SD Cards with Boomboxes
6th in a series of article about the future of classroom audio
From talking movies to transporters, there always has been and will always be something new on the horizon – the next, great, big thing. When it comes to digital technology for audio visual equipment, the latest is a small, little card that can be inserted into cameras, cellular phones, and even media players, amongst other products. The Secure Digital card, commonly known as an SD card, serves as a memory card that will store digital content and files that can be easily transported from one player to another.
While an earlier article covered use of an SD card with the Spirit SD, the expanded capabilities of the Music Maker USB player/recorder warrants an additional article. To use an SD card with the 2396, first make sure the card itself is inserted with the contact points of the card on the underside, facing down and forward (see left picture below). When inserted properly, there should be a single click that is both heard and felt. In order to play a file that’s stored on the SD card, you (or a student) first need to press the SOURCE button (image below right) located on top of the Music Maker USB until the “SD” is shown on its digital screen on the front of the unit.
After it has been inserted and selected as the SOURCE, the 2396 will display the total number of files recorded on the SD card as well as the current track selected (the image below left shows that it’s playing track #35 out of 456 files stored on the SD card).
One advantage to working with digital files is the ease with which they can be emailed (a progress report sent from the teacher to parents for instance) and posted online (such as a student-generated podcast.) While the aforementioned Spirit SD has a built-in electret mic, the 2396 has a dedicated 1/4″ mic-in on the back side with its own microphone volume control. This is an easy way to create voice recordings or musical collaborations and store them as digital files onto an SD card (or on the resident 512 MB flash memory of the 2396).
From saving their vocal responses made using the media player’s built-in microphone to downloading music - all directly onto the SD card, students and educators alike can use their imagination without limits for enhanced learning and practice of their everyday educational curriculum.
Read the previous article in the series or return to the first one.
