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Nursing Courses

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Lectures and Podcasts

All of the lectures are available in mp3 format and can be listened to online or downloaded and listened to on a computer, mp3 player or burned to a CD. A "podcast" is just a convenient way to download a group of mp3 files. You do not need an iPod or need to use iTunes, although iTunes is the best known podcatcher (program the dowloads podcasts) but there are others such as juice. You can compare programs at the PodcatcherMatrix. Once you have downloaded them to your computer, you can put them on an mp3 player, your phone, burn CDs, or just listen to them on the computer.

Note: I highly recommend listening to podcasts sped up. Your brain processes audio information faster than most people talk, so if you've ever found yourself daydreaming while in class or church despite being genuinely interested in the subject, you probably were listening too slow. For the first time through, I'd recommend 1.5x speed. For a second (or third) run, I suggest 1.75x or 2x.

There are two ways to speed up sound. Change the pitch or change the tempo. You want a program that will speed up the tempo without speeding up the pitch to avoid the chipmunk effect. VLC on the computer (Windows, Mac, and Linux) can do this. Itunes and many Android apps can also do this.

To subscribe to using iTunes:

  1. Launch iTunes.
  2. In the Advanced menu, select Subscribe to Podcast.
  3. Enter your feed URL in the text box and click OK.
  4. Doubleclick on the podcast, and list of all episodes will show up.
  5. At the bottom of the screen, click on the “Settings” button.
    • a. Uncheck the “use default settings”
    • b. Then choose “Download All” from the When new episodes are available
    • c. Click OK
  6. At the top of the list of episodes, click the “Get ALL” button, and all of the episodes will download at once.

To subscribe to using an Android phone

  1. The music player in Android 4.0 and higher can play sound files faster. If you have an older version of android, you can use the Audio Speed Changer Lite App to speed up (or slow down podcasts)
  2. As for getting the podcasts into your phone in the first place, you'll need to install a podcatcher app or copy them over from your computer (see below for how to get them onto your computer). There are a huge number of podcast clients available for Android. Some of the popular ones include: Pocket Casts (paid) DoggCatcher (paid), Podkicker (free), ACast (free),

Older information for Android

  1. (You can still use Astroplayer, but there are now free alternatives that will let you speed up your podcasts.)
    Your best bet is to use Astroplayer. You will need to purchase it from the Market.Astroplayer QR
  2. Download Astroplayer and Astroplayer upgrade ($3.40)
  3. Astroplayer is highly customizable. I recommend clicking menu > more > options >menu, and then dragging podcasts to one of the top five positions. This will ensure that any time you hit the menu key while in Astroplayer, podcasts will be one of the first options you see.
  4. Press menu > podcasts
  5. On the podcasts page, press Menu then Add
  6. Enter your feed URL in the text box and click Search.
  7. The podcast should show up below the search box. Tap the podcast and select "Add"
  8. The podcast will be added to your podcast list. By default, Astroplayer only downloads the last 20 episodes. To download all the episodes, tap the podcast and choose "Policy: Get new..." and choose Get All.
  9. You can speed up the podcasts without changing the pitch, so that voices do not sound like chipmunks. I recommend listening on 1.35x or 1.5x for the first run through a podcast. Listen on 2x if you listen again.
  10. Another nice feature in Astroplayer is bookmarks. You can bookmark your spot in any podcast, then listen to something else and come back to the bookmark at any time.

To listen using computer without iTunes

There are two ways to listen to podcasts on your computer without iTunes.
1. For each topic on the website, if you click on the topic title, it will take you to a page with the podcast lectures for that topic.
2. You can subscribe to the podcasts using a podcatcher (Podcast manager) Reviews of popular podcatchers here.

Important Websites

Questions, e-mail: Patrick Heyman.