Audacity

Tisha Duncan

Audacity - []

Audacity is software that is used for recording and editing sound. Users can record live audio through a microphone, line input or other sources. According to the website, you can import sound files (imports multiple file formats), edit them and combine them with other files. It is extremely easy to edit sound files. If you know how to use cut & paste or copy & paste then you will not have a problem editing audio clips in Audacity.
 * About Audacity:**

Audacity is free and easy to download. There are several versions of Audacity and it is compatible with different operating systems. Users simply have to select the version they wish to download and click the operating system they have on their computer.


 * Tutorials/Help:**

The website has a documentation and support sections for users to go to for help with using the product. This portion of the website is broken down into multiple sections;

1. FAQ - [] 2. Documentation (user manual and quick reference guide) - [] 3. Audacity Wiki - [] 4. Tutorials - [] 5. Tips - [] 6. Creating a simple voice and music Podcast with Audacity - [] and []


 * Challenges:**

Audacity is extremely easy to use. When I used it for the first time the instructions seemed really complicated. I decided not to use any instructions and was able to figure out how to use it by simply playing around with the features. Even though it is not that hard to use I could see having the following issues:

· Ability to download the software to the pc’s in the office. · Learning to use the tool, especially editing the recording (non-technical employees may have problems). · Uploading the Audio File to our Learning Management System. · No tech support available should there be problems with the tool. · The only way that I would be able to use the software in a training class is if the software was the subject and I was teaching our employees how to use the tool.


 * Educational Objective and Lesson Plan:**

Audacity would be a great tool to use if I or anyone else in my company wanted to create a Podcast. For example, twice a year our CEO does a town hall where he goes over the quarterly happenings of the company. Everyone in the entire company, even those in our field offices gather online in an AT&T session to listen to our CEO speak. We can’t see his face only listen to him and see his PowerPoint presentation. I would rather he do a Podcast that we can listen to on our own time. What I would like to do is design a course on how to use Audacity to create a Podcast. The audience for this course would be our Training & Development team. As projects come up our team could work with the individual(s) to create, edit, save and distribute the Podcast they created.

Lesson Plan would include the following: 1. Layout and Basic Navigation 2. Importing Background Music 3. Recording Your Voice Track 4. Editing Your Podcast 5. Saving and Distributing Your Project