Thing 16 Audio

ipadio: Two ideas come to mind in making this app useful for school purposes: The first is to use it to archive lectures--assuming teachers still lecture these days--for the sake of review or students who may have missed class. The second is to use it to have a book review spot on a library Web site with a link to ipadio.

How did it work when I tried it out? It is remarkably easy to use; attaching an image, creating a title, and writing a summary all help to describe and categorize this audio presentation. This has clear applications for the classroom, and for something so easy to use it has tremendous potential as a presentational tool. Two thumbs up.

SoundCloud: This app seems to be the complement of ipadio: Instead of just creating audio presentations for the user, which it has in common with ipadio, it offers a library's worth of audio materials. When you first register, it allows you to pick from a list of music genres and from a list of audio, such as business, humor, education, etc. Compared to ipadio, I would have to say that SoundCloud is the far more sophisticated and flexible app, especially in its potential to download music or other audios from a wide array of sources. This is one impressive app, and again, it has many possibilities for classroom use, from content to background music, to name just two. Three thumbs up. Not to mention that it can be shared very easily--which is the case with just about all of the mobile apps. Just one note: It does take some time to process your own audio tracks. So patience is a must. As is discretion. There are obscene materials included in the list of "Who to follow." Just one for example: "Never Not Funny." Definitely adult entertainment.

It's interesting to think about the sharing feature of apps. What does that say about apps in general? The assumption is that since they're so easy to share they are likely to be shared, and if sharing is a given, that may mean that we all may soon--or already have--experience "sharing fatigue." The other issue is the relationship between sharing and time: Does the assumption that if people expect others to experience what they share, no matter how insignificant, then we are also obliged to sacrifice our own time to avoid offending the great mass of online app-led sharers? Does this all lead to another discussion about effective time use, personal freedom, and the need for restraint in sharing, especially considering age and sensitivities? Just some thoughts . . .