Videos


 * Joe Dale - Recording Skype and editing in Audacity**

Kindle Renegade Review

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 * Session 1 - Joe Dale - Recording Skype and editing in Audacity**

Skype - audio/video conferencing. Recording with Pretty May, Pamela is an alternative. (Mac use call recorder?)

Connect a standard microphone with a 3.5mm jack to the microphone socket on your computer/laptop. Right click the **loudspeaker** icon bottom right of the screen (in the system tray) and select **Open Volume Control.** This will launch the **Master Volume.** Click **Options/Properties** and put a tick next to the **Microphone** option (As each sound card is different it may say Mic Volume or something similar). Click **OK.** You should now see the microphone option appear in the **Master Volume** window. Move the slider so it is quite near the top and make sure the Mute box is not ticked. You may want to click the **Advanced** button and tick the box next to **Microphone Boost** if that is an option. If you do click Close when you are finished and x off the **Master Volume** window.
 * Using a standard microphone (Instructions for Windows XP)**

In Skype, click **Tools/Options/Audio Settings** and in the dropdown menu next to Microphone select your computer's sound card e.g. **Realtek HD audio input.** Click **Save**

In Pretty May, click **Tools/Options/Audio Settings** and in the drop down menu under **Input device** select your sound card again**.** Click **Save.** Click on **Call record** in the **Options** menu and put a tick in the box next to **Enable Call Record** and **Save in separate track.**

Connect your USB microphone to the USB port on your computer. In Skype, click **Tools/Options/Audio Settings** and in the dropdown menu next to Microphone select your USB microphone.g. **AK5370** if you are using a Logitech USB microphone**.** Click **Save.**
 * Using a USB microphone**

In Pretty May, click **Tools/Options/Audio Settings** and in the drop down menu under **Input device** select your USB microphone again**.** Click **Save.** Click on **Call record** in the **Options** menu and put a tick in the box next to **Enable Call Record** and **Save in separate track.**

Select a user from your address book in Skype and tell them before they pick up that they should not use video when accepting the call as this will demand much more of your internet connection and will reduce the audio quality as a result. When you are ready, double click their name and hit the Green Call button. When you want to finish the call, click the red button with a phone icon on it, Pretty May should launch automatically and the mp3 file should appear in the main Pretty May interface. You may need to click on the Call Record tab first to see it. If it doesn't appear, go to **My Documents/Pretty May** and double click on the **Call Record Folder** and it should be there. Launch audacity and drag the file over into it or click **Project/Import Audio**, go to the same folder, select then file and click **Open**.
 * Making the call**

If it has appeared in the main Pretty May interface, right click the recording and select **open message folder**. Drag the highlighted recorded mp3 file into Audacity. In either case, you will see that each speaker is recorded as a separate track.

To edit both tracks together to remove sections when no-one is speaking etc, click on the track where you want to start editing. This will make a vertical line appear with a hand pointing towards the left. Hold down the left-click and drag over the section you want to remove. You may want to use the Zoom In tool first to let you see the track close up. Hit the Backspace or Delete key on your keyboard.
 * Editing tracks in Audacity**

To edit tracks individually, click on the black arrow at the beginning of the track and click **Split Stereo Track**. To replace ums and arrs or other erroneous sounds, highlight a given section of the track you are editing where the person isn't speaking and click the **Copy** icon. Highlight the equivalent section which contains the sound you want to remove and click the **Paste** icon. Make sure this is exactly the same section length by using the ruler tool above the track. If you get this wrong, it will put the tracks out of sync! Click on the black arrow at the beginning of the first track even if this is not the one you've just edited and click **Make** **Stereo Track.** Repeat the process of splitting and making the track stereo again to remove further unwanted sections.

When you've finished, click on the black arrow at the beginning of the track and click **Split Stereo Track**. Move the **L-R slider** slightly to the right (20%) on one track and slightly to the left on the other (20%). Click on the black arrow for each track and click **Mono**. Click the **Edit menu, Select and All**. Click The **Project menu** and click **Quick Mix** - avoids having one person in one ear, one in the other!

In Skype to ensure the person answering the call is not significantly quieter than the person who makes the call, click **Tools>Options>Audio Settings.** Under **Speakers Volume,** click the box next to **Automatically adjust speaker settings.** Click **Save.**.
 * Extra tips**

If you want to use the levelator..do the following once you've created your track in Pretty May.

