Making recordings - mp3, sound editing, podcasting and all that Jazz!

[Jo Rhys-Jones]

These are the confessions of a digital novice:

Until yesterday I admit I have recorded and allowed the children to record themselves either using a tape recorder (or ‘walkman’ in ye olde englishe) or sometimes that dusty machine I found in the KS1 classroom that you slide a flashcard in to hear the sound, child repeats the sound and plays it back. It works for me – the machines are robust and simple with big buttons and the class are quite happy to get the equipment out and use it themselves. But then I saw Joe Dale’s blog about ‘podcasting’. Frankly I thought it sounded a bit complicated – and rather rudely said so.

‘Not so’ insisted Joe and the next minute Paul Harrington is emailing me insisting I try out the technology myself. I tried to plead lack of equipment, but to no avail. Well you know what? It is easy. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy in fact. So that’s why I am writing about it now and urging you to try it too just in case you weren’t already:

• Firstly take one mp3 player. That one my brother gave me 2 years ago from Tesco (cost about £12 I think – thanks Paul) was fine. Don’t bother finding the instructions; someone in year 3 will either already know how to work it or happily press all the buttons until they do.

• Then record someone (anyone!) speaking French. (You press record – that’s it, no microphone or stuff, just click record).

• You now have a little soundclip on the mp3. If like me you can’t work out how to play it back, it doesn’t matter. Have faith. Go plug in mp3 into a computer, which will open it like a flashstick/memory stick. Click on the file, (which will probably end in .wav) and play it in Windows media.
• At this point I discovered that the soundclip included not only small child speaking French but me saying ‘Is it working do you think?’ ‘Not a problem’ Mr Harrington assured - ‘just download a free version of audacity and the children will be able to edit it.’
• Hmmm… still, as George Michael sang ‘You gotta have faith’, so at lunchtime one of year 6 downloaded the program. It took seconds. Within 3 minutes same child had opened the program and was using it to cut and edit the soundclip. It was so simple.

And we could have stopped there, but we felt indebted to Joe and went back to his blog to leave a comment. Except while there I clicked on the demonstration link to podomatic. 15 minutes later we have ourselves our own little site. The children used ‘audacity’ again to click on ‘export clip as mp3’ and saved the soundclip again (by this time soundclips as more children were having a go). We followed the site instructions to upload the clips (just like attaching a file to an email really) and …. well you listen Monika (8) and Lexie (4) - click here.

We are podcasters! We had published to the internet. We’d gone hi-tec. We felt cool, hip and happening!

So really that is all I wanted to say with this post. Try it if you haven’t already. It’s easy – honest!

(and thank you again Paul Harrington and Joe Dale).

(Clipart from ClipartHeaven.com)

[Lisa Stevens]

Hi Jo -you are in good company. I told everyone at school we'd won runners up and an iRiver and NOONE at school knew what it was (including the ICT coordinator and website administrator). And
I went to a session on Podcasting last night at a neighbouring RSG and the presenter didn't know what it was either. The truth is, I only knew because Joe Dale records his presentations on one!! I believe the definition is ..'A small piece of equipment enabling you to record audio which can be used to produce podcasts.' It's basically an MP3 player that records.


Anyhow, I will be having a go at podcasting soon - the session was very technical so I might try your way - it seems easier!! At the moment I'm somewhat distracted by events at school with all of KS1 decamped to the local secondary due to building issues - I've got 60 year1s for an hour and then 60 Year2s for the next hour. By the end of that, I'll have earned a large piece of chocolate concrete!!!!

It's amazing that just 7 or 8 months ago I had no idea about ICT beyond wordprocessing, and now I'm an (prolific) administrator and publisher on the school website, can do all kinds of exciting things with IWBs and PPT(thanks in no small part to Joe!), own a Nintendo DS (inspired by Ewan McIntosh's ideas at Language World and am desperate to have a go at podcasting!
Who says Language teaching is boring!?

[Jo Rhys-Jones]

Paul - of course, and thank you for your help!
Lisa - an iRiver? What's an iRiver?? aaarrgh all this technology!
lol
Jo x

[Lisa Stevens]

Hi Jo
Won an iRiver for my school's eTwinning project and am looking forward to using it to make some podcasts for the staff at school in the first instance - so hopefully will soon be joining you as a published podcaster!!
Lisa xx

[Paul Harrington]

Hi Jo - excellent post great work - I hope that you will be ok with me posting your piece on my blog - it will help encourage others I am sure. : )

Paul