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Audio recordings and podcasts serve a variety purposes in
the classroom. They can support instruction by allowing teachers to deliver
precise verbal instructions and capture lessons for archival purposes or future
listening. They give students the
opportunity to listen to instruction independently, without distraction (when
wearing headphones), and at their own pace using play and pause features for as
many times as is needed. Conversely,
students can use audio to demonstrate their understanding of learned concepts, create
instructional materials and tutorials for peers, broadcast classroom and school
news, conduct interviews, and practice fluency reading strategies. Determining
which audio and podcasting tools to use in the classroom depends upon your
instructional purpose and on your audio recording needs.
First let’s look at using audio to support instructional
delivery. One use of audio is to record
the directions for an assignment or test which students will listen to. For this purpose you might use Microsoft Word’s “insert
audio” feature to build the audio directly into the document. You might also choose to embed audio in an online Moodle
quiz or assignment using Audacity. On
the other hand you may be recording a series of lecture note, study casts, or
lesson tutorials which are not directly tied to a single document or assessment
but which you would like students to listen to for review and reinforcement. For these you may wish to use a podcasting
site such as Podomatic or ipadio. Podcast
recordings can be accessed by going directly to your podcast website, via RSS
subscriptions and iTunes, or by embedding recordings on a class website or
blog.
Student generated audio and podcasts can be facilitated
using some of the techniques mentioned above but may also require additional
considerations such as managing student podcast accounts, submitting audio
recordings for review, and the degree of technical expertise needed to produce
the recording. Using phones to create
student recordings can be an effective method capturing student audio and requires
very little technical training. Google Voice and ipadio
both allow audio to be recorded using a phone.
Students can also use simple online recorders such as Voki and Vocaroo.
Other options include using the recording options on a mobile device such as
iPod touch to make a recording and then e-mailing the recording to the teacher,
student e-mail, or class blog.
Once you have determined your instructional purpose for
using audio or podcasting you must also determine what audio elements are
essential to making the recording such as the duration, ability to edit, as
well as adding multimedia such as background music, images, text, or even geolocation. Most often you will want to create recordings
which are brief and simple. This is
especially true when assessing student audio because of the time required to
listen to student submissions. An
example might be when you ask students to record lesson reflections or exit
interviews. In these circumstances, it is best to use phone or online recorders
which limit the time of the recording, do not require editing, and make
publishing your audio easy. The insert voice option in Microsoft Word is
another example of simple audio recording. Students can use this feature to
record smaller written samples to self check for errors and build fluency. If however, you know that you will be making a
lengthy recording where editing mistakes, combining recordings, or adding
sounds effects or music tracks is necessary then audio editors such as Audacity,
Garage Band (Mac only), and Aviary’s
online audio editor Myna may be good solutions. These tools are particularly useful for
polished recordings intended to be published to wider audience or for
culminating student projects.
Before learning about and using a particular audio recording
and publishing tool you may wish to use the following matrix to evaluate which
tool(s) best fit your instructional purpose and audio recording needs. I also recommend becoming comfortable with
several audio applications. Relying on one application may limit your
instructional outcomes or cause frustration if that application isn’t working,
is discontinued or is no longer free.
The basics
In most cases you will need to either install software on
your computer or create an account to begin using a podcast recording
service.
Next you will need to use a microphone to make your
recording. Many computers have built in microphones, but external headphones
which you plug in via USB or 3.5mm jacks produce much higher quality
audio. If neither of these options is
available consider using a phone recording service such Google Voice or iPadio.
In most cases you will want to make an Mp3 audio recording.
This is true for anyone who plans to share the recording over the internet or
for use on Mp3 players. Many
applications such as Audioboo, iPadio, Podomatic, and Vocaroo do this
automatically. Audacity requires a small
program called a Lame file to be installed.
Microsoft Word’s insert audio can be used with the default .wav file
setting or be changed to Mp3.
Finally, you will need some means of allowing others to
listen to the audio file. Microsoft Word’s
insert audio, the voice recorder option on the iPod touch, and files made using
Audacity can be saved locally onto the computer or iPod touch they were created
on and listened to directly on those devices.
In most cases, however, the audio file will need to be hosted or
embedded on a website, blog, or podcasting site which can be accessed from the
internet. This has the distinct
advantage of allowing students to listen to the recording from a variety of
devices and locations. These services
also make the creation of audio more flexible as they do not require the user
to be on a particular computer or device to make the recording.
Overview of audio and
podcasting applications
With these steps in mind the overviews presented below are
intended to get a beginning user recording and sharing their audio. Advanced uses of each particular program or
application can be explored through the support documents and video tutorials
associated with each application.
Cinch.fm - my new favorite
Cinch.fm - my new favorite