Go to My Documents, click **New** and **Folder** then double click this folder repeat the process and name the two folders **a** and then **b**. Drag the file into Audacity as above, click **File, Export as Wav**. Save the file in the folder you've just created. Open a new Audacity project by clicking **File/New**. Click **Project/Import Audio** and select the exported wav file. Click on the black arrow at the beginning of the track and click **Split Stereo Track**. Click the x top left of the second track to delete it. Click on the black arrow for the remaining track and click **Mono**. Click **File, Export as Wav and** save it in the folder **a.** In Audacity**,** click **File/New** and **c**lick **Project/Import Audio** and select the exported wav file again. Click on the black arrow at the beginning of the track and click **Split Stereo Track**. Click the x top left of the first track to delete it. Click on the black arrow for the remaining track and click **Mono.** Click **File, Export as Wav and** save it in the folder **b.**

Go to the folder **a**. Launch The Levelator and drop the file on to it. It will create another file finishing with the word **output**. Repeat process with the second exported wav file in folder **b**.

In Audacity, click **File/New** and click **Project/Import Audio.** Select the first levelated wav file in folder **a** and click **Open.** Click **Project/Import Audio.** Select the second levelated wav file in folder **b** and click **Open.** Listen to both tracks playing together. If one is louder than the other, highlight it by clicking on any blank space on the left of the track for example above the **Solo** button. Click the **Effects** menu and **Amplify**. Slide the slider to the left or right depending on whether you want the track to be louder or quieter. Click **OK** and press the **Play** button. Listen again and if you feel the track needs to be made louder or quieter, click the **Undo** icon and repeat the process until the volumes of both tracks is nicely balanced.

You may find that once you've levelated each track individually that that you can hear the breathing of the person who is not speaking pronouncedly. To remove this, split the tracks as described above. Highlight a section when the person who is not these making breathing sounds or any other eroneous sound and click the **Copy** icon. Highlight the section which does contain the unwanted sound and click the Paste icon. Alternatively you can highlight the unwanted sound and click the **Generate** menu and click **Silence.** Click the **Generate Silence** button. This will replace the section with complete silence. Don't use this method for both tracks over the same section, otherwise it will sound as if the conversation has suddenly gone completely silent. As long as you have the natural background noise for one of the tracks it will sound seamless.

Once you finished editing and amplifying you tracks. Move the **L-R slider** slightly to the right (20%) on one track and slightly to the left on the other (20%). Click on the black arrow for each track and click **Mono**. Click the **Edit menu, Select** and **All**. Click The **Project menu** and click **Quick Mix.** This technique avoids having one person in one ear, one in the other!
 * Mixing both tracks together**

An alternative to using dedicated software for recording Skype calls, is using Audacity instead. Both speakers launch the program and click on the **Edit** menu, then **Preferences**. Click on the I/O tab if it doesn't open by default. Click on the dropdown menu next to **Channels** and select **Mono**. Click **OK.** Both speakers then hit the record button and one calls the other on Skype. They then both create a marker in their separate recordings which will allow one of them to match them up seamlessly in the editing process. They could for example slowly count down from 5 to 1 so that they are saying each number simultantaneously. In this way they know that when they finish counting they will be at exactly the same point. They can then have their conversation and hang up. That done. They both stop the recording and one of them exports their track as an mp3 file. This person then clicks on the **Conversation** menu in Skype and selects **Send/File**. He or she then finds the mp3 file and sends it to the other person who imports it into Audacity and edits it as described above.

Please note you should always wear headphones when speaking on Skype to avoid a feedback loop and when editing to help you concentrate.

Remember you will need the Lame encoder to export your finished track as an mp3 file.

Hope that helps.

See also:

Recording Skype and editing in Audacity

Recording Skype calls with Pretty May

Hello World! Hello Missouri!

LinkBunch of all the above links...@http://linkbun.ch/07h42


 * Lisa Stevens - Things That Make My Pupils Smile**

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 * Session 2 - Lisa Stevens - Things that make my pupils smile**

Being involved! Stories... not just read to them. Act them out!

Games - phonic hoop game. Jump into the hoop when a word has a sound.

