Audacity

Audacity is a free online digital audio editor and recorder used to create podcasts. It can be downloaded Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems. Some of Audacity’s key features include:

• Recording and playing back sounds
• Audio editing
• Cross platform operation
• Multi-track mixing
• Importing and exporting of audio files

Last semester I had the opportunity to use Audacity and see was the hype justified. The reasoning behind me using Audacity was that I had to create an instructional podcast for a college module. I decided to create a podcast that would educate listeners on concussion in sport. I had an abundance of personal experiences with concussion so I felt my podcast was badly needed. When hearing for the first time that I would be creating a podcast, I wasn’t at all worried about it. I thought it would be relatively straightforward and that the theory behind designing it would be the only challenging aspect. While designing the podcast based on instructional design theories was challenging, the podcasting element proved tougher than expected. I had envisaged that I would be able to use my phone to record the podcast. The next step would then be to upload the podcast to audacity and job done! I’m not ashamed to say I was wrong though. Initially I recorded the podcast on my phone, but the results were not satisfactory. The sound quality was quite rough around the edges and the volume wasn’t loud enough. After much reluctance I then decided to buy a microphone to record the podcast. And while the microphone did improve the sound quality slightly, it was still fairly poor. After trying multiple times to get a clear recording I gave up. The microphone was not capable of recording quality audio so I just decided I’d have to make do with the best recording out of a bad bunch. This is where Audacity would come into play. I had watched a number of tutorials on Youtube about how to get the best out of Audacity. I began working on the recording and tried to improve the sound quality ever so slightly. With the help of effects like the equalizer I was able to balance the sound and stop the random jumps in volume. I was also able to remove any background noises that I didn’t want such as a door closing. This was made possible with the noise removal tool. And while these tools did take plenty of playing around with, they were relatively easy to use. In the end I was left with an improved version of the initial recording, although it was still worse than I wanted it to be. One thing is for sure though, had it not been for the highly usable nature of audacity, it would have been a whole lot worse! 

Upon reflection I’m very satisfied with my experience of using Audacity. It’s very easy to use and there a loads of helpful tutorials available online. If I was to do the whole podcast assignment again I’d invest in a better microphone. In terms of Audacity however I don’t think I’d change a whole lot. Audacity is regarded as the leader in its field for a reason, and I can certainly vouch for that. I should also direct your attention to the youtube tutorial below. It made my experience with Audacity a positive one when it could have been negative!