Write an entry for your course weblog about your experience here (on your “Home” page and posting a new entry). How labour intensive was the process? What worked well? What was challenging? What surprised you?
The use of Audacity to produce audio recordings was very simple. i really like the layout because it is very user friendly. It seems like if you were familiar with the Microsoft version of Recorder, it was very easy and simple to use. The installation went really well. I thought it was going to be a frustrating process but the instructions on the course website was very simple to follow. It was very smooth and Audacity could be up and running in a matter of 15 minutes. I really like the way the explanation of the different audio types and the reason for downloading LAME. It made sense for us to convert audio files into MP3s because the ease of transferring and sending files over the Internet can get very complicated if there is no universal acceptable file.
I agree with what the course suggested. Repeating the same process really helps one to master the speed of producing a high quality sound clip. The ease of use becomes a lot better and I can see how my comfort level has motivated me to begin thinking of ways to integrate the tool into my own teaching. I can sew how it can really help students and motivate them to listen to themselves and create a sense of achievement when they hear their own voices in another language.
Watching the podcast where the Japanese girl was trying to use her English was a very insightful method for my own teaching. Since I teach English to Chinese students, I can see how powerful it is for the student to hear their own voice in another language. The creation of a podcast can be a very powerful in audio and video for students. The final product can be distributed to many students at once and it makes the presentation factor a lot less intimidating. The integration of still images within the podcast was also very powerful. I think this has made me more aware about the ways we can get students to use the language they are learning. Recording has become a lot easier since the Internet has come along with Youtube and tools like Audacity. It makes it really easily for one to publish their own ideas and thoughts with a few clicks. It is really surprising to me how audio recordings and the use of audio can be incorporated into many aspects of classroom teaching and beyond.
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