Uploading Audio to Moodle

Uploading audio from the mp3 recorder to Moodle is a straightforward task. Note these instructions are tailored to the specific recorder that we recommend and may not work identically with other devices. It is similar to the process of moving a photograph from a digital camera to a computer and/or uploading a PDF document or PowerPoint file to Moodle from a USB drive. It's a two step process, first you need to move the file from the recorder to the computer, then upload it to Moodle like you would any other file.

Linking Sanyo voice recorder to a PC with a USB cable

Before you begin

You will need a mini-USB lead to connect the recorder to your computer. One is provided with the recorder but it is a standard lead, often used with digital cameras and similar devices.

When you plug in the recorder it will act very much like a standard USB drive that you may be familiar with. On Windows, you may be asked to reboot and/or remove and reinsert the USB plug in order for it to be recognized for the very first time.

From the mp3 recorder to your computer

Plug the mp3 recorder into your PC via the USB lead. It should be recognized as a USB removable drive and appear in your list of drives as "Removable Disk".
Within that Removable Disk the audio files are found in a folder called "VOICE", organised into 4 alphabetical folders, A, B, C and D.
The files will all have titles similar to IC_A_001.MP3, with the number showing the order in which they were recorded, lower being earlier.
Once the files have been copied you can eject the recorder and safely remove it when notified by your computer. On Windows, right-click on the icon with the green arrow in the bottom right of your screen, in the icon tray (fig 1.3). A "safely remove hardware" option should be visible. After clicking this choose the "USB mass storage device" and click stop. It should prompt you with a screen that mentions the "SANYO IC RECORDER USB". Click OK and you can now unplug the recorder from your computer.

Note:

We recommend that you immediately rename these files to something meaningful as soon as you have copied them to your computer
When you copy these files to your computer we suggest using somewhere appropriate for long term storage. If you are using the Standard Staff Desktop you will have access to your personal (drive and shared drives which may be appropriate.

fig 1.2

From your computer to Moodle

From this point on the process is exactly the same as if you were uploading any other file from your computer to Moodle. If you've done this before you shouldn't have any problems and if you haven't then uploading to Moodle is a general skill that will come in handy in many contexts.

First find the course into which you wish to isert the audiofile. Enter that course, click on the "Turn Editing On" button, and locate the topic area you wish to insert the file into.
Click on the "add resource..." drop down box, choosing the option "Add a file or web link"
After giving the resource a title and a summary, click on the button entitled "choose a file".
You will be presented with a list of existing files, but since we wish to upload a new file scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the "upload a new file"
Click "browse" and locate where you have copied the audio file(s) and select one.
Click the upload button you may have to wait for a short period, depend on your network speed.
Once the file is uploaded you will be presented with the list of files again, hopefully with your file now listed. Find your file (noting that it is listed alphabetically twice, first for names beginning with capital letters, then again for lowercase). Along from your file's name on the right hand side click the link called "choose"
Set the Window option should to "Same Window", not "New Window"
Select the checkbox called "Keep page navigation visible on the same page", if you can't see such a box click the "Show Advanced" button on the right hand side.
Now click the "Save" button and you should see a page with an embedded Flash audio control giving you the ability to listen to your audio via the web
Users can also download the audio file itself (for used on iPods or other mp3 players) by clicking on the title text in the breadcrumb displayed at the top of the screen.

Deleting all files on the recorder

After uploading files, and safely storing them on your computer it is a good idea to delete the copy on the recorder. It can only hold four and a half hours of audio total, and it would be unfortunate to run out of space half way through recording. This is particularly important if you share the recorder with others. There are four folders on the recorder, though to keep things simple we suggest everyone uses just the single folder "A". To delete all files in a folder do the following