Usi

ngAudacity
Workbook
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This workbook is taken from one of SimpleK12’s Integrating Technology in the

Classroom courses.

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Technology in the Classroom courses. Each course has its own set of downloadable
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View the lessons associated with this workbook by searching for “Using Audacity”
inside the learning portal.
 Workbook - Using Audacity
Overview:

The following lessons and objectives were covered in this course. Feel free to go back and
review some or all of them, if necessary:

1. Look at Audacity
o Discusses what Audacity is and how you can use it to record and create audio
files.
o Gives an introduction to the Audacity interface.

2. Record Audio Tracks

o Explains the process of recording live audio.
o Gives tips for capturing good sound.
o Discusses how to monitor audio as it's being recorded.
o Explores the track control panel's menu.
o Shows how to rename an audio track.

3. Import Audio Tracks

o Discusses the types of audio files that can be imported into Audacity.
o Demonstrates how to import a file as an audio track.

4. Work with Multiple Tracks

o Talks about the purpose of using multiple tracks.
o Gives examples of when multiple tracks would be useful.
o Discusses Mute and Solo controls.
o Demonstrates how to use the Time Shift tool.

5. Edit an Audio Track

o Looks at the ways you can edit an audio track.
o Explores effects that you can add to an audio track.
o Shows how to change an audio track by applying an effect.
 6. Save Projects and Files
o Explores the difference between a project and an exported file.
o Discusses a variety of ways to save and export your files.
o Demonstrates how to save a project.

7. Understand MP3 Conversion

o Discusses MP3 files and how they are created.
o Examines the reasons Audacity can't convert audio to MP3s.
o Explains the licensing difficulties involved with MP3s.
o Gives several alternatives for converting files to MP3s.

Real-life Examples:

Here are some real-life examples of how the concepts discussed in this course could be used in a
classroom, either as a teaching tool or an administrative aid:

1. Recording Audio
If your school has a media center, see if they have the equipment or facility for recording
a podcast or other audio project. Do several practice runs with your students to get
acquainted with the equipment and to have a better idea of how the Audacity interface
works before recording final audio takes.

2. Consider a Podcast
Think about a podcast you'd like to create for your classroom. What will you need in
order to build it in Audacity? What role can your students play in your podcast? Will you
need to import tracks? Do you want a music track? How many tracks will you need?
Make a list of the things you'll need to put your podcast together.

3. Recording in the Classroom

When preparing to record audio, it's important to set up an area where you can record
without a lot of background noise. Look at your classroom layout and determine if there
is an area where you can set up a recording station. If not, what changes could be made to
accommodate recording?

4. Record Your Classes

Set up a microphone so that you can record your lessons using Audacity. Then, make the
recordings available to your students as a study aid. Compile a library of lectures so that
you can make them available to future classes or for your own review.

5. Music Lessons
Use Audacity to record your students playing their instruments so that they can listen to
the playback and hear for themselves where they can make improvements. Keep a
running library of each student so that they can hear their improvement from week to
week.
6. Class Readings
Use Audacity to record your class reading some of their favorite children's stories. Have
them change the name of the audio track to match the story. Then, make the recordings
available to younger students in other grades so that they can listen to them as they read
the stories.

7. Historical Audio
Consider creating an audio presentation for your students. Find a recording of a famous
speech, such as JFK's inauguration or Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "I Have Dream Speech."
Import this into Audacity so that you can add your own audio to enhance it.

8. Audio in the English Class

Assign a monologue to each student, such as a Shakespearean soliloquy or famous
speech. Have them record it using Audacity. Then, have them find a piece of music that
exemplifies the words they spoke and add it as a separate background track in their audio
project.

9. Look at Audio Waveforms

Have each student record their voice to an audio file reading the same material. Then,
import the files into an Audacity project. Have the students look at the waveforms of each
track and note how different each track is even though the material was essentially the
same.

10. The Play's the Thing

Assign the parts of a scene from a play to several students in your class. Have each one
record their part in Audacity. Import the tracks into an Audacity project and adjust the
tracks so that when complete, you have the entire scene recorded and in order.

11. Podcast Parts

Have a variety of students record the audio for your class podcast. Once all the parts are
recorded, arrange them using Audacity. Try multiple arrangements of the tracks to see
which one works the best.

12. Musical Mayhem

Have students record themselves reciting a famous speech. Then, add several musical
tracks to the project. Use the Mute and Solo buttons to let the students listen to their voice
against different background tracks and then select the one they like the best.

13. An Old Time Radio Show

Have your students write their own radio show. Make them aware of the effects available
to them in Audacity so they can take them into consideration when writing their script.
Once they have recorded their parts, apply the various effects to their tracks to complete
the show.
14. Podcast Enhancements
Consider a podcast that you produce or would like to produce. Are there moments of
silence that can be taken out? How could you use effects to add to your production? Edit
your audio tracks by taking out silence and enhancing with effects.

15. Create Vocal Transformations

Let your students experiment with the Change Pitch, Change Speed, and Change Tempo
effects to create their own "Chipmunks" audio projects. Have them try a variety of
settings to see what affect those settings have.

16. Exporting Theater

Have your students record one or two scenes of a play you're studying in class using
Audacity. After they've edited the audio, have them export the finished product to a
WAV file that can be shared not only with their classmates but also with other classes in
their school.

17. Music Appreciation

Use Audacity to record your school's band, orchestra, or chorus. Edit the project so that
each song can be exported to it's own file. Export the audio and give copies to all the
members of the group. Also post the audio to your school's Web site so that the general
public will have access to your recordings.

18. A Lecture for the Ages

Record the lecture of a guest speaker using Audacity. With the speaker's permission,
export the audio file so that you will have a copy of the lecture that you can use in future
classes without requiring the speaker to come back to your classroom.

19. Create a Historical Radio Program

At the start of the school year, create a radio program with your history class to be
podcast throughout the school year. Have the program be episodic and follow the history
that the students are learning, with a new chapter in the saga presented each week.
Record each episode as an audio podcast and upload it to the school Web site for other
students, teachers, faculty, and parents.

20. Teach Through Podcasts

Plan some podcasts for your students that will attempt to teach students in the grades
below them. Have them prepare resources, materials, and information that would be
relevant to their classmates in the lower grades. Record the podcasts as audio and post
them to a Web site so that those students can listen to them as homework or extra credit.

21. Create a Podcast

Have your class create a podcast that details new information they are learning, such as
new math skills or new history lessons. You can even trade podcasts between classes as
either a study aid or as a way to test the other class.
Exercises:

If you would like additional practice or review of the concepts covered in this course, try the
following exercise(s) at your convenience:

1. Creating your first podcast episode is easier if you define your purpose in your
introduction and then determine the content for your first several episodes. Once your
intro is written, create an outline for your first three episodes. Think about what you'd
like to cover. Also, think about how you would describe the content in no more than two
sentences. These ideas can become part of the intro for each of the next episodes.

2. Research options in your school or district for posting podcast files. If a school server is
available for publishing, determine if there are file size limits for posting. Will you need
to convert to MP3s due to file size restrictions? If there are no options available within
your school, try creating your own site using Podomatic (http://podomatic.com) and
experiment with uploading your files there.