science

Printcasting

Printcasting is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Printcasting rather than just read about it. In short: Printcasting is a web site and self-publishing technology designed to let individuals and organizations create self-updating PDF magazines using content from participating blogs or news providers. It has been mentioned in Business Week and the Rocky Mountain News as an example of online experiments that can help newspapers during a time when print readership is declining.

Key takeaways

Printcasting belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Printcasting to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Printcasting from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Printcasting is a web site and self-publishing technology designed to let individuals and organizations create self-updating PDF magazines using content from participating blogs or news providers. It has been mentioned in Business Week and the Rocky Mountain News as an example of online experiments that can help newspapers during a time when print readership is declining. Printcasting was founded by Dan Pacheco and is supported by an $837,000 grant to The Bakersfield Californian by the Knight Foundation through the Knight News Challenge. The focus of the project in its initial phases is hyper-local and interest-based, allowing micro-communities to publish magazines which can be printed and distributed by various methods. According to Business Week, the service begins with a pilot in Bakersfield, California. In the fall of 2008, the World Association of Newspapers [WAN] listed Printcasting as one of five important audience-building strategies newspapers should consider.

Project phases Printcasting entered open beta testing in pilot city Bakersfield, California in February 2009. A public launch is planned for late March 2009, with additional city partnerships beginning in December 2009.

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Printcasting

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Printcasting claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Printcasting before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Printcasting ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Printcasting

In research: Printcasting appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Printcasting in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Printcasting is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Internet stubs, Mass media technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Printcasting outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Printcasting in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Printcasting means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Printcasting out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Printcasting in simple terms?

Why does Printcasting matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Printcasting?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Printcasting.