Audio Podcasting: Vocaroo it!

Podcasting in pedagogical realm is nothing but a new discovery. It is until recently that educators from all parts of the world are beginning to realize how convenient sharing audio and video files is in teaching and learning. Unfortunately, the discussion on how it could be integrated into teaching is less than clear and rather limited for teachers. It is my hope that this entry on audio podcasting will help to give readers, particularly teachers more insights into what, why and how it could be exploited for classroom purposes.

Podcasting Defined: 

Imagine getting new radio-style talk and music shows to listen to on your iPod or other MP3 player every day. You wake up and automatically have new shows ready to listen to while you exercise or commute to work. This is the podcast listening experience. In the 'geek-speak' jargon, a podcast is defined as a web feed of multimedia digital file (audio, video etc) that is placed on the Internet for users to download. 

There are thousands of audio podcasts being published for global audiences covering a multitude of topics for English language but the one that gets to steal the limelight for this entry is Vocaroo, the simplest audio recording software in the entire universe. 

So What is Vocaroo?

Vocaroo is one of the audio recording softwares available online and widely used for podcasting purposes. Others include Audacity, Evoca, PodBean and so forth. It works akin to voice recorders in your mobiles. 

How to Vocaroo?

1. Click to record.
2. Click to save your recording.
3. Click to send or share your recording.

Yes, it takes only 3 easy steps for a 5 minute Vocaroo audio clip. Super effortless! If this sounded like a real joke to you then you really have to see this tutorial for yourself and you'll be amazed with this mini audio podcast tool: Russell Stannard's Vocaroo Tutorial.

Figure 1: Where the fun begins. 

Alternatively, you can have your audio uploaded with a limit of 50MB per file. It may be worth making it explicit here that Vocaroo is a basic audio recording tool so if you're expecting a cutting edge voice recorder with editing, cutting or mixing audio functions, I'm sorry but I have to disappoint you for that. 

Figure 2: Review & try again buttons.

Albeit Vocaroo lacks in edit functions which may rate down the usefulness aspect of the tool as a whole, it still offers you with 'Listen' and 'Retry' buttons where you can always review your recording first before deciding to save it or re-record a new one. So fret not if your students get baffled or stumped in the middle of the recording process because with Vocaroo, there will be always second chances for a new one. 

Figure 3: Sharing options.

One lesson I learned from this web tool is that don't judge a tool by its size. Vocaroo really blew me away and I was so impressed with its sharing capabilities: it offers more than 300 sharing mediums. It's totally a tiny, simple, ordinary tool yet has so much sharing power to let the world hear your students' ideas! Besides sharing you can have the audio downloaded as MP3s, Oggs, FLACs or WAVs to keep them with you in your playlist.

Vocaroo in Teaching: The Whys

Reading and listening is NOT enough: 

Getting the students to use the correct grammar versus getting them to have fun with the language to be a fluent language user; it's the same debate over and over again. For me, fluency comes first. It's about preparing your students to apply the language outside the learning context, in real life situation. Reading, listening and speaking may be the most important aspects of any language, but it is only speaking that is requisite for them to become a fluent reader. ESL learners may have limited time for practising English at school but with Vocaroo, they can record anything, anytime, anywhere and have it saved or shared with their friends and teachers. It's the digital journal for personal or pedagogical purposes.

Pronunciation Checker:

For teachers, Vocaroo could be the best medium to assess students' progress on pronunciation. Have students to read aloud a reading text, listen back to their recorded audio and compare their recordings with the authentic one. Students will be surprised to see how much similar or different their audio podcasts will be and this is where teachers could inductively pin point some stress or intonation for standard English pronunciation.

Digital storytelling with confidence:

Students recording a Vocaroo podcast do not have to identify themselves by real names at all. In fact there is no need for images or fancy photos as voice is the only aspect that matters for audio podcasts. Shy and bashful students may find it intimidating to speak or be vocal in front of the whole class, hence, with Vocaroo, learning opportunities are made more accessible for this group of learners, giving teacher more insights into their learning ability. 

A window into the classroom:

Why not use Vocaroo beyond just assessing fluency and practising speaking? Teachers don't have to wait for the annual PTA meeting just to be able to talk to parents about students' achievement in school. Exploit Vocaroo to collect or give feedback to parents addressing the issues students are studying or the new things they are learning. Alternatively, teachers can also use this tool to gain feedback from the students or give them feedback on how they are doing in class personally. 

The Other Goods:

• Free: The most inexpensive way to create digital content for your classroom.
• Invites global audiences: 325 sharing options to choose from!
• User-friendly: Only needs 3 steps of record, publish & publicise, and you are good to go.
• Highly engaging: it gets students to talk without having them feeling 'forced' to. 

Caution: The Bads!

• Limited sharing size: Only accounts for 5 mins recording / 50MB file or less.
• No microphone, no talk. 
• No edit functions.

Need more ideas for audio podcast teaching content? Here are some useful links:

1. Education Podcasts
2. iTunes
3. Podcasts: Read, Write, Think.
4. BBC Learning English

Click on the Vocaroo link for the conclusion:

Record music with Vocaroo >>

Rating on Vocaroo's Usefulness

4/5