If PC users wanted a digital recorder without having to add extensions you had to pay for it. Since it is free, most people live with Audacity’s little quirk. Mac users spare us from lauding over Garage Band. However, there is a new recorder which is fairly simple to use, has some nice audio effects, convert files to MP3 automatically without a separate download, and is free, WildVoice Studio.

When you open WildVoice Studio you will see a screen divided into four sections: Show Builder, Mixer, Background Tracks, and Sound FX. The Show Builder is where you will record most of your podcast and put the show together. Here you will find a display that shows your sound levels and control buttons such as play, record, pause, stop, and cut. Once you record a clip it will show up below the display. While there is the ability to cut unwanted audio, it is not very accurate. You will want to record small segments of your podcast then assemble them later into a finished product. The mixer allows you to control volume levels of your microphone and other parts of your podcast such as the FX. Background tracks allow you to upload audio files such as music or pre-recorded interviews and insert them into your podcast later. The section that is the most fun to play with is Sound FX. WildVoice Studio has several audio clips such as a gunshot, a rooster crowing, a toilet flushing and others. You may also add other audio effects to this section thanks to programmable radio buttons. Needless to say, a podcaster could go crazy adding various effects while recording.

Once you finish recording you will assemble your clips in any order you wish. Next you will click a rather large Save + Publish button to save your work. The software saves the podcast as a WildVoice file but then switches to converting the file to MP3 automatically. Once you are done the software tries to get you to upload the file to the WildVoice hosting site but you can skip this step if you wish to upload the file to another site.

WildVoice Studio is in Beta so expect various bugs to come up and it does occasionally crash. There is one problem the folks at WildVoice need to address soon, it only works with Windows XP. You can make all the snide comments about Windows Vista you want but it is not going anywhere for a few years. Therefore, I hope a Vista version will be coming out soon. Overall, once some bugs are worked out this could become an Audacity killer and the answer to the prayers of those with Garage Band envy. One thing I would hope for in the future is the ability to have more control over editing clips. A cursor you can place on the display along with zoom in and out, undo and redo would help make this product more attractive to experienced podcasters. While I won’t ditch Audacity yet, I will keep watching and experimenting with WildVoice.

When the e-mail finally got to me I was shocked. He was actually suggesting a policy that made sense. The main concern was teachers participating in so-called blogs in local newspapers and using school-time and equipment to post to them. Teachers were also asked to choose a nome de plume that would protect their identity and be careful about what they write. I love the quote he used as a warning about newspaper blogs, “Playing in the blogosphere of the local papers is like running through a field of rose bushes and then deciding to swim with piranhas.” The community blog on the website of a local paper, Bluffton Today, is full of bloggers who will attack anyone remotely associated with the school district. Personally, I don’t participate very much in the newspaper blogs because I don’t consider them true blogs but more forums or discussion boards.

Reading from the book of Warlick (Classroom Blogging: A Teacher’s Guide to Blogs, Wikis, & Other Tools that are Shaping a New Information Landscape 2nd Edition by David Warlick. The Landmark Project, 2007) pages 94-95, David Warlick says blogs, “are about publishing….Blogging is about communication. It is about delivering a message, in order to affect that audience in some way, and receive response from that audience.” What Warlick says of discussion boards, “They are meant to be a conversation, a way of building ideas by sharing, assembling, and reacting to concepts.” In my opinion, the newspaper blogs are the latter, a free-for-all discussion on almost any topic with a few honest blog postings. At the time of this writing, the Bluffton Today blog had these topics: How do you get rid of a cold, a Bible scripture quotation, someone ranting about South Carolina not having vehicle inspections, some complaining about a teenage mother who abused her child being pregnant again, and a couple in Florida who always says good morning and good night to us in Bluffton.

At the risk of sounding like a snobby purist., I rarely every post to the newspaper blogs because of they way some bloggers treat others. The Education Reporter for Bluffton Today, Sara Wright, recently chastised one community blogger, “I know many wise, kind intelligent people who have given up bloggin on this SUPPOSEDLY community forum becuase of your venomous attacks in particular.” So if you venture into the blogs of your local community newspaper follow some common sense rules.

1. Don’t violate your school or district’s AUP by posting to these blogs on school time or school equipment.

2. Remember what you learned about writing in school. You will be under a microscope if other bloggers know you are a teacher. You might think you have annonimity but things slip out. Be professional.
3. A personal recommendation, don’t post unless you feel you absolutely must and make sure you have a thick skin. Do use the blogs to highlight good things happening at your school or special events. However, most of the world does not realize the amount of time and energy it takes to be a teacher and will never be convinced otherwise. Correct inaccurate information with documentation but don’t get dragged down into the gutter. Again, be professional.

4.  Have fun with it and laugh.