Audacity for Podcasting

When it comes to podcasting and audio editing, there are many different software packages available for creators. Some swear by Adobe’s Audition, others Apple’s GarageBand. For me though, Audacity stands ahead of all competition and reigns supreme. Not only is it free and open-source (meaning various user-generated plugins extending the core functionality), it offers both a simple, accessible set of features for novices and robust advanced tools for the experienced user.

I began using Audacity in 2011. I had just started volunteering with ULFM - the student-run radio station on campus here in UL. Part of my role was converting the show I presented into a podcast to be uploaded to the station’s website each week.

Upon opening the program for the first time, I was intimidated by what appeared to be a vast array of complicated settings, buttons and menus. The waveform (the visual representation of the audio you are editing) was an alien concept to me. But very quickly, I began to learn the basics. Once I started to think of the waveform as analogous to the text in a document, things became much clearer to me. In practice, there is little difference between the basic editing of audio and editing text. You select the relevant clip, cut, copy, paste or delete it, add formatting (in the form of effects), then save the file. In later years, when I would become responsible for training new volunteers to use Audacity, I discovered that drawing this comparison helped alleviate peoples’ initial concerns about what can seem like a daunting task.

As I got more comfortable with the application, I soon learned how deep the feature-set is. There are so many useful tools which can improve the professionalism of almost any recording. You can use simple things like Fade In/Out (allowing you to begin or end clips smoothly), Amplify (which boosts low-volume sound) and the ability to change track speed. But then you have access to powerful options like filters to remove background noise like fan noise from your computer or the tell-tale “hiss” of budget-friendly recording equipment.

In Semester One, we were tasked with making an instructional podcast on a topic of our choosing. Naturally, I used Audacity while creating this. My previous experience meant I encountered very few challenges in using the program to its’ full potential, but I still found I learned even more new features during the process.

We had a very strict time limit to which we needed to adhere. After hours of editing and revising both the script and audio to remove any information which was not completely necessary to the lesson, I was still just over the allotted length. While browsing the menus to determine whether there were any other tools which may help, I encountered the Change Tempo option. This feature allows you to speed up a clip but, crucially, maintain its’ pitch. Preserving the pitch means the audio you change doesn’t end up sounding like a tribute to The Chipmunks. Using this, I was able to speed up the music samples I was using to the point that preserved the pace of the podcast I was aiming for and cut the required seconds needed so that I could meet the specified length.

I would recommend learning Audacity to everyone. Being able to edit audio is a very valuable skill, and for a relatively low investment of time, you can rapidly gain a decent level of competency. I think it’s a particularly important skill for Instructional Designers or Technical Writers to possess. Knowing how to personally edit your instructional podcast or interview with a subject expert will be hugely advantageous. It may just set you apart from the competition when employers are perusing CVs – at least, I hope it will.

What I Learned From Creating a Storyboard

I have just completed a proposal and storyboard document for one of our modules. The proposal will guide the design of a digital learning resource that I will be developing later in the semester. In this post, I would like to look back on the process of designing the storyboard element of the report and talk about some of the things I learned from the experience.

For those who may be unaware, a storyboard is an outline of the content which will go on to form a programme of instruction. There are various methods of producing this guide, from specialist storyboarding software to more basic approaches like using PowerPoint or an image editor like MS Paint, Canva, etc.

I chose to create my storyboard using MS Paint, as I have always felt that the program offers quite a few useful features in an easy to learn interface. I have been using MS Paint for as long as I can recall, but even so, I learned new skills in the software while working on this assignment.

My design called for a chessboard pattern motif that appeared on each of the screens. Initially, I was intimidated by the prospect of having to draw each of these squares across a large area individually. However, as I experimented with different options,  I discovered the power of the Select tool. I had only ever used this function for simple dragging and dropping of pieces of images. This time, however, I was able to quickly duplicate the chessboard pattern by drawing two squares, selecting them, copying and pasting them, moving the duplicate into place, then repeating the process. This routine allowed me to exponentially increase the number of squares I could draw at one time. It may sound like an obvious feature, but it is one I had completely overlooked until now.

Another difficulty I have had with Paint in the past was accurately measuring the proportions of objects. Reading forums and tutorials led me to the useful Grid element of the program. This option was something I had never used before, and I found it to be invaluable in ensuring the objects I was drawing were sized correctly and lined up correctly on the canvas.

Aside from improving my abilities with the software, I also feel this project was helpful in other ways. It was an opportunity for me to put into the practice the lessons I learned from creating a storyboard for my summer project proposal at the start of the semester. I found that I was better equipped to plan the material which I want to include in my learning resource. Having received feedback on my summer project proposal, I feel I was better at gauging the amount of information required for each lesson and was better able to visualise how the content would fit together.

This assignment was the first on the course that drew heavily on what we have been studying in other modules, and was also the first project involving the creation of a very similar deliverable (i.e. the storyboard) to one we had previously submitted. It was interesting to see how elements from our other modules such as instructional design, writing style, design concepts, learning theories, etc., combined to strengthen the overall quality of the final proposal that I produced.

I think that looking ahead to the Master’s project, the experience of working on this assignment will have significantly reinforced the concepts and ideas we have covered on the programme to date.