I bought a couple of styles of inexpensive microphones for the iPods Touches. I found several for around $10 on Amazon.com. I paid $12.95 for a thumb tack microphone from myGearStore.com, it works well, and is very affordable. I purchased a handful of Mini Microphones from two vendors. I paid $3.28, plus shipping for one Menotek mini microphone from DreamBargains.net. It records with the approximately the same audio quality as the Thumb Tack Microphone. I then purchased five more from Elmenos for 12.45 total, plus shipping. The only issue was that shipping cost more than the product, about $14 and change for the order. The microphones plug into the earphone jack for use. Because of the plug in location, you cannot hear sound from the iPod while the microphones are plugged in. We will experiment with splitters to see if we can run earphones and the microphones and the same time, but that will be another post.

The programs we are using for recording are free in the iTunes Store. Evernote for iPods and iPhones allows for voice note recording. Audio files can be synced from an iPod to a users online Evernote account. Once online, you can pull the information to any computer the user has installed Evernote on. This is a nice little tool for my seniors, many of which will be heading off to college next year.

We are experimenting with another voice recording program for the iPod Touches, Quickvoice. We are currently using the free version which allows for users to record and send messages up to 2 MB in size via e-mail. Some of my students recorded notes for their Credit Project presentations and e-mailed them to themselves. We are hoping to find a way to drop the audio files into PowerPoint, iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, or Camtasia Studio to create a short video presentation. The students are currently working on this, and receiving bonus points for their effort. So far the students did not have any issue with file size. They have actually been overly cautious in breaking their audio files into smaller bits.

I purchased the pro version of Quickvoice for $1.05, including tax, to try for myself. This version allows you to sent 20 MB of information via e-mail. This version also allows you to send voice to text files via e-mail. I will be working with this app over break to become more familiar with how to utilize it in the classroom.