PODCASTING: IND ENG 820 with David Woods, Ph.D.

This site is intended to provide students with information detailing how they can download previously recorded IND ENG 820 lectures. For this class, the recommended method for accessing the lectures is via podcast through Apple iTunes. Step-by-step instructions for configuring your computer to access the IND ENG 820 podcasts are provided below. However, if you run into any problems please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions at my (zelik.2) OSU e-mail address (@osu.edu).

What is podcasting?

Podcasting is a technology that uses RSS feeds to automatically distribute audio and/or video files to subscribers by alerting them when new material becomes available. In this context, podcasting will alert you once the most recent class lectures are posted for download. Additionally, your podcast client can be configured to automatically download the lectures once they are posted. That way, you do not have to worry about routinely checking for new lectures to become available -- they will simply be downloaded to your computer automatically.

Podcasting can be done using a variety of software tools, known as podcast clients. For this class, the recommended podcasting software is Apple iTunes, which is available for both Mac and Windows platforms. Complete instructions for configuring your iTunes software for this class are provided below.

How do I setup podcasting using Apple iTunes?

Follow the steps below to setup your computer to use iTunes to access the podcast lectures for this class. The method described below was performed on a Mac, but the procedure should be the same (or at least very similar) when done on a Windows system. Skip Step 1 if you already have iTunes installed on your computer.

Download and Install iTunes.
iTunes can be downloaded and installed (for free) from the following website: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ Follow the instructions provided to install the software.
Launch iTunes.
Select "Subscribe to Podcast..." from the "Advanced" menu.
This will open a pop-up window title "Subscribe to Podcast".
Copy and paste the URL listed below into the iTunes pop-up window and click "OK".
Use the following URL to subscribe to the IND ENG 820 podcast:

feed://csel.eng.ohio-state.edu/courses/ise820/podcast_feed.xml
You have now joined the IND ENG 820 Podcast!
Hopefully you are now subscribed to the class podcast. iTunes will now automatically check for new lectures each day and download them to your computer once available. Please note that you must be connected to the internet in order for your podcast subscription to be successful.

Once you've joined the podcast, iTunes will attempt to sync the podcast by ensuring that you have the most up-to-date episode (i.e. lecture) downloaded to your computer. Often this means that iTunes will attempt to download a fairly large file -- sometimes 20MB or more -- so you'll probably want to be sure that you are on a high-speed connection when you first subscribe to the 'cast. Note that in order for iTunes to check for future episodes, the program must be run occasionally to perform the check.

Once I have subscribed to the podcast, how do I configure iTunes?

Most basically, you can configure iTunes by clicking on the "Settings" button in the lower right-hand corner of the iTunes play window. This will provide you with access to settings that allow you to set the frequency with which iTunes will check for new lectures and also to decide what iTunes should do when new ones become available. Finally, you can click the "Get" button that appears next to older episodes to download older lectures, as these will not be automatically downloaded (by default) once newer lectures have been posted.

If I do not want to or cannot use iTunes, what are my other options?

In addition to iTunes, there are other options available that will allow you to download the class lectures. First, if you prefer not to use iTunes as your posdcast client there are other podcast clients available for download that will also work. For example, this podcast has also been tested using Juice (formerly iPodder). A list of other podcast clients can be found at the following website: http://www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.html. If you choose to use one of these other options, you will have to figure out how to configure the software on your own using the URL feed provided in Step 4 above.

Finally, if you prefer not to use the podcast method to download lectures or if your computer is unable to do so, you can directly download the class podcasts from the following website: http://csel.eng.ohio-state.edu/courses/ise820/lectures/. However, please note that these lectures will not be automatically downloaded to your computer, nor will you receive any alert that new lectures have been added to the site. Rather, you will have to check back each week to determine when new lectures have been posted.