Digital Audio Recording Options Now Available

Issue 38, Spring 2007

by Nancy Grayum

It has become commonplace for students and elders alike to use digital audio players to listen to music, books, and programs broadcast via radio or webcasts. Apple's iPod is where the word "podcasting" originated, but iPods and other MP3 players in a wide array of sizes and shapes are all compatible with the Windows operating system.

A person doesn't have to own a portable player to make use of digital audio recordings. One can also listen at a computer with audio speakers. Windows Media Player and iTunes are the most common audio players, and others are also available.

The recording of MP3 files is now well supported at Western too, capturing sound with digital audio recorders. Meetings, interviews, lectures, instructional programs and entertainment events can easily be recorded and saved as .MP3 or .WAV files. These files can then be stored and played on a variety of media for convenient listening: a computer, a network drive, flash drive, CD, DVD, website, or portable audio player, suggesting many possibilities for students to review recorded materials in academic programs at Western.

Recording from Lecture Halls Now a Reality

Faculty members can now take advantage of the ability to record presentations from general university classrooms. With a grant from the Student Technology Fee Committee, ATUS has added Instreamer technology to the voice amplification systems in 15 of the largest Level 4 lecture halls. Recording can be accomplished for a special event, a specific lecture, or even on a regular basis, assuring digital capture of all lectures for a particular course.

Once the recording is scheduled, the faculty member needs only attach and activate the lapel microphone already available in the lecture hall, and the recording signal will be directed to a file on a server in ATUS. ATUS will then assist with preparing the file and making it available to you for posting on your Blackboard course. Alternatively, you may choose to simply save the file for future uses, such as reviewing your own delivery of a lecture, or editing and combining it with other materials at a later date.

If your lecture has included a PowerPoint slide show, ATUS can assist you in combining the two files so that when students choose to listen to a lecture online, they will be able to view your PowerPoint slide show along with the accompanying lecture.

If you wish to learn more about preparing audio files for distribution, contact ATUS Instructional Development Manager John Farquhar at 650-6538, and he can arrange for the most appropriate consultant to assist with your goals.

To request digital recording of a lecture call Robert Clark at 650-6193 to specify the location, date and time you would like the recording to occur.

Digital Audio Recorders Available for Checkout

ATUS Classroom Services has several digital audio recorders (DARs) available for checkout by faculty and students. All have built in microphones. In addition, handheld or lavaliere (clip-on) microphones can be connected, or recordings can be made using analog "line in" input such as radio, CD player, tape player, or turntable. Contact ATUS Classroom Services, Miller Hall 155, 360-650-3300 to reserve a DAR or arrange for orientation.

Files are usually saved to digital audio recorders with names such as MX000031, or other alpha-numeric sequences, but are easily renamed, the same as any other computer file. Once saved to a computer, files are easily deleted from the flash memory card used to store the files during the recording process.

While a single program can be recorded as just one long track (file), DARs also offer the option of programming audio marks, so that your files can be saved in 15 minute segments, or whatever length you choose. Marking files offers many options, such as quick search during editing or review, but marks are not necessary for every purpose. In fact, file management is simplified when there are fewer tracks, avoiding the need to save and rename multiple files.

Audio Recording Booth Available

In some situations faculty and students may decide to record the spoken word to accompany a visual media presentation. An audio recording booth is available in the ATUS Instructional Development area in Miller Hall 199c where scripted material can be recorded.

Conversion of analog audio recordings can also be accomplished here, if one wishes to move recordings from a tape, CD, or phonograph record to a digital format. To schedule the use of this room, call Robert Clark at 650-6193 to specify the date and time you would like the recording to occur.

Digital Recording Popular in Administrative Offices

Some administrative offices, after learning how digital recording simplifies the process of distributing meeting minutes or sharing telephone interviews, have purchased their own systems and use them frequently. No more need for analog tape recording, playback, or time-consuming duplication of tapes. Capture sound with a good digital recorder, connect it to a computer via USB cable and save and rename the file in a manner suitable to your specific need or goal.

Interviews and meetings, for example, can be saved as .MP3 files within secure network folders where only designated members of a group can access the files for review. Transcription can also become more streamlined: proceedings can be saved to .MP3 files and then transcribed with the use of transcription hardware and software. The transcription foot pedal attaches to a computer via a usb connection and can be used to start and stop the audio track.