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Educational Courses in Digital Format?

Posted by Cliff on from the taking-your-lecturer-with-you dept.

An anonymous reader asks: "I own a portable MP3 player. Recently, my friend showed me several MP3 files he ripped that teach Japanese. I spend much of my day commuting to and from work. Using my portable player to learn new topics strikes me as a good use of that time. Can anyone recommend any educational audio files?"

5 of 19 comments (clear)

  1. Cool! by dimator · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I would love to learn japanese too. Is your friend sharing these files?

    --
    python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
    1. Re:Cool! by WeaponOfChoice · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'd also love to learn Japanese (have tried at least once... that and several other languages).

      What I was wondering was does anybody see a difference in the ethical situation between sharing copyrighted entertainment works and copyrighted educational works?

      In my limited experience I would have thought that companies producting educational course material can not really afford to have their work pirated (at least they don't have the massive buffers of cash and revenue the labels have).

      On the other hand there are initiatives like MIT OpenCourseware where anyone who wants to access the material is able to without charge (MIT can probably afford to though...)

      Should eductaional products be free/subsidised/supported by the industry etc...

      --


      It's not that I'm Anti-American - I'm Pro-Freedom
  2. technetcast by krishnaD · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Look here http://technetcast.ddj.com/tnc_mp3.html
    It has recorded mp3 interviews of people like Bruce Schneier, Gudio Van Rossum.

  3. Physics by kasparov · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Even though it would be some work, if you are interested in Physics you should buy The Feynman Lectures on Physics on tape and use your soundcard to rip to mp3. These are an absolutely wonderful collection of Physics lectures from one of the brightest minds in the field.

    --
    There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity.
  4. use of time for learning languages by Urox · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It really depends on your drive.

    I became quickly tired of all the overplayed songs on the radio. I used to listen to this really great discussion radio host but he was kicked off the air for discussing "controversial" topics. Anything the news station played, I had read on the net at least the day before (except for the 9/11 surprise).

    A while ago, I started playing Cantonese learning cds on my way home. One thing about them is that they are meant as a supplimental to a book, so it goes by rather quickly. I find myself still on the third chapter (YOU try digesting a chapter's worth of information where they give you some vocabulary.. not the complete vocabulary.. nor any of the grammar.. and then shove 20 conversations at you... remember, this is a tonal language where you have to hear the tone as well).

    Now, I have a rather sedate drive home: reverse commute and mostly a straight away. I once played the cd while in heavy traffic (not stop and go, but one you have to accelerate and decelerate a lot) and I just wasn't taking any of it in.

    So if you have time to concentrate, then learning a language during the drive is great. If you have to keep your eyes glued to the road, you probably are better off listening to something that you can stop paying attention to now and then.

    --
    "Would you rather have a playstation addicted dork wearing a star wars t-shirt?"