INSTRUCTIONS

Streaming audio and video allow you to listen or watch, but the material stays on the server where it originates instead of being loaded on your own machine. It "buffers" like your CD player in your car "buffers". This means that the download is moving the sound or video down for you to see while you see what it brought down a few seconds earlier. Did you get that??? Well... trust me... it's something like that! 

Anyway, the important thing for you about this is that it means you can "watch" and "listen" from the Internet. Let's see how you can listen to radio from anywhere in the world over the Internet If you already know about how to use this new technology, scroll to the end of this tutorial for the details of the assignment. 

The site you can use first is http://www.broadcast.com, shown below. 

Listen and look at the screen shown below: 

I selected New Orleans' WWOZ 90.7 from the FEATURED STATIONS. Here's how the screen looked. I like jazz and I LOVE NEW ORLEANS so this was a good choice of FEATURED STATIONS for me that day! 

I clicked on the  icon to begin listening to the live music from the New Orleans station. I got the following image on my screen. This is the REAL PLAYER, the "plug-in" that allows you to listen, (go to http://www.emTech.net and use the Technology Encyclopedia to find out about plug-ins; you can also go to http://www.maisplace.org to read about "plug-ins"! 

Look at the PLAYLIST, to the list of the white space in the upper center of the screen. Here is shows w3cd.com. 

Look at the above screen, you will see, in the lower left-hand corner, that the system is "buffering"; it will be a few seconds before the sound begins. It may begin with a commerical of sorts for REAL AUDIO but it is only filling time while it buffers the sounds you have requested. Look at the screen below, where our request is now ready. 

In the lower left-hand corner you see the numbers have changed and it is playing. I was, then, listening to the New Orleans station LIVE right here over the speakers on my computer, via the Internet. 

Look at the graphic below. This is from the side of the broadcast.com page. You will see that if you don't want to listen to featured stations, then you can select options from the listing shown below: 

I selected BY LOCATION so that I could pick a station by location. Look at the screen below; there are the options for selecting live radio by location. 

From the list above, I selected MIAMI, FLORIDA. I used to live there and miss listening to the Miami radio stations. This was a good choice. Look at the options that I had for Miami (screen below): 

From the options above, I chose WPLL 103.5 FM classified as a DANCE station (hum... salsa? naw...) When I clicked on WPLL in the above screen, I got the screen below. I was THERE... Miami radio live! 

I clicked on the icon  and it started buffering (see below) 

And then, in a few seconds, there I was, listening to WPLL live from Miami, Florida, right here in my house in Tuscaloosa. Look at the screen below; see the call letters of the station in the Playlist? 

Listening over my computer via the Internet!!!!!! This comes in really handy when the TIDE is playing somewhere out of time and you want to hear how the locals cover the game. It's also great when some of the other sports teams are in another town to complete. 

Find a live radio station somewhere in the country. Listen for a while.

THEN... send an email to the assignment mailbox  describing the experience, the precise call letters and location of the station, the date, the time of day, and what you listened to on the station.  goals400@bamaed.ua.edu

In the SUBJECT LINE you put LIVE RADIO from _______ (and give the city of the radio station) 

In the BODY, describe the experience, the precise call letters and location of the station, the date, the time of day, and what you listened to on the station. Include your name and SSN. 

This activity is worth 5 points. You get all 5 points if you follow the instructions above and give enough information for us to know that you did it!