September 18, 2005

Some Hot Deals…

We haven’t had any blog posts in our “Hot Deals” section for a while so I figured I’d blog about a few ways that you can save money while you are Learning Out Loud. Here goes…

4 GB iPod Minis for $149 at Costco – With the release of the new iPod Nano, Minis just aren’t as hot. But at $149 for 4 GB that’s one helluva deal. Sure they are a little bigger but for $100 less (plus the option for those nice pastel colors) it just might be worth taking on the extra heft…

10% off coupon for…EBay! – This is the first time I’ve ever seen EBay offer a coupon. You can find a ton of used audio and video material on EBay ranging from Tony Robbins to Pimsleur foreign language courses. This coupon will allow you to take off 10% of any purchase up to a max of $25.

Books on Tape 30th Anniversary Sale – Books on Tape has been around for 30 years?! Wow. And they are celebrating like they mean business. Pick up Deepak Chopra’s Golf for Enlightenment for $7, George Orwell’s 1984 for $14 or choose from hundreds of other titles.

That’s all for now. If you know of other hot deals related to audio or video learning, send me an e-mail so I can put them up here in the blog. Happy shopping!

September 17, 2005

A mini-Video Learning Manifesto

I’m in the midst of preparing a full-blown “Audio Learning Manifesto” which I’ll attempt to have published soon on ChangeThis (more on that later) but I wanted to step away from that to talk about something that we haven’t discussed much on our site as of late: video learning. In addition to promoting audio books and podcasts our mission is also to promote video learning products. It’s certainly been somewhat of a secondary mission to date as much of our focus is currently on audio but we plan to devote an increased amount of resources to video learning in the near future.

Why video learning you ask? I’ll offer a number of reasons. First of all, there is a lot of material that simply works better on video than on audio. Let’s say that you are interested in studying art history and stumbled upon the Teaching Company course From Monet to Van Gogh. Now while this could be available in audio format I think you’ll agree that trying to learn art history without actually being able to view the art being discussed is less than optimal.

Video learning can also offer a richer experience for the viewer. A good example of this is an excellent PBS documentary on the life of Benjamin Franklin that I just finished watching. This documentary contains actors playing the parts of Franklin and his contemporaries, reenactment of historical events and paintings and portraits from the era. While there are a number of good audio resources on Frankin’s life (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the excellent Portable Professor course about him jump to mind), the PBS documentary was made truly special because some of the video elements that were incorporated.

Another reason why I love promoting video learning is that (for most of you!) it doesn’t require a huge shift in your behavior. According to Nielsen, the average person watches somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours of television per day. I’m not asking you to give up TV cold turkey (although it’s not a bad idea) or switch entirely to educational content. But how about substituting some of those hours spent watching mind-numbing sitcoms and dramas with some cool educational and inspirational DVDs? Netflix has tons of awesome documentaries and other educational and self-development titles that you rent and their plans are now as low as $9.99 per month. Not a bad deal for what is essentially an unlimited supply of video learning material!

The final reason that I’ll offer for why I love video learning is that I think, like audio, that it’s an excellent opportunity for Dead Time Learning. At first glance this might not seem so obvious. After all, you can’t watch videos while commuting. But there are some creative ways to incorporate video learning into your daily life. Consider the opportunity to watch educational videos while you exercise or cook dinner. I just bought a new stationary bicycle and can pop in a DVD while I’m exercising. As a friend of mine recently told me, it’s like getting two workouts (a physical one and a mental one!) at the same time.

For these reasons and many more we’re going to continue to work hard to make it even easier for you to find good quality educational and self-development video content. It definitely falls under the category of “Learning Out Loud” and is something we’re very passionate about. We welcome your suggestions as to how we can best serve your needs.

September 16, 2005

New Volkswagens to be iPod-enabled

Earlier in the week I offered a statistic: In 2006, 30% of all new cars sold will be iPod/mp3-enabled.

That number might be heading north very quickly.

Today Volkswagen AG announced that it will offer a stereo component on all new vehicles that will allow drivers to plug in iPods and other mp3 portable players into directly into their car stereos. How cool does this sound?

Just plug your device into a built-in console in the center armrest. The option comes in two varieties, one for the iPod, another for other USB-based players. Up to six of the player’s folders will be displayed on the car stereo system, and the radio buttons can be used to scan, search or shuffle your mix.

Portable media. It’s the wave of the future. And as more vehicles become enabled for portable players it will get increasingly easier to Learn Out Loud. And as more automobile companies offer this service expect to see more hop on the bandwagon real soon.

Complete article from CNN

September 16, 2005

Podcasting the Classics

I came across this article today about Ron Evry, a guy who is creating a volunteer organization of sorts to start podcasting classic public domain texts. It’s a cool idea, almost a Wikipedia of sorts for the spoken word audio crowd. Here’s the link to the article:

Dear Listener: Podcasting Classics

So much is converging right now in the world of digital audio. There’s this huge influx of new content and Apple will most certainly sell millions of their new iPod Nano this holiday season. As commute times grow longer and people have less time to read they’ll be turning more and more to spoken word audio for their education and entertainment. To quote a line from Almost Famous (one of my favorite movies!), “It’s all happening.”

Please keep letting us know what we can do to help you make your audio learning experience more enjoyable. Send me an e-mail anytime at jon@learnoutloud.com and give me feedback on the site or suggestions for new things that you would like to see.

And have a fantastic weekend!

