Audacity and Reading Fluency

One of my favorite open source applications is Audacity. Audacity is an application that enables one to do audio recording. I have been flirting with this idea:

What if students used Audacity to record themselves reading so that they can analyze their reading fluency.

They will want to listen for:

• how they use word decoding strategies
• smoothness of voice
  

Students can read stories/articles from books/magazines or the web.

I want to show you how I would use Audacity to read and record a story from the web.

1. Open Audacity
2. Unlock the Control Toolbar by Clicking View on the Menu Bar and Choosing Float Control Toolbar
3. When you do this, your tool bar will float and stay on top of any window you have open. This is important when recording information from a web page because the students don't have to go back and forth between windows - here is an example of the floating toolbar floating over a web page from a National Geographic article: (NOTICE THE AUDACITY TOOLBAR)

4. The next step is to have your student(s) visit a web site where they can read a story - here is a site to find some stories/news articles.

5. With the web site open and the audacity toolbar floating, have the students press the record button

6. Read the story/article

7. Have them press the stop button

8. Have them play back their recording and check for word decoding strategies and smoothness of voice.

Here is an example - of me reading an article from National Geographic called Beelzebufo: A Giant of a Find:

If you want the kids to save their work, you will need to have them Export their file as an MP3 and share it with you. I think another blog is necessary to learn how to do this!