SITE: Don’t Fear the Reaper.fm

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Last week, I had mentioned my easily portable and relatively inexpensive recording rig—condenser microphone and stand, USB interface and headphones.  Today, we’re going to look into the actual audio software I use for all my projects: Reaper.  Once again, there are countless ways to record audio, with no single “right” solution.  I’ve used dictaphones, cassette and digital multi-track recorders, all-in-one field recorders, boom-boxes, and more ‘professional-caliber’ equipment to capture, edit and present sound. The trick is finding what works best for you.

Each format has its own perks, drawbacks and learning curves, and ultimately I settled on a program for the computer that allows me to record, mix and edit using one piece of software that works on both Mac and PC.  Did I mention that it’s free?

Reaper is a fantastic multi-track recorder that can serve the needs of someone just starting out recording as well as those who have a lot more experience.   I can just as easily use it to record an edit the sound from a single microphone as I can use it for complicated multi-track projects.  It also allows me to mix and match recordings from different types of sound sources, such as mp3, .wav, .aiff, .flac etc.  There’s very little that you can throw into the program that it won’t recognize, which helps when you get sounds from different sources.

In addition, because it uses the computer’s hard-drive for storage, there’s basically no limit to the amount of audio you can record.  Unless your hard-drive fills up, you can keep going.  This is especially useful when recording presentations, speeches, performances, rehearsals, and anything else that can run longer than expected.  I think the most I ever captured was about five hours of continuous audio.


The general interface takes a bit of getting used to, but should function with both the built-in microphone on your computer as well as an external mic source with little to no effort.  Add a track, click the red [ar] button to arm the track, and you’ll be recording in no time.   The key to successful recording comes from experimentation.  Try playing with the mixer, run some tests, listen back to it and see how it turned out, and adjust from there.

Next week, we’ll look at a specific recording project, and how I used Reaper to take it from beginning to end.

 

Cheers!

Three Weeks and Counting: New Challenges

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This week’s post is going to be shorter than past posts. I am traveling and pushed for time, so about all I can provide is a quick update of the past week.

We had our fourth of five face-to-face meetings on Monday, where students presented their progress on their group projects. It was our first face-to-face meeting since week five. We meet one last time during week eleven. During the next two online weeks, groups will be finishing up and sharing their projects with one another in preparation for presenting that last week.

Here is part of what was on the agenda for last Monday’s face-to-face:

All three groups are using Digication to create their learning modules. Although they all toyed with the idea of using SoftChalk, the consensus was that there wasn’t enough time to master it, and there were concerns about what would happen when their 5-week trial period was up. They began using Digication in a Winter term TEACH course, and felt more comfortable using it than tackling a new platform. Right now their modules are only visible to group members and me. After week 9, draft modules will be made visible to everyone in the class to provide feedback and prepare for the final exam, which will draw from the content of all three modules. After the final group presentations, the modules will be made available to the public.

On Monday we went over the project rubric and assignment guidelines one last time. Each group presented its progress. Some of the things that stood out to me included:

  • Group members were collecting curriculum materials from their field experience sites and talking to teachers and students about their topics.
  • Group members were interviewing practicing teachers from different school districts and even a published young adult author. The ESL/bilingual education group was also interviewing former English language learners. These and the curriculum materials are helping them understand what different theoretical framework or “truths” about their topics look like in practice and how they affected others.
  • Each group had collected an assortment of articles, mainly research, which the information from bullets one and two should help contextualize.
  • A couple groups had begun looking at legislation and professional organization policy statements, which gets at how different theoretical ideas are conceptualized as practices.

Students are somewhat overwhelmed with the diversity of information they are finding, and knowing they are only touching the surface. They are also beginning, however, to peel back the complex layers of their topics and are not taking anything at face value or for granted. I think, however, they are still struggling with verbalizing their own thinking about the content.

My feedback focused on moving from only presenting content (research, interviews, timelines, videos, etc.) to presenting content purposefully so as to convey both a their understanding of the content and to invite others to define or respond to the content based on their own experiences. After all, the modules are to be curriculum-like in that they are to engage pedagogically those who view them. By pedagogically, I mean that the content needs to elicit participant response that reflects engagement and understanding of the content. With this in mind, we talked about how to use purposefully the interviews and curriculum materials to inform, extend, and be part of the content.

So the latest challenge is how to bring a lot of material together into a cohesive, integrated module that conveys the groups’ thinking about the content and about teaching that content. You can add this to all the other challenges and struggles I have talked about in previous posts. We are at three weeks and counting.

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D2L Talk: Record Audio

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With all of the big changes that have happened in D2L this year, there’s a feature that’s been “flying under the radar,” so to speak, since it was enabled in our system during the Autumn upgrade: the Record Audio button.

