UBC Arts ISIT Blog

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Have you had an mp3 file that you wish you could edit? Have you had file on a cd that you wish you could remove the beginning or end? There is a very easy and free solution as long as you have the copyright ownership or permission to edit the file.

Many language instructors have asked me how they can easily edit their audio files. So, here are some basic steps for both PC and Mac users:

1. Download iTunes 7 (or higher if available) from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

2. Download Audacity (not the beta version) from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

3. Download the MP3 converter plugin from Audacity's website.

4. If you have an mp3 file, open it in iTunes 7. If you have a .wav or .aiff file (.wav is typical on audio CD's), go to step 7.

5. Go to iTunes -> Preferences --> Advanced and select the folder you wish all files to be stores in. Then, click on Importing.

6. In Importing, for the 'import using' option, select 'wav encoder'. Then, right click on your file in iTunes and select 'covert to .wav' You will now have .wav file of your original mp3 file saved in the folder that you have specified in Preferences.

7. Open your .wav or .aiff file in Audacity. Drag your mouse over the area you wish to delete (area will be a darker shade now). Go to Edit --> CUT. There are also a number of effects that can be placed on the audio and it's best to play with them to determine if they are useful for your purpose. When finished, save! This will save a .aup file which will only open in Audacity. If you wish to create a mp3 or wav file, select 'convert to .wav' or 'convert to '.mp3' under the File menu.

You are done! If you wish to burn your files onto a CD, you can use any burning program. I would suggest Toast Lite or iTunes 7's built-in burner (set the preferences by going to Preferences --> Advanced --> Burning)

I've noticed some of our faculty members that use the Wiki often have the same questions. They often have problems understanding what external link, resource link and resource embed. I was looking into the JIRA to see if others had similiar experiences.

http://bugs.sakaiproject.org/jira/browse/SAK-4679

The terminology of external link, resource link, and resource embed does take time to get use to. I do like the suggested improvements to the wiki interface by changing

'external link' to 'link to website'
'resource link' to 'attach a file'
'resource embed' to 'include a picture'

(View their screenshot: http://bugs.sakaiproject.org/jira/secure/attachment/12183/screenshot-1.jpg)

Perhaps having a small button to toggle between the different wordings would be a good addition in case some people like it just the way it is.

Other improvments should be made to make the the Wiki more powerful such as embeding movie clips. Currently I haven't figured out if it's possible to make images clickable when I insert it into my wiki. If anybody has any suggestions on how I can do that, it would be much appreciated but for the time being I'll have to do some more digging around.

I have used both WebCT 4.1 and the newest version of Sakai and although I am a fan of both, I have noticed that Sakai's grade book is not as flexible as WEBCT's. An instructor using WebCT can create a column in the grade book for any assignement/quiz/etc regardless of whether the item is posted online or not and regardless of whether students submissions are done online or in class. Sakai, on the otherhand, only allows columns in the grade book for assignments that are posted AND submitted online. Therefore, it does not provide for as much flexibility as WEBCT's grade book. I have come across instructors using Sakai who have been disappointed when they can not post grades for student quizzes or have assignments that have not been posted and submitted online. The grade book works great for 100% online courses but for mixed-mode classes or for istructors who use Sakai only for supplemental material, it is quite restrictive.

Furthermore, Sakai's grade book requires the instructor to provide a grade type (i.e. pass/fail, letter grades, and letter grades with +/-). Although it does allow instructors to enter the numerical precentages, it does not allow complete customization to match an instructor's institution. WebCT does not require any form of grading type. I hope that in future versions of Sakai, the grade book will be reformed to allow for more flexibility.

Last week I attended a Blackboard (WebCT) Vista 4 2-day workshop. The first day focussed on a CMS tools and the 2nd day focussed on the admin functions and tools. At a first glance, Vista 4 is like any other CMS with various tools and an organized navigation system. The primary difference between Vista 4 and WebCT 4.1 (which we are currently using) is the separate designer and instructor views and tools available in Vista. For example, a user can be granted designer access only, instructor access only, or both. The 'designer' tab is refered to as the 'build' tab. That is the tab that has all the CMS tools and allows the user to choose which tools to incorporate and which to not use. It is also where files will be uploaded and course content will be maintained. Instructor access gives the user access to the 'teach' tab. This tab contains student records and gives the instructor the ability to grade assignments and manage their students. And, of course, there is a separate 'student' tab showing exactly what students see and a TA tab that only gives marking ability to TA's.

It is nice that in Vista 4 we can assign instructor and designer roles separately and that each user can have up to 2 different roles assigned to them. For example, a professor can have only instructor access (automatically they have student view as well), a TA can be given both TA access and designer access (but not instructor), etc. It saves the time of having to create multiple accounts so that TA's can have both TA and designer access. It also makes things simpler for an instructor who does not want to build his or her course but just wants to teach it and maintain student records.

One new Vista 4 tool is the ability to set up student groups. Students can be placed in groups or groups can be set up as self-enrolling. Assignments can be given to specific groups rather than to the entire class, discussion groups can be assigned to specific groups and mail can be sent to members of a given group.

I also liked how there is an option to include a due date reminder in the calendar when an assignment is created in Vista 4. In Webct 4.1 we have to enter calendar dates associated with assignments manually. Furthermore, in the calendar tool, we can choose specific entries to repeat saving the time of manually entering in every calendar entry.

More to come later as I continue to explore Vista 4.