My son listening to a Cinch recording of his favorite book
First is ease of use. Both the cinch.fm website and the app are very easy to use when it comes to sign-up, recording, and listening to recordings. Second is the unlimited recording time (unlike audioboo.fm which limits recordings to three minutes). Third is the ability to make recordings using your computer and a microphone (website), using an iPad, iPhone, or 4th generation iPod touch (app), or record using any phone associated to your Cinch account.
The classroom applications are endless but here are just a few of the reasons why Cinch is the best option in my opinion.
Recording lectures that are immediately available online for students who are absent or need to hear the material again
Parent communication podcast (Audio newsletter, Daily activity and homework reporting)
Audio directions for worksheets or test accommodations
Student interviews and observational data
Student recordings of think alouds, group projects, audio notes, student created tutorials, fluency practice, or adding audio to physical projects such as posters, dioramas, or written work
With cinch.fm you can also add photos and text to the audio recording. With the iOS app teachers and students can quickly and easily add a picture from the camera roll or take a picture with camera enabled devices. Text is limited to 140 characters. Ideas for teacher or student use include:
Taking pictures of objects around the classroom or school that relate to a theme or concept (e.g find and describe examples of ecosystems or geometric shapes)
Taking pictures of charts, graphics, or text and recording audio to answer questions
Asking students to take pictures of their work and record reflections about the content
Have students record themselves reading classroom books or materials. Use QR codes or shortened URL's to let others listen - See the How-to below.
Setting up a Cinch account - I recommend creating a generic classroom account if students will be recording. I also suggest making your folders private by default.
or using the cinch app
Make private folder(s) for your recordings (folders can only be created from the website)
Make a recording using the website or app
Add photos and text to the recording
Share your recording by shortening the URL or QR codes from the website
I recommend installing a QR code/URL shortener like goo.gl to your Chrome or Firefox browser or going to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/.
Start adding QR codes and shortened URL's to books and other classroom objects. You can use a QR scanner app for your iOS devices to make access to the recordings a snap!
Click here if you are unable to see the audio player. http://ipad.io/RCH
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.
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.
This was a test of running Camtasia and Audioboo at the same time for the purpose of making a training tutorial. Although Camtasia was able to capture the screen and audio process fine, the Audioboo recording was distorted. It is possible that this was due to the fact my laptop does not have enough processing power to handle multiple recording applications simultaneously. Feel free to offer suggestions in the comment section below. To hear the audioboo sample which was created in the screencast click on the following link.
In this podcast episode I compare and discuss ways to broadcast and record from the classroom using mobile apps like audioboo.com, ipadio.com, and evernote.com. I also share my reflections on this year's 3rd annual 21st Century Learning Symposium hosted by the St. Clair County RESA. I conclude with a look at my recent attempts to set up my own Moodle and WordPress sites using the webhosting service bluehost.com. Running time:
