Why use Audio?  It's just one more way to humanize the online element of your courses, to better engage and connect with your students.

Here I have a series of images: 

But here, with the addition of audio to the images, I have a story:

Mrs. Beasley from mjm_foodie on Vimeo.

Although there are many web 2.0 sites you could use, for this session we'll be showing Gcast. Click here for a demo showing how to set up your own Gcast account.

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN CAN CREATE A BRIEF AUDIO ANNOUNCEMENT -- 3 DIFFERENT WAYS!

1. Headset/mic, using Sound Recorder on the PC (Windows XP). If you have a Mac, you would use GarageBand. Both Sound Recorder (PC) and GarageBand (Mac) come installed on your computer, so there is no additional cost or fuss. Sound Recorder can be found on the PC (Windows XP) by going to: Start ==> All Programs ==> Accessories ==> Entertainment ==> Sound Recorder:

Note: There is a 60 second time limit for Sound Recorder.  It's ideal for brief announcements but if you need a longer recording, you should use one of the other methods.

Click here for a video demo showing how to use Sound Recorder on your PC (Windows XP).

Click here for a one-page handout (the handout includes the images below).

2. Digital recorder.* A digital recorder is fast, easy, and portable - but the feature we really like is that many of them now come with a built-in USB plug, so that after recording, you can plug the device right into your computer, and get the audio file directly. It's just like reading a file from a disk or a flash drive.**

3. Cellphone, using Gcast (or other sites that allow you to record from cellphone!). Click here for a Gcast reference sheet.

* NOTE: Can't upload a file to Gcast unless it is in MP3 format. The Olympus digital recorder that we used in the workshop creates WMA files, so you would have to convert the WMA files to MP3. This can be done fairly easily, but it requires a conversion software that may need to be downloaded. We recommend Switch as one of the simplest converters (works for Windows or Mac).

** It is possible to edit audio recordings that you've kept as a file using software like Audacity (PC) or GarageBand (Mac), but it's easier if you can keep your audio to short "clips" that can be done in one take.

USE YOUR AUDIO RECORDING FILE TO CREATE A VOKI! 

A voki can be created without registering for an account, but if you want to save your vokis, you will want to sign up.

• Click here to watch a demo on how to create a Voki*, or you can click here for a reference sheet.
• Click here to watch a demo on how to embed your Voki in PBwiki, or you can click here for a reference sheet. 
• Click here to watch a demo on how to embed your Voki on Blackboard Announcements, or you can click here for a reference sheet.  

* Sorry, for some reason there is a brief garbled bit in the middle of this "How to Create a Voki" video! Since I didn't think it would affect your ability to follow along and use Voki, I decided not to record it all over again. -Mary

"Show me that hardware again . . . ?" Here are three types of hardware that you can use to easily make your own audio recordings:

	Digital Voice Recorder - I use an Olympus (WS-311M), because of the built-in USB connection. The fewer cords the better, in my opinion! Keep an eye on those Friday Fry's Electronics ads -- they often have these on sale.
	Headphone/mic set - I have a Logitech (ClearChat Pro) headset, about $50 online or at BestBuy; I also have a $20 headset I purchased at Radio Shack.               In the workshop, we used Cyber Acoustics AC-850 headphones that were provided by CGCC Media Services.  Click the link to view details and price.
KB35 (Flickr)	Your cellphone!

Click here to complete the Session #5 Evaluation!