September 15, 2005

Best Actor Narrators

Sometimes when we listen to audio books we want to hear a familiar voice. Because the role of the narrator is to enhance and engage the listener, actors can provide the text a new life and understanding. So here are some of my favorite actors who narrate audio books:

Michael York
Ben Kingsley
Ellen Burstyn
Charlton Heston
Elliott Gould (who narrates many Raymond Chandler novels among other titles)
John Ritter
Vanessa Redgrave
Burt Reynolds
Edward Asner

To check out more actors who narrate audio books check our Celebrity Readers category.

September 14, 2005

Will Ferrell Pimps the iPod

An oldie but goodie…thanks to the gang at The Frat Pack for resurrecting this one!

Will Ferrell Pimps the iPod

My favorite lines?

“I’m usually shirtless…just for effect.”

“I say at least over 50 songs. I’m not quite sure of the amount.”

Good stuff…

September 14, 2005

A couple of fun audio book articles…

I recently came across a couple of articles about audio books and audio learning that I thought I would share:

Audiobooks compute for lengthy commutes (Catchy title!)

Favorite quotes:

“It usually took me an hour and a half to get to work,” she says, “and [the books] made sitting in traffic a breeze.”

“Audiobooks are wonderful tools to help people experience books, whether they’re in a hellish commute or working in the garden,” says Mary Beth Roche, president of the Audio Publishers Association.

Katherine Truesdale, 33, has listened to more than 60 audiobooks while working out at the gym. Otherwise, she says, her exercise sessions would be boring, and she wouldn’t be able to keep up with everything she wants to read.

Roche cites studies that show children can listen to books two levels beyond what they’re able to read in print. And the listening experience helps build their vocabulary, she says, because they hear new words in context.

Did You Hear the One About a 31-Hour Marathon with Tom Wolfe?

Favorite quotes:

I see all of these developments as great supplements to my reading regime, but I wonder if one day, hearing literature will be more common than reading it. Could the printed word ever go the way of the eight-track?

It remains critical that we cultivate reading as a valuable pastime in our culture, starting with the printed page but supplementing with audio from grade school upward.

I can’t concentrate when I listen to audio books at work or at home—my mind wanders. Instead, I use my 15-minute ride to and from work to squeeze in more “reading.”

As they become more popular, I’m hoping bigger stars will be lured into the process. I’d also like to see more cross-pollination between existing audio material and books. Why not, for example, cut in historical voices when appropriate—as Simon & Schuster Audio did when it inserted Harry Truman’s voice into the recording of David McCullough’s biography of that president. The effect is startling—and adds something that can’t be done in print.

Cool stuff! The Audio Learning Revolution has officially begun.

September 13, 2005

“Podcasting Is Taking Off Like A Rocket.”

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPod Nano and new iPod phone (the ROKR) last week to much fanfare. Some interesting statistics came out of the presentation. As Jobs stated, “Podcasting is Taking Off Like a Rocket.”

• After offering podcasts on iTunes for two months, it has 7 million podcast subscriptions.
• iTunes offers 15,000 podcasts and adds 1,000 new podcasts each week.
• 30% of cars will offer iPod connectivity in the US in 2006.

That last statistic is incredibly huge for podcasting and audio learning in general. One of the biggest barriers right now to mass consumer adoption of podcasting is that there isn’t an easy way for most people to listen to their iPod in their car. Most people have CD players in their car and so the only option is to play the iPod through their car stereo using an FM transmitter. This works marginally well depending on where you live and the type of device you are using but it’s still a bit clunky. When people can simply plug a cord from their iPod directly into their stereo and have crystal clear sound this market will explode.

Thanks to Kevin Dugan over at webpronews.com for the heads up on these stats.

September 12, 2005

The Ultimate Audio Cliff Notes

I recently picked up the massive collection “The World’s 100 Greatest Books” which is a collection that consists of 100 45-minute audio abridgements of the greatest books of western literature. I thought they were very well done in terms of their content and giving background to the stories within their historical and literary context. But they were of course very abridged. If you’re majoring in Literature they’d be pretty priceless because whenever you were falling behind in your reading you could likely pull out the disc for the novel you’re needing to catch up on and get a basic understanding of the plot. The summaries are almost strictly plot related with a little character and thematic analysis. The stories move at a brisk pace which you must pay close attention to. For people who want a broad knowledge of all western literature without spending a lifetime reading I consider it a good set to have.

It’s created by Sybervision whose 14 titles we recently added to our site. They also have the “The World’s 100 Greatest People” and “The World’s 50 Greatest Composers” which I’m going to try to track down. And the rest of their titles are on training yourself through Neuropsychological and Neuromuscular methods. Interesting stuff. Check it out:

https://www.learnoutloud.com/sybervision

September 12, 2005

Podcast Show Notes: September 12th, 2005

Confessions of an Audio Learning Junkie for September 12th, 2005

• Intro – Power Walk Right in the Middle from mashuptown.com

• Introduction
  -Direct Link to the Show
  
  –Link to Feeds for Audio Learning Revolution podcsasts

• New Sound Studio!
  -Photos of New Sound Studio [Site]
  -Comments or Questions about New Studio [E-mail]

• Katrina
  –Link to Blog Entry
  –Link to Katrina PSA

• Amazon vs. Audible.com

• Site Updates
  –Link to Newsletter
  –Link to Podcast Directory
  –Link to Free Audio Directory
  –Link to “Supreme Court: Past, Present and Future
  –Link to Shakti Gawain Author Page

• Learning Out Loud at the Airport

• Participate in Our Community
  –Link to our Blog
  –Link to our Forums

• Outro – Goodbyes by Rob Costlow