WavePad Recommended App for Students

Dakinane provides support for schools to integrate information and communications technology into their classes and programs through staff training, facilitation and consultation services. Last week Dakinane featured WavePad on their website, looking specifically at the iOS version, saying that "this app can enable students to take recordings in the field or whilst roving around the school, great for podcasting etc." And since the audio recordings and edited audio are easy to email and share with other applications, the WavePad Audio Editing App can also be a stepping stone for embedding audio in wikis, blogs, websites or other learning management systems.

Watch the short video tour/review from Dakinane of WavePad's simple, but feature-packed interface below, and be sure to visit www.nch.com.au/wavepad for the cross platform Windows and Mac versions of this wonderful audio recording and editing program.

Where to Learn to Make Music

Guest post by Drew Hendricks

Today music is no longer just the domain of the romantic, it isn't enough to have a "good ear." Music is a good program for creative students and in the highly complex world of digital music, advanced training at a college is a must. Musicians and sound engineers need training on the complicated equipment for their craft.

There are both traditional campus and online options for studying music and both STUVU Ranked Schools and eHow rankings highlight Berklee College of Music as one of the best music production schools in the country. It is one of the oldest. Located in Massachusetts, this college's stock in trade is that it is very popular among jazz musicians. It's been popular since the 1940s when it was founded.

Music production college is distinctly different from conservatories or traditional colleges of music. These schools focus on the recording or capture of music. Their courses of study emphasize the mechanics of sound fidelity and recording. Traditional colleges of music focus on performance. Among these schools are: McNally Smith College of Music, the University of Texas at Austin, Berklee College of Music, The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University's Tisch School of Arts and Indiana University at Bloomington.

There are many methods for locating a music production school. Ehow ranks the schools by their curriculum and student scoring. Stuvu ranks music production schools by student's comments. Hackcollege uses the size of the student enrollment as a quick sort for quality of program.

Because the schools tend to lean towards specific genres or aspects of music production, the best way to determine which school works best is determine what the students wants out of the school. Is it an improvement of existing skills so that a certificate is sufficient? Is it a career in music coming out of school? That will probably require a fully-accredited degree approved by an institution like CHEA.org or something comparable. Make sure that the school is accredited.

The next step is to figure out the type of music that the student is most interested in, because the faculties tend to be somewhat oriented along musical types. Is it rock-n-roll? Jazz? Classical? Then identify the school that has the best faculty for that endeavor. University of Texas, for example, is close to a lot of country music, rockabilly and country-rock crossover music labels. Berklee has many jazz musicians on its faculty. McNally and some schools in Los Angeles, CA have a more rock connections. Find the school whose faculty's musical interests mostly closely reflect the genre of the student's interest. Using this methodology, students will find that they are music production being trained by people whose interests they share.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival April 9, 2012

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Hina Azille presents How to Record Professional Quality Vocals With a Normal Mic, saying, "The big tip to recording good vocals, is learning to recognize peaks/clips/�the red� whilst recording. Understanding and recognizing the warning signs while you are recording will help ensure that you get the cleanest vocals possible. This Hub covers how to record the cleanest vocals, applying effects and the difference between mixing and mastering."

Daryl Sams presents The Art of Mixing Songs posted at Edgar Allen Floe, saying, "Tips I've learned over the last 15 years as a studio engineer."

Yelin george presents 10 Songs Whose Lyrics We Get Wrong, saying, "Have you ever come across the lyrics to a favorite song and realized you�d been singing it wrong for years? It�s happened to me � several times, in fact. If you�ve ever discovered that what you were singing wasn�t what the artist was singing, then you will no doubt appreciate this list."

Joe Hannigan presents Recording Classical Music: Microphones and Multi-tracks posted at Joe Hannigan's blog Weston Sound Blog, saying, "My take on why we record music with more than just two microphones."

John presents Podcasting Teaches Valuable Lessons to Homeschoolers posted at The Wired Homeschool, saying, "The ways which podcasting can help your student in their education."

Michael Walsh presents Understanding Audio Effects posted at Sounds Defy Gravity, saying, "Even if you are just starting out on your audio production journey, you�ve likely come across audio effects including delay, reverb, distortion, compression, phase, flange, pitch-shift, ring modulators or filters. This article will help familiarize you with these terms and what they do."

Varosound presents The Many Shapes of Delay posted at Variety of Sound, saying, "There are quite a number of different types and applications for audio delay effects that open the door to a wide range creative effects that can lead to a complete deconstruction of the original sound."



That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. If you have an audio story to share or advice, tips or tricks to share, we hope you will submit your audio posts and articles to the next edition.

Having Fun While Learning to Type

One of the pivotal points in my career came when I attended the 2006 Game Developers Conference and happened to attend a presentation given by Ian Bogost. I had long been interested in developing games, but I also struggled with the idea that video games might be harmful to society. Mr. Bogost's ideas pointed me in a different direction though. Games can teach.

