Audio and podcasts

You can easily use audio files in your teaching. For subjects like languages, where audio is already an essential tool for teaching, adding audio resources to eLearn(WebCT)  gives your students the opportunity to revise materials used in class. In other subjects, audio files can be used as an extra resource to support students. For instance, you could record a summary of the main points of a classroom session and upload it for students to use as a revision aid.

Audio files can be uploaded to eLearn(WebCT) like any other kind of file, and even embedded into webpages. (Wimba Create is ideal for this.) Students can then play the audio directly online, or download the audio files onto a personal music player, such as an iPod, to play at any convenient time.

File format

The best file format to use for audio is MP3 because it produces the smallest file size for a given quality, and is supported by most players and devices. You can halve the file size by recording in mono, which is quite adequate for most uses. Set the frequency at 22kHz or below to minimise file size. 

File editing and conversion

There are many audio editing tools available. On the UCLan network, Audition and Cool Edit Studio are very suitable for file editing and conversion, and the audio editing tools in Adobe Presenter are also worth considering.

Recording

You can record directly onto your PC if you have a microphone. Alternatively, you can use a handheld digital recorder of the kind sold for dictation. You will need a quiet room, so you may need to choose your place and time carefully. To record lectures or classroom sessions, you can get help from your department technician.

Audio feedback

As an alternative to written feedback on students’ work, you can record your comments and send the students the audio files. A number of institutions have experimented with this technique, and it has been very popular. The students felt the feedback was more personal, and the staff felt they could give richer feedback in the same time. If you are interested in trying this out, please contact Liz Hodgson (emhodgson@uclan.ac.uk).