I think this feature has avoided fanfare for a couple of reasons: first, we weren’t sure how easily it would work, since the ability to record audio is heavily dependent on the user (you) having the right hardware to do so. You need to have some sort of microphone on your computer. On a Mac, you should have one built in, but on a PC, you’ll need to look at your hardware to figure out if you have a microphone or if you need to get an external mic to plug in to your computer (which you can rent from the CET AV office).

Secondly, there’s a 60-second recording limit, and it takes some practice to be concise when you’re speaking (and especially when you’re giving feedback to students). One way to work around the limit is to record several audio files, but much like the commercial breaks when you’re watching Mad Men live, the junctures between audio files might seem jarring and awkward to students.

If you’d like to give it a try, though, the recording option is available in three tools: News items, Discussion posts, and Dropbox feedback. This means that you have the ability to record an audio file for students in a News item and in Dropbox feedback, and both you and your students can record audio files in Discussion posts.

In these three tools, you’ll see the Record Audio button next to the Add a File button.

The first time you click Record Audio, the Adobe Flash Player settings will appear.
Select Allow and Remember.
Click Close.

Click the red Record button.

Speak into your microphone. There is a timer to help you gauge the length of your recording. If you go beyond the 60-second limit, the recording will stop and will give you an “Out of Time” message.

To stop your recording, click the red button again. If you are satisfied with your recording, click Add, and the audio file will be added as a News item, Dropbox feedback, or Discussion post. You can also listen to the recording to check it, and if you don’t like it, you can click Cancel to start over.

I would recommend trying this tool out in a News item. Many of you write a welcome message to your students, and I think students would appreciate also having the opportunity to hear your voice greeting them. Then, you could consider using the tool to give feedback in Dropbox, or you could encourage your students to try it in Discussions.

If you have any questions, or if you’re not sure if your computer has a microphone, don’t hesitate to ask!

CoE Professional e-Portfolio Workshop

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I know I promised everyone my top three uses and how-tos for Qualtrics today, but I am bumping that post to next week in order to promote the collaboration between the College of Education’s CET, The Writing Center and The Career Center for our CoE Professional e-Portfolio workshop on Tuesday, June 12th from 3-5pm. Hint to faculty: you may want to copy and paste this blog post URL and put it in your capstone course news feed.

This is a “just in time” Education e-Portfolio workshop in which we will introduce and review strategies and components to help graduating students create a portfolio and highlight their strengths as a candidate in the education field.  Together, we will share highlights of the Digication platform, critically examine how to reflect strengths and values from students’ resumes and philosophy statements, and discuss best practices for their introduction page.

Space is limited and registration is required. The workshop is open to College of Education students who are graduating in the Spring of 2012.  Please note that students do not need to currently have a Digication account, but before the workshop, they will need to request one here.  Students will need to bring a digital copy of their resume and philosophy statement.  If your students are interested in registering for this workshop, please have them RSVP with me, Calley O’Neil at CONEIL1@depaul.edu.

Also, we would like to congratulate Dr. Katie Van Sluys and Dr. Liliana Zecker, who are featured for their work with e-Portfolios in DePaul Distinctions. Joe Miller’s IKE: ePortfolio video is featured, as well!

Recording yourself, Part II: Recording with the iPhone

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by Joe Miller

As a continuation of my last post about recording quality voice-over, I’d like to take this week to introduce you to one of the many tools that can help get the job done.  And if you’re a fan of Apple products, chances are you already have all the tools you need.

When it comes to recording dictation, there are a number of possible tools available, some of which are available for rent from the CET equipment office, and others you might be using to read this blog post.  Before smartphones started appearing everywhere (and becoming synonymous with having 5 minutes to kill), cell phones made calls, sent texts, and maybe took some low-quality photos that never left the phone.  Cell phones are a little more technologically loaded these days, and in some cases, they can be mobile production units.

While most people are familiar with the unprecedented picture and video quality on the new iPhone, the simple audio dictation application, called “Voice Memos,” comes pre-installed and can be very useful in producing and sharing quick field recordings.  It functions like any other Dictaphone or field recorder, and it captures surprising clear sounding audio.  Immediately after recording a memo, which can be anywhere from one second to over an hour in duration (depending on how much space is available), you can send that recording as an email or as a text message.  This means it’s incredibly simple to get your recordings into iTunes for review or into editing software if you need to cut it down.

Feeling comfortable with using all the tools you have available, like audio recording with the iPhone, can help you be more productive in your projects.  Personally, I’ve used the Voice Memos application to verbally jot down ideas or even quickly hum melodies to songs that I can later revisit.  I often send these memo sketches to my brother, with whom I frequently work on projects, and it allows us to work together from an idea’s conception.  Making use of new production techniques opens up your future projects to new possibilities.