Recommended Starting Places
 Links for Work in Computer Lab or Online
Exploration Guide:  Tools

Examples

• Listen to Cajun Academic Humor
  Sample "technology" classic:  "Boudreaux Goes to Paris"
• Sample growing collections of (audio + slides/photos) interviews:
    - Micro-interviews (Includes "Dangerous Discussions")

• Andrea Electronics Personal Computer Telephone Interface (PCTI) 3-Way enables headset users to connect to their PCs and their telephones simultaneously which allows person on headset, any number of people on conference call and any number communicating voice over the Internet all to communicate simultaneously!
  Related FAQs
• Steve Gilbert's comments about need use a tool like the Andrea PCTI 3-Way to enable "anyone" to offer Internet-based synchronous online audio sessions with a live two-way audio connection to a telephone conference call - increasing the likelihood that participants with limited technological resources or experience will be able to hear and be heard.
• RadioShack "Recorder Control" for recording interviews into computer from phone [URL ok as of 7-21-2004]

Add audio narration to slideshows

"Real Slideshow Basic" from RealNetworks - enables adding audio to slide presentations (e.g., can export from PowerPoint to JPEG) then can import into slideshow adding music, text, narration, ... for play via RealPlayer from access to URL for the file.  See: 
<<http://www.realnetworks.com/products/free_trial.html>>

Impatica enables converting audio-narrated PowerPoint slideshows to compact files that can easily be put on the Web and accessed/used from there.  See:  <<http://www.impatica.com>>

Synchronous Tool Options

• WebCT online Webcasts - many free, many archived copies of previous Webcasts:  http://www.webct.com/seminars

TLT-SWG-49: Hybrids Win Again!  Synch Tools

(11/4/04 TLT-SWG #49 Approx. 3 pages from Steven W. Gilbert.

The “Andrea Electronics PCTI 3” [gadget] and a separate phone service enable us to routinely offer a toll-free conference call (not free for people outside the USA) so that participants in a synchronous Webcast can choose whether they want to listen to the audio via the Internet connection or via a telephone connection.  If they choose to use the telephone connection, they can also speak and be heard by others on the conference call AND BY OTHERS WHO ARE CONNECTED TO THE WEBCAST VIA THE INTERNET AND WHO HAVE AUDIO CAPABILITY.

We’ve enjoyed using a variety of synchronous tools for running WebCasts and online workshops, etc..  Beginning this past summer some of these tools were getting less reliable at the same time they became more flexible, powerful, and effectively supportive of interaction among participants – some even becoming less expensive.  Unfortunately, as other capabilities improve, audio frustrations become MORE irritating.  So, we found a hybrid option that helps in a couple of ways. We’re just beginning to learn how to take advantage of this new VERY HYBRID option... More below.)
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We’ve enjoyed using a variety of synchronous tools for running WebCasts and online workshops, etc..  We’re grateful for companies’ improvements in these “platforms.”   However, beginning this past summer it seemed that some of these tools were getting less reliable at the same time they became more flexible, powerful, and effectively supportive of interaction among participants – and some, even less expensive.  Unfortunately, as other capabilities improve, audio frustrations become more irritating.  So, we found a hybrid option that helps in a couple of ways. 

As I’ve explained often, I believe the ability to include audio, especially human speech, enables more subtle and engaging communication among participants – in both synchronous and asynchronous sessions.  Our experience confirms what I’ve learned from many others about various forms of distance education:  the quality of the audio is often the single most important technical requirement.  Participants lose patience rapidly if the sound is poor quality (difficult to understand the words and catch the emotional overtones), frequently or unpredictably interrupted, or delayed and compressed.

We have embraced what everyone involved hopes will be a temporary transitional solution.  At the recommendation of a tech support expert from Elluminate, we have now purchased and begun routinely using a gadget that provides a “full duplex” connection between a telephone conversation and a computer that is linked to an online session that includes audio.  This device is called the “Andrea Electronics PCTI 3.”

We have also found a very reasonably priced telephone conference call service that offers toll-free access for participants within the United States (and a toll-paying number for those outside the USA).

This combination enables us to routinely offer a toll-free phone number (and non-toll-free number for people outside the USA) so that participants in a synchronous Webcast can choose whether they want to listen to the audio via the Internet connection or via a telephone connection.  If they choose to use the telephone connection, they can also speak and be heard by others on the conference call AND BY OTHERS WHO ARE CONNECTED TO THE WEBCAST VIA THE INTERNET AND WHO HAVE AUDIO CAPABILITY.  To make this work, someone in our office dials into the conference call from his/her desk phone AND connects to the Webcast event through his/her computer’s Internet access.  The “Andrea Electronics PCTI 3” is connected to both the computer and the telephone. 

The person in our office has a head set that is connected to the PCTI 3 and can hear and speak to both groups.  The conference call people can hear what is coming out via the Internet connection.  When the person in our office has “permission” to speak via the Internet to the Webcast audience, his/her voice is hear by both groups at the same time.   Anyone speaking from the conference call to him/her at that time will also be heard by everyone who is listening to the event via the Internet connection.

So far, we have had only three problems with this arrangement: 

1.  Our office telephone system wiring picks up a local radio station.  Even though we’ve added several radio frequency filters, which reduced that unwanted noise substantially, occasionally the people who are connected with us via the telephone conference call can hear some of that radio station.

2.  Background noise from some phone participants.  Since the conference call picks up sound from each participant, sometimes we hear more irrelevant background noise than we like.   However, the conference call service offers  options for muting individual participant’s telephone microphone connections or all at once without interfering with anyone’s ability to hear.

3.  A person in our office must be available, willing, and able to serve as gate keeper between those on the telephone conference call and those on the Internet.  This person located where he/she can be using the headset that is attached to the gizmo.

Happily, we’re also beginning to learn how/why some people prefer the audio arrangements via the conference call while others prefer the audio arrangements via the Internet... and these preferences shift depending on the purposes and kinds of activities for which we’re using these systems.  Of course!  And we have lots more to learn about how to take best advantage of these options, and how long people can effectively participate in them, and .....