Recording Audio

Module 14.1.1: Recording Audio

Here we present an overview of recording possibilities. we do not provide step-by-step directions for making recordings, nor transferring recordings to your PC. There are many accessible ways to record audio, including: Apps on your PC such as the Sound Recording app which comes with Windows, the Zoom app for meetings, and Audacity. Apps on the iPhone such as the native Voice Memo app and third party apps like RecUp for use with Dropbox. Specialized devices for blind people such as the Victor Reader Stream and Braille notetakers. Mainstream digital audio recorders manufactured by companies like Sony and Zenith. Some of these are accessible because they include audio feedback like speech or beeps to indicate recording status and folder locations for saved recordings. Many audio file formats exist. To be able to edit them, be sure your recording device can produce at least one of the following common file types: Mp3, WAV, or M4A. The iPhone RecUp app and the Victor Reader Stream Second and Third Generations produce MP3 files. The MS Sound Recording app, the Zoom desktop app, and the iPhone native Voice Memo app produce M4A files. Audacity can produce MP3 and WAV files. Also be sure you know how to access saved recordings on your computer if you want to eventually edit them. If you use a mainstream digital recorder, make sure you choose a model where it is possible to transfer recordings to your computer. A limitation of using Audacity is that it can only edit MP3 and WAV files. If you anticipate that you will be frequently working with M4A files, you will need to convert them to either the MP3 or WAV format. Fortunately, an easy-to-use and free app exists for doing this. Download File Converter at: File Converter - Convert & compress everything in 2 clicks! Steps for converting a file with File Converter are: Navigate to the audio file to be converted on your PC. Press the Applications key, and if using Windows 11, Up arrow to Show more options and press Enter. Down arrow to the File Converter submenu and press Enter or Right arrow to expand it. Down arrow to the desired audio format (presumably MP3 or WAV) and press Enter to convert it To the new format. The converted file is save in the same folder and with the same file name suffix as the original file, but of course with the new MP3 or WAV file format extension. This app can also be used to convert a number of video file types to other video formats, as well as to audio. we will return to it later in this Module when we discuss video editing.