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Voice Recording Software

NanoGong 4
http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/
Nano GongThis free open source software is extremely flexible as it can either be downloaded and installed on the local PC with two clicks, embedded into a web page or into Moodle directly (see http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/moodle.html#htmleditor for further details).  Installing directly into Moodle would kill two birds with one stone in that it can be used for both Picaro, Live Online – no need to record using Adobe Connect – and any other course on offer.

It’s a Java applet that can be used to record, playback and save a students voice and when the recording is played back, the user can speed up or slow down the sound if they want to while the teacher can asses their English skills from the uploaded file.

Features include:

  • The file size for the player is very small (around 200KB) and the recorder interface is only 180 x 40 pixels in size.
  • The applet loads quickly.
  • Play back at different speeds if required.
  • Playback any sound file created using the applet from a website.
  • Recorded voice can be saved as an MP3 directly to the user’s hard drive.
  • Can send the recorded voice directly to a Web server.

There are a number of MP3 recording software available as free-ware or shareware that would need to be installed directly to the users PC.

The best and easiest to install of this type are as follows:

MP3 Recorder
http://www.spgsoft.com/mp3-recorder.html
MP3 recorderThis is a free-ware application which can only be downloaded locally to a windows platform so this could be quite limiting.  This is bar far the simplest to install and the user can record directly to their pc or desktop then upload it as a file to the LMS if required, you would need to set up an assignment function in the LMS though.  But it does have some useful features including:

  • CD quality voice recording (MP3 format)
  • User friendly interface, with no editor (can’t beat Audacity for this) available to manipulate the audio – keeps it nice and simple.
  • Easy to record and played back on your computer directly in the MP3 format.

MP3 voice recorder
http://www.prvsoft.com/mp3-voice-recorder.html
(http://www.fileguru.com/MP3-Voice-Recorder/download)
MP3 multimedia recorderIt has many similar features to the MP3 recorder but also allows the following:

  • Adjustable bit-rate to improve recording
  • You can save recorded sound in many different formats including WAV, AAC, WMA, FLAC, M4A and AC3.
  • Choose the output file.

 

Recordpad
http://www.nch.com.au/recordpad/index.html
Record PadThis provides a more intuitive interface and allows you to record directly to your PC.  It also has the following features:

  • Can be used on a Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Pocket PC, Smart-phone operation system as well as an app for the iPhone.
  • You can start a recording, save it, and replay the file in minutes.
  • It can be used to record voice or other audio to add to digital presentations, creating an audio book or to simply record a message.
  • Quickly and easily record audio notes, messages or announcements in either wav or mp3.

With its flexibility and the various operating systems it can be used on, anyone with a Smart-phone such as an iPhone where apps are extremely simple to install, will find this a very useful and easy to use recording device.

For mobile learning options, Record-pad is an option but it is not the only choice as there are a large variety specifically designed for each handset and it would be more appropriate to utilise as many of these as possible in the future.  Recordings could be instantly made, uploaded anywhere for instant feedback.