Explore the Tech in the Classroom archive.Īrticle by Daniel B. Tech in the Classroom is a recurring feature that examines widely available technology, software and gadgets and how they might be used in a school setting. Because the software is simple and free, it would also be a useful tool for students to use for their projects. You can use it to record classroom events or to communicate with your students and parents. How do I use it in the classroom? Audacity is an easy tool that any teacher can use to make podcasts. The program does tell you which plug-in to get the first time you attempt to export an MP3, and installation is very simple.

The only “trick” required is that you must download a “plug-in” in order to export files as MP3 files, which is what most people want for podcasts.

How well does it work? Audacity works very well as a basic audio recording and editing system. It's even easy to do some basic editing – like cutting out long pauses – as these appear as flat “waves” on the visible representation of the audio track. Of course, it’s always a good idea to do a test recording to check audio levels first, and once you have a level that sounds right, it's important to remember to stay at roughly the same distance from the microphone. How hard is it to use? If you plan to use Audacity for simple podcasts, it is simply a matter of pressing the record button. It can also be used (by experienced users) to edit audio and layer tracks together.

The program will record everything from a single person speaking to a multiple-microphone podcast. It can even work with a full mixing board and multiple sources of audio. How does it work? Audacity lets you record audio through either a built-in microphone or an external one. It can be downloaded at, and there are versions for both Mac and PC. What is it? Audacity is a free audio editor that can be used to create podcasts. Tech in the Classroom: Podcasting With Audacity

Audacity record podcast