Technology - make it special. Motivate... add importance.

Real - wavin' flag song. Use the Spanish version. Or Arabic... or French...

Surprising - capture the imagination. Focus attention.

Make me famous - ie take 10 project. Get the pupils showcased!

take photos of whiteboards and put them on the VLE/wiki/web

Let me make mistake - don't overcorrect!

Let me work in a group - collaboration is comfortable. Cross cultural differences.

Make it everyday - make them all speak to you in TL

give choices - allow use of TL outside of langs.

make some noise! singing, dancing, actions, out of seat

use imagination - props/pretend/act/role play

let me create - use what you have to make something new

make it fun - play!

let me on your... iphone/ipad - doodlebuddy, smacktalk, linguascope app, etc etc etc

Tell me about others - cultural differences

Be yourself - do what you feel comfortable doing! You will look much happier.

make me laugh - use funny things as stimulus.

show me you are proud - showcase showcase showcase... Where can you show off around school? community? world?

smiling pupils = motivated, engaged, can do, cooperative= happy teacher

Linkbunch of all the above links - @http://linkbun.ch/07h11


 * Jos****é** **Picardo - Web 2.0 Technologies**

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 * Session 3 - José Picardo - Pupil use of ICT in past year - Innovative, Creative Technologies**

web apps engage and add motivation

wordpress.com - blogging service. Everything else hinges around a place to put things. Flexible themes/formatting.

edmodo - microblogging for education? twitter for education? Safe as can't access without code.

Prezi - online presentation tool + mindmapping. Zooms as it plays. Very nice. Allows and EMBED into blogging/web platform.

Glogster - multimedia "posters" - embed, share AND NOW PRINT (Display!) Evidence of writing/speaking! Peer assessment

storybird - online story telling. Inspired by the pictures. CREATIVITY. Peer assessment.

voki - speaking avatars - own voice OR text to speech. Encourages reluctant participators.

wordle.net - we know this one well! Word clouds. Bigger words have more relevance, useful for prioritising vocab.

taxedo - advantage over worlde - shapes and jpg save.

go Animate - online moving cartoons. DOMO is the school safe version. Rethinks how dialogues are written.

diigo - social bookmarking. research links. Leave post-its, highlighted areas!

xtranormal - online computer animation. text to speech. creativity.

LinkBunch of all the links in this section @http://linkbun.ch/07h1j


 * Kerry Turner & Andrew Winter - Cross curricular work with MFL, History and ICT**

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 * Session 4 - Kerry Turner & Andrew Winter - Cross curricular work with MFL, History and ICT**

cool iris - showing google images.

Starting point - Give reasons for the French Revolution.

crazy talk - import a face, mark the movement points, add speech! used to get historically relevant face/character.

language input - authentic response. Given vocab to do the responses. use boxes for different parts, take from each box one thing to have a more complex response.

End result - contemporary characters giving authentic response to reasons for the French revolution.

LinkBunch of all the links above @http://linkbun.ch/07h1q


 * Clare Seccombe - My Talking Pen**

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 * Session 5 - Clare Seccombe - My talking pen.**

changing-phase.blogspot.com - post about it!

Mantra Lingua Recorder Pen

LinkBunch of the links above - @http://linkbun.ch/07h22


 * Dominic McGladdery - Pursuading colleagues to use ICT in MFL**

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 * Session 6 - Dominic McGladdery - Pursuading colleagues to use ICT in MFL**

Where do we start? flipcharts, linguascope.com, powerpoint, word, publisher

why do more? Choose the more interesting and creative path! (source video!)

Survival of the fittest! (reality: survival of the most attractive!)

What has been done? cricket (show how it can interest them!)

tarsia - jigsaws!

Voki

Functional Skills >>> ICT, encourage Creativity,

Keep making the stairs attractive!

LinkBunch of all the above links - @http://linkbun.ch/07h2b


 * Mark Purves, Song phonics to improve pronunciation**

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 * Session 7 - Mark Purves, Song phonics to improve pronunciation**

French Haka for vowel sound!

Transition=progress

@http://www.singup.org/

feedback from pupils show it is seen positively and actually helps!

Staff - helps the need for vocab, feel good, pronounce, rehearse

je ne peux pas chanter en français song!