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Technology Tip of the Week - February 12, 2007

Inserting Sounds in a Word Document

Many of you know that you can insert an audio file into a PowerPoint presentation but did you know that you can also do this in a Word document? Well...you can! Now you might ask, why would I want to include an audio clip in a Word document? I'm glad you asked! Here are several applications:

Vocabulary support - add an audio pronunciation of difficult words to your vocabulary words of the week

Instructions - supplement your written instructions with an audio accompaniment to enhance comprehension

Enhancing text - include an audio reading of a speech, poem, etc. to enhance the written word with a cadence and pronunciation of unfamiliar terms

Comments - tired of writing out your comments on student work or shared documents? Add an audio evaluation to a paper and save on your typing time (plus you get to be more dramatic!)

Accessibility - adding audio explanations to your text documents makes them more universally accessible for a wider range of learning styles and physical challenges.

These are just a few suggestions and I'll bet you can come up with a lot more. Anyway, if you are interested in using this option you will need a microphone attached to your computer and students will need sound capability on their computers. There are microphones available in all the Centers for Instructional Technology at each campus or you can purchase one for about $25 at any computer supply store. Once you have your microphone plugged in to your computer, follow these steps:

  1. Open your Word document
  2. From the menu bar choose Insert - Object...
  3. Scroll down through the Object selections and select Wave Sound
  4. Click on OK. This will bring up the Sound Object window
  5. Click on the red dot button to record. Note that the default time is set for 60 seconds as the maximum. You can record longer by stopping and starting at the end of the first 60 seconds recorded.
  6. Click on the black square button to stop recording. A speaker icon will appear in your Word document that contains your recording.

To play back the sound just double-click on the speaker icon. How cool is that!

For more help with these features, please contact one of the IT Instructional Support team (Norm Grant, Gene Grande or Linda Beith) or faculty mentors Tony Basilico or Kathy Beauchene.

Website of the Week

Universal Design of Instruction by Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D.

In this week's tip we talk about enhancing your text-based documents by adding audio files. This week's featured website talks about the broader concept of universal design of instruction. As you develop your courses, this web article gives you a lot to think about in terms of designing for the widest audience. Once you get used to thinking about instruction this way you'll automatically create materials that are accessible. This means you'll be able to immediately address the needs of any entering student who learns differently without any last minute scrambling. Read more about this approach at: http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/Strategies/Universal/

Feel free to post your thoughts or opinions of this site in the Teaching Forum message board.

These tips are provided by the Department of Information Technology instructional support team. If you have any questions on these tips, or wish to offer your own, please feel free to contact Linda Beith at lbeith@ccri.edu. View an archive of past technology tips at http://it.ccri.edu/Training/Tips/tip_week.shtml.
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