META Data and File Naming
Protocol for iTunes U
Introduction
META Data is information stored with your audio or video file
that is displayed in a media player such as iTunes or Windows
Media Player. In our case it is mandatory that you use iTunes,
as we will be interfacing iPods with our computers. The importance
of META data in iTunes is that what you include in the META data
of your file is what is going to be displayed in the iTunes U
“store.” How you input this information in each field
is also very important.
You can change the META data of your .mp3 file in iTunes. It is
recommended that you do so in iTunes as all applicable fields
will be shown in iTunes that might not be shown in the dialog
box shown when exporting as .mp3 from Audacity.
To view / edit your META data, import your .mp3 to the iTunes
Library by choosing from the iTunes menu:
File > Add to Library
In the dialog box that pops up, navigate to your .mp3 file and
select “Choose” or “Select.” You may also
use this same process for adding whole folders to iTunes, but
selecting “Add Folder” instead of “Add to Library.”
Once your files are in your iTunes Library, simply right click
(ctrl+click on Mac) the file whose META data you want to edit
and select “Get Info.” This will cause a dialog box
to pop up with several tabs in it.
The Summary tab will display the file properties such as file
type, track length, file size, bit rate, channels, and a few other
properties that are unimportant to our purposes.
The Info tab is where we will be editing our META data. It contains
all the necessary fields for entering textual information.
The other tabs allow you to set special options for your file,
type in lyrics, and add artwork. It is not certain whether artwork
may be added for use in iTunes U. This section will be updated
when that knowledge is available.
Another way to edit META data in iTunes is to click under a heading
on a selected file. (This would be termed “twice clicking”
since “double clicking” causes the file to play.)
When you do this, the section becomes editable and you may type
what you wish.
You will need to include a message to your students to set their
iTunes view options to view the Name, Artist, and Album fields
if they are not already visible. To do this, in iTunes select
View > View Options and check the necessary boxes in the dialog
box.
Workflow
It is recommended that you maintain a folder called “Podcasts”
or a similar name to designate it as a working folder for your
podcasts. You may want to even subdivide this folder into individual
project folders containing project specific audio and image content.
This is especially recommended if you plan to eventually make
your audio podcast into an advanced podcast with still images.
This kind of workflow is very important when managing a lot of
different files pertaining to a course. If you choose to not manage
a folder for each individual project, it is recommended to at
least keep different courses separate.
The ‘Name’ Field
The Name field is used to display the title of the podcast. There
is not a limit to the number of characters you can use, but if
the user has the width of the name field set to a smaller size,
your name will be displayed short and followed by “…”
In this case, the user will simply have to slide the “Name”
section header over to the right in order to read the whole title.
Your title should be clear and concise. It should describe the
contents of your podcast. For example, if you were teaching Art
Appreciation and had prepared a podcast about Prehistoric Art,
you might want to title your podcast “Prehistoric Art.”
It would not be necessary to designate the course number or course
title, as that will be covered in another field.
It is also very important that all proper punctuation is used
in all sections of your META data, and especially the name section.
Words that should be capitalized should be capitalized. This is
not the same as your file name! There should not be any underscores
in your title and no hyphens unless properly used. Proper usage
of hyphens other than words containing them is defined as designating
a podcast as part of a series as in: Prehistoric Art – Part
I.
The ‘Artist’ Field
The Artist field should include your name as the instructor. If
you borrowed the podcast with permission from another instructor,
your name should still be included in Artist and a note explaining
your use with permission should be added to the Comments field.
The reason for this is that all sections for a course will be
included under one course in the iTunes U students will identify
their section by instructor. If you are not the only teacher for
a course, your students will know to listen to the podcasts listed
under your name. This also allows multiple teachers to give their
podcasts similar titles, as the Artist name will make the files
unique.
The ‘Year’ Field
You may include the year you created this podcast in this field.
It is not mandatory, but it may be helpful in keeping track of
material that may need to be updated as time passes.
The ‘Album Artist’ Field
This field is not necessary.
The ‘Track Number’ Field
Use the track number field if your podcast is a series of podcasts
and you want to make that clear. If your podcast is not a part
of a series, leave this field blank.
The ‘Album’ Field
Use the Album field to input your course number and title separated
by a colon with spaces on either side. The following is an example
of how your Album field should look: ART111 : Art Appreciation.
The ‘Grouping’ Field
If you want to include your section, you may enter it here.
It is not mandatory, but will help identify your podcasts better.
The ‘Composer’ Field
If you’re one of those people that just wants something
in every section, add your name here.
The ‘Comments’ Field
Write in any other information you deem necessary to describe
your file in this section. This is a good place to credit your
sources, music used, or the person who originally recorded it.
Keep in mind, if you use this section to provide addition instructions
or information to your students, you need to remind them to check
this section of the META data by right clicking the track (file)
and choosing “Get Info.” Also, if you borrow someone
else’s podcast and credit them for it, it is also a good
idea to let your students know to expect to hear someone else’s
voice so they will not think they are listening to the wrong thing.
The ‘Genre’ Field
Your genre should nearly always be “Speech” or “Podcast.”
If you choose to edit your META data by clicking your selected
file under the heading you want to edit, you may type a custom
genre; the menu item on the META data dialog box only offers genres
that have been created by the previous method. The important thing
here is that you choose an appropriate genre and don’t choose
“Hard Rock” when your podcast contains only speech
just to be funny.
File Naming
Some of you may give your podcasts the same title in the META
data. In order for iTunes U to allow an upload to the server,
your file must have a unique file name. When titling your file,
make th e first section brief yet cohesive. In other words, don’t
abbreviate beyond recognition. The first section should relate
to the content of the podcast. Separate words with underscores
and type all words lowercase.
For example, if your podcast is titled Prehistoric Art, make
the first section of your file name for this podcast “prehistoric_art.”
After this section, write: “_yourinitials.” Patrick
Keough made the Prehistoric Art podcast and has named the file
“prehistoric_art_pjk.mp3. This is actually the most important
part of the filename as it is what makes your filename unique.
If your file is part of a series, include the number in the first
part of the file name (prehistoric_art1_pjk.mp3). Do not include
spaces in your file name. Use underscores!
Wrapping it All Up
If anyone has any questions regarding the information covered
in this file, please feel free to contact Patrick or Cameron via
e-mail. The information covered in this protocol is in place to
ensure that the iTunes U construction process is smooth and easy.
We have made a serious effort to stay as organized as possible,
to eliminate any confusion in the process, and to instruct those
who are not adept with all this technical work.
Patrick Keough: pjk@carteret.edu
Cameron Lockey: whiteflagcam@hotmail.com
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