Digital Voices in Ulster

I have just finished running three workshops at the University of Ulster about the different ways academics and students in HE/FE are using the recorded voice to enhance learning. I played some examples of media produced by students, tutors and others featuring the voices of all of the above as well as professionals and members of the public. Probably my favourite piece of audio comes from the CIPEL CETEL and features a young women with Downes Syndrome talking about what it's like and the achievements that she is proud of. The point of the clip in the workshop is that I could write about what she said, and even transcribe it, but its power is in her voice, as you might imagine. The listener is able to make such a strong emotional connection with her. This allows me to talk about audio feedback and audio assignment briefing and the many other techniques that people are now using in the sector.
An important point in my workshops recently has been adaptability of the medium. Whether it's feedback or any of the other methods, every time I hear a story I am struck by how easily the medium has been melded to address the very specific context of the academic and their students. In part this is due to the highly granular nature of what people are producing, and in part to audio's role in affecting learning as much as 'delivering ' it.
I love demonstrating the 'red button' - four devices - what do they have in common? It is surprising how people don't notice the big red button at the centre of devices like Flip cameras and audio recorders. Even Audacity has a big red button, and this for me symbolises so much about why the time is right to pay special attention to Digital Voices right now. The smartphone, with apps like Recorder Pro, is the real killer app, so to speak. A large percent of attendees (perhaps 90%) told me they had a recording device with them. They were surprised to note this, but increasingly both students and staff have a way to record conversations in their pocket. And it's their device in their pocket (goodbye tech anxiety) And if they don't have a way of recording, the person standing next to them will have. More to the point, with the smartphone recorders, people not only have a recording studio of their own in their pocket, they also have inbuilt connectivity for the media they produce with the capacity to email or share recordings via wifi and Bluetooth.
A good day as usual and I just get more and more excited about what I see and hear.

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