Mar 30 2008
Trying Out New Voice Recorders
Jane recently won the grand prize in an Olympus Grant/Contest just for being so darn smart. I came runner up, probably because I am not quite so smart. Still, a pretty respectable showing from the two of us. Anyway, she’s about to get a bunch of things including some new Olympus Voice Recorders. Specifically, they are the aptly named WS-320 models. The features that excite us (OK - me) are that the USB is built in, so a USB cable isn’t required and it’s plug and play, so there’s no software to install (quite the challenge in our networked environment). It also doubles as an MP3 player - but that’s not particularly exciting for our purposes.
We’ll let you know how they work out once they come in. One thing I have learned from researching online is that the unit records in WMA format. That is a little problematic because the audio editing program we use, Audacity, doesn’t accept WMA files. One site suggests getting around that problem by using a free program called Switch. I’ve tested it, and some other programs, and have found this one to work quickly and reliably. Hopefully, we will be able to install it on a couple of our school computers. This same site speaks highly of the WS series of voice recorders from Olympus - although the WS-320 doesn’t appear to be available anymore.
Tim Hawes, assistant manager/vice-principal of Business and Learning Technologies within our board, has found a model that records to MP3 format and sells for around $80.00. It’s the RCA RP5046 Digital Voice Recorder. We’re hopeful that this will makes things even easier as there would be no time spent converting files. It’s plug and play and comes with a Windows 98 driver for those working with older machines in their classroom.
If money is less of an issue (not to mention your willingness to let students out of your site with the equipment), another solution which costs around $220 in the Zoom H2 Handy Recorder. Like the Olympus and RCA recorders, it’s plug and play. The sound quality is much superior and, because it records in MP3 there is no need to convert the files before importing the audio into Audacity. This unit is designed more for musicians and reporters as opposed to voice recorders which are really intended for recording lectures and taking dictation.
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Hey Nathan,
Thanks for the info on the DVR’s. I have been through two looking for one with .mp3 recording cababilities. Problem solved!
J
Glad to hear this was helpful for you. Let us know how the machine works out. We are planning to buy some of the RCA recorders as well.