I attended the Serious Games Summit in Washington, D.C. the following fall and became enamored with the thought of using game technology to benefit society. Games, as it turns out, are the perfect training and teaching tools. However, games must be fun if they are to teach.

Every element of gameplay in the KeyBlaze typing game, Word Blizzard, is focused on improving an aspect of typing�while you�re having fun. In Word Blizzard, the emphasis was placed on speed, but things like eye tracking and rhythm were also considered. And fun. We chose real-life words because they matter, but we also included obscure words to challenge the mind and improve finger-key recognition. Then we added more fun.

There will be more games coming to KeyBlaze typing tutor in the future, so I hope you give us your feedback on how our games are helping your typing improve.

Lecture Recordings and Audio Software

Guest Post by Brittany Lyons

With the onset of the digital age, access to resources online has become the norm. The majority of students are digital �natives,� able to find textbooks, academic articles, study help, and any number of other aids for their courses, or even earn entire PhDs, without ever moving from in front of their computer screen. But the one resource not always available to them? The lecture itself. However, many professors have begun to change that, as there are many advantages to having recorded lectures available for students to listen to online at their leisure. But what's the best technology to use for this purpose? And how can non-digital native teachers tap in to the power of that technology?

What makes online recordings so great is that they give students access to the information as many times as they need to hear it. Repeated exposure to difficult concepts can really help students wade through the information, especially if they have an auditory learning style. Knowing the material will be available later also cuts down on students asking for repeated explanations of the same material in class, which means more information can be covered in one lecture period.

Similarly, online recordings provide a ready resource for students who are absent, or for those who are falling behind in class. Rather than having to repeatedly re-teach material during office hours, the professor can refer students to the online recordings to gain at least a basic understanding, and meetings with the professor can then be spent clarifying things the student doesn't understand. This makes one-on-one meetings with students more effective and productive.

Of course, despite the potential benefits of making lectures available online, many professors have concerns. One major concern is that having recorded lectures available will lower class attendance. While this may seem valid on the surface, ultimately it does not appear to be a problem. Glogoff (2009) reports that class attendance is not negatively affected by having recordings of lectures available online; instead, students use the recordings as an additional learning tool on top of attendance. Many use the recordings while reviewing class notes, often adding additional information and solidifying their understanding of the course material. Plus, with the information readily available online, students worry less about taking studious notes, which means they're paying closer attention to the lecture itself.

So the biggest challenge for lecture recordings, then, is acquiring and understanding the technology necessary to produce them. Many professors have trouble with this because they are not digital natives. However, there are many easy options, especially when you consider the programs available through NCH Software.

The most straightforward of the options is RecordPad audio recording software, which will record up to two hours of audio in a single file. The program is easy to use, and can run concurrently with other programs. This means that professors can easily record their lecture on their laptop while running presentation software for their class. Once they've clicked the button to start recording at the beginning of class, the professor can forget about it until afterward, when recordings can be easily uploaded straight from the hard drive for student use.

For professors who want to edit their class recordings (for example, if there was a piece of information intended only for present students, to penalize those who skipped lecture), is an excellent companion product to RecordPad. This software allows pieces of recordings to be cut, copied, and pasted, so that material can be removed if needed. For classrooms with poor acoustics, WavePad audio editor also offers effects such like amplification and noise reduction, which will improve the overall quality of the recording.

NCH Software�s RecordPad and WavePad are user-friendly tools for classroom recording and audio editing that can easily and effectively create lecture recordings appropriate for online use. Both are available for Windows or Mac (including the iPhone), and RecordPad can even be used on an iPod if professors don�t wish to carry a laptop to class. WavePad is available for iPad, making it possible to edit from anywhere�even between lectures. Downloading is quick and easy, and free versions are available for both programs if a financial investment doesn't seem to make sense. And while purchased versions offer many interesting and useful additional options, they also offer free trials so you know what you're getting for your money. For even the most techno-phobic professor, these tools make recording and posting lectures so easy it would be silly not to do it.

Brittany Lyons aspires to be a psychology professor, but decided to take some time off from grad school to help people learn to navigate the academic lifestyle. She currently lives in Spokane, Washington, where she spends her time reading science fiction and walking her dog.

Scribe Excels at Thesis Transcription

Guest post by Clara Bianchini

I was transcribing the interviews for my master thesis and, like every student in this situation, I didn�t have enough time! I was using the software that my teacher recommended, but it was still taking too long and it wasn�t pleasant to use. To listen and type at the same time I had to reduce the speed, but the voice got distorted to the point that some of the transcribed sentences didn�t make any sense when you read them back. I had already transcribed two interviews and I had 17 more to go. Since quality and timing were crucial to my work, I decided to ask Google about better software.

On the first organic result that Google gave to me I came across a comment that caught my attention. I am normally the type of person that is a little skeptical and will investigate at least three options, but when I read the comment that essentially said, "Express Scribe made my transcribing work 5 times faster, without distorting voices. You should try!" I stopped. It was later than 10 P.M.; I was tired and frustrated with my teacher�s software so I decided to give it a try.

