AgendaAudio Recording & Basic Editing: 1:00 – 2:20

10 minute breakAdditional Editing Concepts and Podcasting: 2:30 – 4:00

Audio recordings have been used in education for years…Tape recording of children’s books for early

readersMusic recordings for history, choir, band, etc.Recordings or reenactments of famous

speechesForeign language labsLecture summaries

Benefits of Digital RecordingsMaintain quality over time – don’t degrade

like tapesCan be distributed over the Internet for little

or no cost, compared to the cost of duplicating tapes for students

Don’t require special editing equipment – can be edited on the typical home or school computer with a sound card and free software

Computer Sound SystemAnalog Signal

Sound CardSpeakers orHeadphones

Microphone

Analog Signal

Sound recording or playback

program

Digital Signal

Analog Signal

Digital Signal

Sample Rate

44,100 Hz = “CD

quality”

Sound Recording/Editing ProgramsWindows Sound Recorder – on all school

computersAudacity – on all school computers and can

be downloaded for free at homeAdobe Soundbooth – on all US computersGarage Band – available for Mac computers

Audacity Preferences: Audio I/O

Edit Preferences

Select the Audio I/O tab

Choose the playback and recording devices, if necessary.

Audacity Preferences: QualityThe default quality is

44,100 Hz, which is CD quality

Other default settings should be fine

Audacity Preferences: File FormatsChoose “make a copy

of the file before editing (safer)”. This makes a copy of files that you open in Audacity before you edit them.

Notice the MP3 Export Setup. If you set up Audacity at home, this is the screen where you tell Audacity how to find the LAME encoder, necessary for creating Mp3 files

Changing the Recording Volume

NavigationTo zoom in, choose the Zoom tool, and left-

click.To zoom out, choose the Zoom tool, and

right-click. To make a track taller or shorter, point the

mouse at the bottom edge of the track. When the cursor changes to an up/down arrow, you can change the height of the track.

Recording TipsVoice Over Tips

Recording Tips ReviewFinalize the scriptReview and rehearse the script – capitalize

words, spell out difficult words phonetically, spell out large numbers.

Place the script properly – use a big font for your script, don’t hold it so that it rattles

Record in isolationChoose the best microphone available

Recording Tips ReviewRefresh your voice – have some water or tea

handy to keep your mouth refreshed. Warm up your voice with scales or your

favorite song.Don’t touch the microphone while recording. Don’t speak directly into the microphone – put

it at a 30 to 45 degree angle so that the puff of air which accompanies a spoken “p” don’t hit the mic and create a popping “plosive.”

Basic EditingSelecting & Deleting

Choose the Selection tool, then drag over part of a clip to select it.

To delete the selection, press the Delete key.

Amplifying & Silencing Select a soundChoose Effect AmplifyIncrease or decrease the volume by a given

number of decibels. Entering zero results in no change to the volume.

Combining Two Clips

Saving Your ProjectDon’t forget to save your Audacity project

frequently. From the menu, choose File Save Project,

then choose a location and name for your file. Remember that you will need Audacity to

open an Audacity project file. To create a file that other programs can open or that you can put on the Internet, you must Export the file.

Adding Background MusicTo import a music file, choose Project

Import Audio.To make the music fade in, select the portion

that you want to change with the selection tool, then choose Effect Fade In.

Choose Effect Fade Out to make the music fade out.

Cleaning Up Audio1. Select the portion of the

recording with just background noise.

2. Choose Effect Noise Removal3. Click Get Noise Profile, then

click Close4. Select the portion of the audio to

be repaired5. Choose Effect Noise Removal6. Click the Preview button. 7. Use the Less or More sliders to

achieve the desired effect, then click Close.

Adding EffectsSeveral effects are useful for managing background

music. Change pitchChange speedChange tempo

Select the portion of the audio to be changed, and then choose the desired effect from the Effects menu.

To transition from one piece of music to another, align them so that the two tracks overlap slightly, then apply the Cross Fade Out and Cross Fade In effects.

Saving and Exporting as MP3To save a copy of your Audacity project,

choose File Save Project. Audacity projects can only be opened by

Audacity. To allow others to listen to your project, export it as a WAV file or an MP3 file. File Export as MP3.

When exporting an MP3 file, you will be asked to provide ID3 information. This information appears in the media player (such as iTunes) when someone listens to your podcast.

Identifying your PodcastTitle: create an

episode title for your podcast.

Artist: your nameAlbum:

“Prestonwood Christian Academy”

Year: current yearGenre: “Other”

Listening to your Audio FileiTunesWindows Media Player

What is a Podcast?http://www.vimeo.com/926896An audio or video file …Distributed by subscription over the Internet

Basic Steps in Podcasting1. Create an audio (or video) file in a common

media player format, such as MP32. Save the audio file on a publicly-accessible

website3. Create an RSS feed for the audio file4. Let listeners know where to find your RSS

feed. For example, post a link to the feed on your class home page.

Podcasting increases comprehension…Assign a podcast prior to introduction of

new material, have students listen, then come to class with questions

Allow students to replay a lecture – focusing in the parts they didn’t understand in class

Have students review a summary of key concepts after a lecture

Cover material for students who are absentIntroduce new vocabulary words before a

lesson

It’s free!

Sample Feed URLhttp://www.gcast.com/u/jackieking/

main.xml

Create Additional Channels

It’s easy!

Upload or Record Audio

Select an Audio File

Publish An Entry to a Podcast

Through EDLINE…

Review1. Create an account on GCAST2. Upload audio files from your computer3. Create an assignment on EDLINE that links

to your podcast4. Direct students to subscribe to your podcast

through Internet Explorer, iTunes or e-mail updates.

What’s Next?Keep adding audio files to GCAST on a

regular basis, so that students continue to expect them

No additional setup is necessary in GCAST or EDLINE. New files will automatically appear in the feed aggregator your students selected.

Take Advantage of Existing PodcastsThousands of educational podcasts are

available on the InternetCheck the iTunes store for K-12 educational

podcasts or the Education Podcast network at www.epn.org

Science teachers might be interested in Dale Basler’s podcasts.