Recording simple digital audio involving speech for uploading to Moodle is straightforward. The following instructions are for the Sanyo ICR-A190, the LTU's recommended digital voice recorder.

Getting to know the recorder

Speaker Stop/Menu button Play button Record/Pause button LCD display Built-in microphone (R) Built-in microphone (Centre) Built-in microphone (L) Headphone scocket Recording LED External stereo microphone socket Skip/Search buttons Volume buttons (-Vol+) Power/Hold switch (POWER/HOLD) Folder/Repeat Button (FOLDER/REPEAT) Erase Button (ERASE) USB terminal (I/O) Battery compartment lid Necklace/Strap connection holes

• The "Power/Hold" switch (14) is found on its flat bottom side. Sliding it will activate the device if it is off. The mp3 recorder should already be setup correctly if supplied by the LTC. On the screen (5) starting from the top you should see the letter A in a folder, a full battery gauge, a microphone (with no waves or lines coming out of it), and the letters HQ indication High Quality recording.
•  The mp3 recorder display will also initially show "STOP" then the number of audio files stored on it. This is followed by the number of hours, minutes and seconds of recording time left. The maximum is just under four and a half hours so we recommend moving audio to your computer and clearing the recorder regularly to prevent you running out of space in the middle of recording.
• The recorder can also display the current date and time. Press the "stop" button (2) to switch between showing the time remaining, the date and, if you have already made recordings the time left for further audio recordings.
• It may seem pointless for the recorder to know the time but it  will help you identify files by the time they were recorded so we recommend ensuring it is correct.
• The "Power/Hold" switch (14) has a second function. As well as a power switch for turning the device on and off it is also has a "hold" switch which prevents you from accidentally pressing any buttons while recording or playing back. If the device is in hold mode any button press will have no impact besides displaying "HOLD ON". If the device is currently playing or recording, moving the switch to the "off" position places it into hold mode. If the device is not doing anything, the same action will switch it off.

Preparing to record

• We recommend that you try to create files that can be used directly without any editing as this is more straightforward. To make this possible you should only record the audio you wish to retain. You can start, stop and/or pause the recorder as necessary to omit any other unwanted audio from the final recording. 
• Before you start recording, first arrange your microphone, prepare yourself to start speaking and have a pocket or other safe location where you can keep the recorder out of your way while talking.
• You can place the recorder on a desk or podium if you plan to remain mostly stationary while talking. A lanyard to hang the recorder from your neck or an external microphone can be used to record while moving around.
  
• A lapel, tie or breast pocket is an ideal position for clipping a microphone. Try not to have the microphone (or the mp3 recorder itself if recording directly to it) too near to your neck and throat, nor in any place where your hands or items of clothing will strike it.
  

Recording

1. Make sure the hold switch is in the on position and press the record button (4). A red light (10) should illuminate to indicate that it is recording.
   
2. Talk as you normally would to clearly deliver a presention or lecture. 
3. If you wish to pause recording, press the red record button (4) again. This will just create a single continious audio file without the unwanted audio during the portion when the recorder was paused. Press record once more to move out of pause and resume recording.
4. After you have finished speaking use the stop button (2).
   
5. Optionally you (or another person) can record more audio up to the total capacity of the mp3 device. Each time recording is stopped and resumed a new file will be created.

Note:

• The microphone will only pick up you clearly, or people standing right next to you/it. You may therefore want to repeat audience questions for the benefit of the recording.
• While recording the device should always display a countdown of how much recording time it has remaining so you can check how long you have left.
• You can break up longer recordings into appropriate sections if there are a range of topics or if the length of audio recorded is in danger of exceeding an hour. You do this by using the stop button and then hitting record again. Files longer than an hour can become difficult to work with and you may not be able to upload them to Moodle due to their increased size.

Uploading files to your computer

Uploading the files from the mp3 recorder to Moodle is very much like uploading files from a USB key drive and is covered in detail in the Uploading Audio to Moodle document.