I Googled for where I could download Express Scribe, and in few short seconds, it was in my computer. I opened it, and the first impression was already better: it looked MUCH better than the other software. I opened one of my audio files there, changed the speed from 100% to 50%, crossed my fingers and waited to hear what the sound would be like. To my surprise, the voice was totally clear, almost without distortions, and there was a typing box right there, almost smiling at me and waiting for me to have fun.

The next day alone I transcribed two more interviews, at an incredibly fast pace. I was so happy that I shared my discovery with all my classmates. I am pretty sure that without target="_blank"Express Scribe I would be still transcribing interviews right now. It really made all my work much faster and easier.

Clara Bianchini is a student of Imagineering, a Master's degree in Strategic Business Innovation from the experience perspective, a new program about how to design companies towards co-creation of value. In a more participatory approach, business is done together with stakeholders and value and experience are co-created. Some people might say that this is the next stage of Marketing. In order to understand how to design the participation of stakeholders during her thesis research, Bianchini conducted qualitative research which included one-on-one interviews that were transcribed for analysis.

Stop Motion Animation with Slideshow Software

I recently stumbled across another great use for PhotoStage Slideshow Software, combining sequential still photos into a stop motion video animation. That is exactly what a class of students did in the Napa Valley in a CyberMill Technology Center summer program as reported on by Howard Yune of the Napa Valley Register.

CyberMill is a Napa Valley nonprofit technology center, affiliated with the national Computers for Youth nonprofit organization. The CFY Network is committed to improving the home learning environment of low-income families by providing home computers and educational resources, helping students learn the technology skills they need to compete and thrive in the 21st Century. In this particular summer program Yune explains that

"For nearly four hours a day over five days, children at the animation camp work through all the phases of building a short video. Digital point-and-shoot cameras snap numerous photos � as many as 465 for each short � of box-size backdrops built by the children themselves, guided by scripts based on poems of their creation or choosing.

Instructors also guide students in using Photostage software to merge the stills into short movies, adding electronic titles and recording dialogue in an audio studio set inside a walk-in closet."

� Ever wanted to make a movie about a goldfish?

We were excited to learn about this project of making stop motion animated shorts with PhotoStage and applaud the programs of the CyberMill Technology Center for bringing technology to those who might not have as much exposure to this important piece of our world today, while keeping it fun at the same time.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival June 6, 2011

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:


Noble presents How Learning Music Theory Made Me A Better Musician posted at Publisher's Vault.

Francis Vhon presents Why You Need To Have DJ Software posted at Gizmos and Gadgets.

How To Choose Audio Recording Software For Your Mac or PC posted at Computer Tips And Tricks.

Musician Coaching presents Advice from a Producer/Mixer posted at Musician Coaching.

Hsiangni Wu presents Podcasting in Language Classroom posted at Alive and Kicking.


You might also be interested in:

• Convert your Favorite Movie Line to a Ringtone
  
• The Sound of Learning: Using WavePad in the Classroom
  
• Music Editing for Language Lessons
  
• Record DJ Mixes Live
  
• Give Your Music a Boost with the WavePad Equalizer
  

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. Be sure to Submit your audio articles for the next edition.

The Sound of Learning: Using WavePad in the Classroom

We recently cited some tutorials made by a WavePad audio editor user who uses music in language lessons. Now here is another example of WavePad helping in the classroom. This time, in her post The Two Faces of Technology, Kathy talks about using the iPad version of WavePad to record and playback a student's reading to help the student see and hear where they are making mistakes to help them improve their reading skills.

Reading her post actually reminded me of being forced to make audio recordings of oral exams in high school for my Spanish classes. I always found these assignments rather stressful, but I have to admit that it did force me to listen to what I was saying much more closely, and I would go back myself and listen to what I had said and rerecord multiple times before I was happy enough with the final result to turn it in. Kathy mentions that she thinks this would also "be great for teaching storytelling." Can you think of any other places where audio recording or audio editing might be beneficial in the classroom?

WavePad has several applications in the classroom, aside from its recording capability. We have found that instructors and professionals alike use it to create sound clips and soundtracks for their presentations. See how WavePad enhances your teaching, interviewing, and presentations, and download it today.

Music Editing for Language Lessons

We recently found a series of videos made by a WavePad user as a guide for people just getting started with audio editing, and for using sound editing software to support use of music in language lessons. While many of the basics are covered in our WavePad video tutorials as well, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that sometimes hearing the same thing in a slightly different way can really help you pick it up. If you are looking for another source to help you ease into audio editing, you should check out this series of 7 videos covering some WavePad audio editing basics:

1. Select and cut
   
2. Splitting and trimming
   
3. Saving files in different sound formats
   
4. Changing audio track speed
   
5. Changing audio track pitch
   
6. Using slower speeds and looping to teach sections of a song
   
7. Copying edited clips to a new file
   

So whether you are teaching or learning songs in another language, or you have any other audio projects, be sure that you have WavePad Audio Editor on hand. You never know when it might come in handy.