MP3

Parents, Children and Technologies at Your San Diego Public Library

What Technologies?

Definitions
     Most Common
     More In-Depth
     More Sources
Technology Hardware
     Computers
     PDAs
     MP3
     CD/DVD
General Uses
     Word Processing
     Calculating
     Communicating
Uses by Teachers
     Presentations
     Communicating
     Classroom
     Resources
Uses by Students
     Research
     Reports/Papers
     Presentations
     Group Work
     Portfolios
     Testing
     Communicating

Perhaps you have heard your child or your child's friends use unfamiliar terms and expressions—such as "MP3," "Ogg Vorbis," "Kazaa," and "CD ripping"—and wondered just what they were talking about. Perhaps you have also heard about lawsuits stemming from the distribution of MP3 files and wondered if your child is involved in anything illegal. This section on MP3 technology is intended to help you understand what an MP3 file is, how one works, and how such a little file could cause such a big controversy.

Learn about File Sharing

Select a question below to learn more about MP3. Use the navigation to the left to learn about other technologies.

Do MP3s serve any educational purpose?

Most MP3s are popular music. Voice recorders are, however, starting to integrate MP3 technology. Instead of taping a teacher's lecture on a handheld cassette recorder, a student might record to a handheld MP3 recorder and then upload the lecture to computer for later review.

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