Wikis are another way to both get information out and have others share in it's development, without knowing or understanding how to write HTML or other coding languages. Again, according to Wikipedia, "A wiki is a type of website that allows users to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. The term wiki can also refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a website or to certain specific wiki sites, including the computer science site (and original wiki), WikiWikiWeb, and the online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia."

Both business and education have found the creation of Wikis to be an excellent way to co-author on the web. A Wiki may be passworded in order to prevent unauthorized updating and adding or deleting of information.

Source for definitions: http://www.wikipedia.org