Using+Audacity+(record+voice+and+other+audio)

Audacity is a great tool for recording audio on your computer. If you are using a laptop or PC with a built-in microphone, you don't need anything other than the free software download available at: @http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ If you are using a traditional desktop PC, you will probably need to add an external microphone. These are pretty inexpensive - you can get a USB microphone from most electronics store for about $20. This is a great tool for creating Podcasts, adding voice-overs to video, having students read aloud, or giving oral presentations. Audacity will allow you to not only record the audio, but also edit and upload as a .wav file to your Wiki, blog, or other webpage that permits media uploads.



Here is an example of an uploaded .wav file from audacity: media type="file" key="Audacity example.wav" width="300" height="50"

Directions for use:

For recording from Audacity, it works pretty much like a standard tape recorder. Use the red circle button to record, the blue pause button to pause, the yellow square to stop. The green triangle serves as both play and loop, depending on which mode you are in (record or play-back). Once a track is recorded, it turns gray - you can use the "hand" icons to shorten the track, and then delete what you don't want. There are cut and paste options, and you can also record multiple voices over the same track.

To upload your completed file to Wikispaces or another web page, first you have to save your file. If you're using the Beta version of Audacity (the newest one), you first have to "export" the file - once you click "export" you are given a choice of several media file types. Microsoft's .wav file is a very common and easily uploaded file type. Once the file has been "exported," it will ask you where you want to save it and what you want to name the file. If I'm uploading to my Wiki, I always save to my desktop for easy access, and then once the file has been uploaded to the Wiki, I delete the .wav file from my desktop.

In Wikispaces, to add the file to your Wiki page, follow these steps: 1) In page edit mode, click the "File" tab 2) Click "+ Upload Files" 3) Select your audio file from the appropriate location 4) It will upload automatically - when it is finished uploading, it will automatically appear in the large box. Audio files take longer than document files or pictures to upload - be patient. Remember, as well, that Wikispaces has a 20MB limit for file upload. 5) To add the audio file to your page, double click it. The above is an example of what it will look like on a Wiki page in "View" mode, but this is what it will look like in "Edit" mode: