Create A Boo With AudioBoo

Have you ever come to the term podcasting? Podcasting is the creation and distribution of amateur radio, plain, and simple. These days, podcasting has become all the rage, and one of the reasons is that the barrier to entry is pretty low; you do not need a lot of technological expertise to make it work. That’s part of why the number of new podcasts out there continues to explode. The other part is the fact that not only podcasts are easy to create, they are easy to consume as well, and that is because of RSS. This post will introduce you to AudioBoo, a platform that makes podcasts easy to create and to consume.

Link: http://audioboo.fm/

 

General Description

AudioBoo serves as all-in-one podcasting or audio sharing application. It is a website and smartphone application that allows users to post and share sound files on the AudioBoo website. AudioBoo allows users to record and playback digital recordings of up to 3 minutes long which can then be posted on the AudioBoo website where users have their own pages. These recordings are referred to as ‘boos’ and photos can be added to the boo along with a title, geotagging, and category tagging. Uploading an AudioBoo can be done with smartphones (Iphone, Android phone, and Nokia phone), directly through the website (make a rcording/upload file) or via boomail, a service that lets you to upload a boo via email. To get started, simply go to the website and create a free account with AudioBoo. Once it is done, click on ‘make a recording/upload file’ and choose either to use microphone to record podcast directly into AudioBoo’s web-based library or upload an audio file that has been created using another audio software. Another way, smart phone users can download a free app to their Apple device, Android smart phone, or Nokia smart phone.  After the recording is done, they need to put a title and tag for the recording. Then, click on ‘publish’ and the recording will be saved and directed users to their page. The boo can now be shared on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks, or embedded onto websites and blogs.

Here is an example of news report from Sky News Radio recorded using AudioBoo:

Level and Age

AudioBoo is an easy-to-use tool which makes it applicable to students from both primary and secondary school ranging from the age of 8-17 years old. This is suitable to be used by learners at all levels of English proficiency since the content is decided by the learner themselves based on the teacher’s instruction. The tool can also be used by adult learners and the teacher themselves.

How To Use AudioBoo For Teaching English?

AudioBoo can be utilized in many ways. Some of them are as follows:

1. Students’ news report: Teacher gives each student a printed news article on different topic. Then, they have to read and create a short summary of the news. Finally, they have to make a news report using AudioBoo based on the short news that they have created. 
2. Interview: Teacher leads a discussion about a particular topic, for example pollution and types of pollution. Then, students are divided into groups of four. Each group will be given one type of pollution as an assigned task. Based on the topic given, they have to make an interview with authorities in charge and record the interview. Finally, they have to upload the recordings on AudioBoo.
3. Book reviews: Each week, students have to choose short stories to be read and make a review for the book. The review will then have to be recorded using AudioBoo.
4. Reading activity: Students are assigned a task to create a poem based on their own topic interest but they are reminded to include at least one literary figure of speech in their poem. Finally, they have to record it using AudioBoo. 
5. Feedback: Teacher creates boos to provide feedback to their students.
6. Listening activity: Teacher records a listening input using AudioBoo and later in class, teacher plays the recording to the students and proceeds with the listening tasks.

*All these recordings are suggested to be embedded onto class blog so that students can re-listen, comment, and discuss whenever they like.

Evaluation

Advantages:

1. It is free, easy, and simple to use. No separate recording software is necessary and no difficult-to-understand RSS conversion tools are required. 
2. AudioBoo gives students a sense of audience. This is important in a way that it helps them to construct the content based on their target listener.
3. The recordings can be shared directly to the AudioBoo website, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. The podcast can also be embedded onto wikis and blogs. This function can help students to get some feedback from the listener so that they can improve their work. 
4. It allows users to collaborate and interact with peers, experts and other audiences. Therefore, students can become an active learner and involve in communicative learning.
5. It helps to develop students’ multiple skills in language; speaking, listening, reading, writing, and presentation.
6. It offers students and teachers a platform to communicate ideas to be shared globally. This is great as students and teachers can exchange their ideas with people from other parts of the world. 
7. AudioBoo makes language learning fun and engaging. Thus, students will be motivated in their learning and stay focus.

Disadvantages:

1. AudioBoo does not appear to monitor the content of its podcasts, so some podcasts may be unsuitable for students. 
2. AudioBoo free plan limits the recording up to only three minutes. Therefore, it is not suitable to be used for long recording. If more time is needed, the only solution is to upgrade to 30 minutes plan with AudioBoo Plus, and that means users need to pay for that

Reference:

AudioBoo. (2011). Skynewsradio. [online]. Available at: <http://audioboo.fm/boos/303021-two-survivors-found-four-days-after-japan-disaster#t=1m42s> [Accessed 18 November 2011].