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Recording audio for Moodle

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Revision as of 08:54, 15 March 2007 by Eric Hagley (talk | contribs)

If you are recording audio for Moodle the following guide will helpful. It suggests a route to record and upload simple audio into Moodle, where editing of the audio file is neither required or desired.

Introduction

The Audio in Moodle page explains that although you can use almost any audio file with Moodle, one particular type of MP3 file allows for maximum compatibility while also allowing for more flexible usage within Moodle.

Similarly though there are several methods available for creating these files there is one method that allows staff and students to create such files with ease. The right kind of digital voice (or memo-) recorder, familiar to many, can allow recordings in a variety of situations without the need for extensive technical knowledge or training and with minimal outlay that could potentially pay for itself in saved staff time after one use.

Requirements

The ideal requirements for such a device are:

  • a USB connection
  • no need to install any software
  • records in an appropriate mp3 format

Combined, these requirements allow someone with minimal technical skills to record audio and have it uploaded and playing via Moodle within minutes.

Potential Devices

However, this short list of requirements reduces the field of potential purchases from hundreds to a handful. The following appear, based on information from their manuals, to fit the bill. Some have provisos or other useful info listed below, click to read it.

  • Phillips Digital Voice Tracer, 7790 or 7890
  • Sanyo ICR-S250RM

The following have been tested and found to work

Sanyo Digital MP3 recorder ICR-B170NX

Has 4 quality modes SHQ, HQ, SP, LP. Only the HQ mode (64kbps, 22.1kHz) is suitable for these purposes and it can record up to 2 hours 10 minutes. Takes replaceable AAA batteries.

Sanyo Digital MP3 recorder ICR-A190 / ICR-B190

Has 4 quality modes XHQ, HQ, SP, LP. the longer /lower quality recording times of the LP and SP modes are not suitable. Has up to 4 hours 20 minutes recording time in HQ mode (64kbps, 22.1kHz) and 2 hours, 10 minutes in XHQ mode (128kbps, 44.1kHz). Takes replaceable AAA batteries.

Another alternative is to use software. A very popular free open source software package is Audacity. The link here is to a tutorial that shows you how to download and setup Audacity and make recordings with it.