Group 2 Digital Tools: Digital Audio Recording

I spent a bit of time on this tool, partly because I've spent a lot of time in the music industry and one major component of this is audio recording. This is one area that's near and dear to my heart.



My computer is a desktop, so it has no built-in microphone. As far as sound quality goes, the times I have tried using this option haven't resulted in anything of a useable quality. Also, the fact that the desktop computer is fixed in one position means that I can't use it for recordings on the go.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and a Motorola Xoom2, and I've found that I can use these for audio recording wherever I go. I use the Hi-Q MP3 Recorder app on these devices, which converts straight to mp3 - a useable and universal format, which is easy to manipulate and play when it's uploaded. Most audio recorders that come with the device record to their own proprietary format, which can cause major issues if editing is required after the fact.

In terms of posting audio to my blog, I use SoundCloud for my online audio storage and publishing. You can set up a free account, which allows you a limited but generous amount of space (about two hours of play time) for your recordings, as well as a whole heap of great features. It also has the mobile apps, which allow you to record and upload audio wherever you are. It is also possible to embed SoundCloud clips into my blog.  Here's some examples.

Recorded on Samsung Galaxy S2 via the SoundCloud app:

Recorded on Motorola Xoom 2 tablet via the SoundCloud app:

Recorded on a Samsung Galaxy S2 using the Hi-Q Mp3 Recorder app:

Recorded on a Motorola Xoom 2 tablet using the Hi-Q mp3 Recorder app:

Recorded on a Zoom Q3HD and uploaded via desktop PC:


A bit more about the last sample: I went all-out last year and got an audio/video recorder for recording my live music performances. I purchased a Zoom Q3HD, which is a fantastic tool. It has dual condensor mics, which allows high quality stereo sound. As well as audio, the Q3HD also records high quality 1080p video, which I'll show you in the next post.

However, there are some differences between the Q3HD and the other recording options displayed.

1. The Q3HD records audio in m4A format, with large file sizes. It's necessary to convert the file before being able to play with it. Windows doesn't recognize M4A as a usable file type unless you have iTunes installed. I used the online converter media.io to convert the M4A into an MP3 file. In terms of file size, the phone and tablet used around 150kB per 20-second file, but the Q3HD used approximately 1Mb for a 40-second recording.   
2. It's necessary to extract the files from the Q3HD onto a computer, then upload them. Since it's not a mobile device, it doesn't have 3G or wifi, but requires a USB connection or a device with an SD card slot.
3. However, the result is far better quality audio. The background noise is reduced, and the sound is fuller, with less of an emphasis on the mid-range.

 Some people would argue that it's not necessary to go this extra step. I would argue though, if it's possible to produce high-quality audio, it will only benefit the teaching process. There are a number of reasons for this if a teacher is making recordings to include as teaching tools in a lesson:

1. If the recording is low quality, the type of speakers used will worsen the sound. Laptop or iPhone speakers are very small and not very good. If the recording is not very good, it becomes necessary to use headphones or a good pair of speakers in order to compensate for the bad quality.
2. Students with hearing loss will struggle to understand bad recordings. Hyde and Palmer (2011) discuss the impact of hearing loss on learning. One of the attributing factors to this is background noise. The teacher's voice (the signal) should be clear, and the background noise should be reduced if possible. This is referred to as the "signal-to-noise ratio" (p.260) There is less chance of misinterpretation, especially if the teacher is not there to clarify, if the recording is as good quality as possible. 
3. Students will possibly tend to zone out or disengage if they have to listen to recordings with bad audio quality or excessive background noise. I can't find any research to back this up... maybe there's a PhD in it...? But I can attest to the fact that if I have to listen to a bad recording, I have to concentrate very hard to make out what I need to hear, especially if background noise is an issue. This is because I have slight hearing loss in one ear, which is partly caused by industrial deafness and partly by some severe ear infections that I suffered when I was a child. It's quite plausible that there are students in any given classroom that have similar hearing issues. Also, if students have an iPod and access to iTunes, they are exposed to more and better quality recordings than their parents were. This is partly because of the vast amount of music (free or paid) available on the internet that wasn't available fifteen to twenty years ago, and also that the equipment used to record sound has been made cheaper and more accessible to the home studio enthusiast.

Applications for Teaching

Recording audio for playback causes the learners to focus on the sounds, and what is heard, without being distracted by the visual.

Deborah Stewart offers a few ideas through her discussion of the book “Teaching in the Digital Age” by Brian Puerling. Find the article on her blog here. Two ideas that are put forward in this article:

1. Making audio recordings of guest speakers. In the article:
   
   "Puerling makes the observation that children tend to be very excited when a guest comes to visit and will more than likely not hear everything a guest has to say.  By recording the guest, students can listen to what the guest had to say at a later time when they are ready to concentrate and use the information for extended activities." 
   
   A teacher could take a digital recording and edit it so that the important parts of the recording are retained, then use it with the class. The object would be to recall information from the guest session, using directed questions and the relevant parts of the recording. E.G. "Who remembers what the speaker said about what frogs do in winter?" - leading to a discussion on hibernation, warm-blooded vs. cold-blooded etc.
2. To create a listening hub or post. All that is needed is an iPod Touch, and a headphone splitter.
   
   "if you have the ability to record and save your own digital recordings, the listening center can be transformed into a way to invite children to tell and listen to their own stories and songs, record and listen to their own name or for the teacher to record her own voice and make listening games or other types of listening activities."

I've created a Voki of the last clip as well. It could be fun for students to record themselves reading poems and then create Voki characters to read them out. They could then compile them on a website or blog to form an online anthology of poetry or songs.

Since students have access to iPods, making audio recordings can be useful for different things. They can record themselves saying facts or other things that need to be memorized. They can make audio recordings of poetry readings and create an online anthology of readings.
Podcasts are useful ways of disseminating information to a class, especially for homework tasks. Audio can be recorded by the teacher and then converted to podcast. Podcasts would be especially useful where whole classes or year levels have been given iPads. Students can also create their own podcast channel and use it as an audio blog or commentary on different topics, or post reviews, discussions or interviews that they have recorded. Teachers can also record different things for use when students either want to review work in their own time, or if hearing-impaired students have trouble hearing the teacher in a noisy classroom.


Other articles of interest that I found:

"Teaching with Technology" by Jim Lengel

"Using Audio in Teaching and Learning" on JISC Digital Media Site (no author attributed)

"Audio for Teaching and Learning" slideshow by Debbie Smith and Michael Gwyther

"iTunesU" promotional material on Apple's website.