A monopod is a one legged camera support that is designed to be used when you will be moving your shooting position often or you have very little space to set up in. This can be when you are in a crowd such as at a parade, or like you see at sporting events when a bunch of photographers are forced together in a small space. As with tripods, monopods come in all levels of quality and features.
When using a monopod, you become the missing parts of a tripod yourself. It should be longer than you are tall and should not be simply stood with the leg perpendicular to the ground. Instead it should extend out in front of you as a tripod leg would. You need to lean in to it a little and stand with your feet apart in a comfortable but sturdy position.
Some features to consider when buying a monopod include, but are not limited to, it's length, weight, and how easily and quickly it can be extended. Another important feature is whether you screw it to the tripod hole directly or that it has a head with a quick release base such as tripods use. This is really the best way to go and you can get monopods that use the same bases as tripods to if you look for them.
Of course monopods have their place in the photographers tool kit like everything else, and they have their avid fans too. Personally I prefer to always have my one of my tripods with me. If I want to use it as a monopod I simply extend only one leg. That way I still have my tripod available for those times when a monopod can't do the job.
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