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A new direction for audio is the ability to use your com-
Source: Mish Mash Music
Michael Mish based this series of songs on his many visits to
schools in southern California to talk to children about the envi-
ronment. He found them to be more aware and concerned
about environmental problems than he expected. Mish took the
topics that the children were most concerned about (e.g., recy-
cling, water and air pollution, and the greenhouse effect) and put
them to music The songs are engaging, with sing-along cho-
ruses. The messages should get primary-age children talking
about making this a safer, deaner world.
any desired sequence. Information can be selectively re-
trieved by learners or programmed by the instructor. A
major advantage of the CD is its resistance to damage.
Stains can be washed off, and ordinary scratches do not
affect playback. And, if there is a scratch that can affect
the quality of the audio signal, a resin is now available to
repair the disc.
Compact disc technology has been accepted rapidly
for use in the home. But the cost of a CD player as well
as individual CDs originally slowed its acceptance in the
education market. Today, the CD's advantages, espe-
cially its resistance to damage, have made it a standard
format in education.
When talking about audio CD, we are in essence talk-
ing about the same technology used in CD-ROM. CD-
ROM utilizes more of the capacity of the optical
technology by adding text and graphics to the disc. We dis-
cuss CD-ROM in more depth in Chapter 10. A similar
technology, DVD, provides more storage capacity than
does CD-ROM. This means that large files, such as audio
files, can be stored with little concern for space, while en-
puter and the Internet to obtain audio files. MP3
(MPEG Audio Layer 3) is an audio compression format
that makes large audio files available by shrinking them
into smaller files that can quickly and easily be captured
on the Internet. These files are streamed audio, which
means they are sent in packets to the user, giving the
user an opportunity to listen to portions of the file while
waiting for additional portions to download. MP3 is an
"open" standard, which means it is available to anyone
who has access to the Internet. Several computer pro-
grams that access and play MP3 audio files are free to
the user; many others are available for purchase. Many
of the audio files are also free. Programs also are avail-
able that will convert audio CD tracks to MP3 (a
process known as ripping). Many portable MP3 players
are now on the market as well.
MP3 is a way for audiophiles to enjoy their favorite
music. It is also a way to obtain the newest versions of a
particular artist's songs. Some Internet sites let users
customize their selections so they can create unique "al-
bums." On the downside, a word of caution related to
copyright: Not all Internet sites make legal copies of
music available. It is the responsibility of the user to re-
spect the copyright laws related to audio (see "Copy-
right Concerns" on p. 178).
Advantages
• Inexpensive. In the case of audiotape, once the tapes
and equipment have been purchased, there is no
additional cost because the tape is erasable and
reusable. Individual audiocassettes are inexpensive.
In the case of MP3 files, many are available on the
Internet for free.