Audio advice
Audio: Managing your digital resources
This section covers all aspects of organising and managing a sustainable digital audio collection. These papers are aimed at staff who will provide support for managing digital collections but also provide valuable advice to small collection owners so they can manage their digital assets.
AAC Audio and the MP4 Media Format
A guide to the creation and use of AAC compressed audio resources. AAC is the successor to the popular MP3 format, and this document explains its advantages over MP3, as well as its place within the wider MPEG-4 media family.
Read full advice document...Audio via Blackboard
An overview of using Audio in Teaching and Learning, and an introductory guide to the facilities of Blackboard VLE for supporting audio-enriched content and communication.
Read full advice document...Choosing a Digital Audio File Format
The choice of file formats can often prove overwhelming for someone new to the world of digital audio. The aim of this document is to discuss some of the key factors that should be considered before choosing a format and suggest suitable file formats for specific applications.
Read full advice document...Choosing your Digital Audio Software
It can be a difficult task to choose the right audio software for your specific project, especially if you are new to the world of digital audio. This paper discusses some of the key factors to consider when choosing audio software and provides a comparison guide to some of the most popular packages.
Read full advice document...Free Online Audio Editors
There is a wide range of both free and commercial software which you can install onto your computer to record and edit digital audio, whether for podcast or music production. But what if you don't have the ability to install software on your machine, or it isn't powerful or fast enough for the task, or there isn't enough space, or if you simply don't want to?
For simple audio editing and processing tasks there are now a few versatile audio tools which you can access online via their providers' websites, and which run on remote servers while you remotely operate their interface through your familiar web browser, and stream audio to and from them via the internet.
Read full advice document...Metadata and Audio Resources
Working with metadata can be a very time-consuming and resource heavy activity, so it is important to have a firm understanding of your objectives before initial decisions are made. Before reading this advice document, it is worth familiarising yourself with the document An Introduction to Metadata.
Read full advice document...Uncompressed Audio File Formats
This document summarises the main features of uncompressed audio file types, including WAV, AIFF and Broadcast WAV (BWF). It gives an overview of these 'raw' formats, and a simple explanation of the common options they will offer the user when creating or working with digital audio. It also looks at lossless compression tools for subsequently reducing the size of these files which will allow reconstruction of their original audio data sonically unaltered. Several sections include links to further resources covering specific relevant topics in more detail, so this is a good place to start if you want to learn more about any of these formats.
Read full advice document...User Guide to MP3
A guide to the creation, manipulation and use of audio flies in the popular MP3 format, including a close look at the many audio and metadata options which MP3 offers, and its use within teaching and learning.
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Related cross-media advice:
An Introduction to Digital Preservation
Digital preservation aims to ensure that a digital collection remains usable, regardless of the inevitable changes in technology the future will bring. Without the appropriate preservation methods in place a digital collection can easily become inaccessible and so useless in just a few years. This paper discusses the preservation of digital output and the associated metadata.
Read full advice document...An Introduction to Metadata
This is the first in a series of advice documents about metadata. In general the documents are aimed at those developing managed and sharable digital collections and are of use to those creating still image, moving image or audio collections. This first document defines metadata and introduces some of the key themes and issues that are dealt with in more depth later on.
Read full advice document...Asset Management: Papermule DAM and Workflow Engine
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Papermule DAM & Workflow Engine.
Read full advice document...Asset Management: The Digital Asset Lab MediaFiler
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from The Digital Asset Lab MediaFiler.
Read full advice document...Audiovisual Copyright: Frequently Asked Questions
By reviewing copyright enquiries which have reached us via our helpdesk, we've collated answers to some of the most common. These are presented here as an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
Read full advice document...Basic Guide to Accessibility
This paper looks at the issue of accessibility. The topic is introduced and defined and then the term 'reasonable adjustment' is explained. The advantages of digital media for accessibility are discussed, followed by sets of guidelines and a basic accessibility check that can be performed on existing documents.
Read full advice document...Choosing a File Name
File naming is a vital first step for those beginning to digitise. This document examines planning and using an effective file naming system when managing digital files. This paper highlights the advantages of using the 8.3 convention and looks at some options when naming derivative, surrogate files.
Read full advice document...Common Methods for Viewing, Using and Producing Digital Media Resources
We look at some of the tools and processes for creating, using, managing and delivering digital media resources.
Read full advice document...Considering Delivery of Digital Media Online
It is common to think of using digital media in education as a ‘new thing’ when in actual fact it has been used for many years in a variety of guises. What’s new however, are the opportunities that a convergence of the internet and affordability of devices has provided the mass market. This document looks at some of the options for delivering digital media using the web as a delivery platform.
Read full advice document...Controlling your Language: a Directory of Metadata Vocabularies
This directory provides details of more than 70 vocabulary sources. It categorises the various types of vocabularies available to us as Thesauri, Subject headings, Authority lists and Classification schemes. Thesauri, subject headings and word lists more generally, are used primarily in aiding retrieval, whereas Classification schemes help us to organise resources, and Authority Lists help us to standardise the expression of values used in our metadata, like, for example, the way we enter names and dates. Although there are overlaps, broadly speaking each serves a different purpose in helping to control the terminology used in our schemas and in aiding the search and retrieval of our resources.
Read full advice document...Copyright: An Overview
Copyright and other intellectual property rights are central to the development, use and sustainability of digital collections. This advice document provides a broad overview of copyright.
Read full advice document...Delicious Bookmark Service
This advice document brings to your attention the free online bookmark service Delicious. Its ability to allow you to manage bookmarks by saving, searching and sharing will be of interest to anybody who has to manage many bookmarks for individuals or groups. It has applications of use for teaching and learning which will be described below.
Read full advice document...Distributing Teaching Presentations
This document looks at the ways teaching presentations can be distributed to their end users. While there is a choice of presentation programs, Microsoft PowerPoint is the dominant application and will therefore be the main tool covered in this paper.
Read full advice document...Establishing a Digital Preservation Policy
This paper looks at the high-level challenges associated with establishing a digital preservation policy. It is intended to be of use to readers responsible for managing digital media collections. For hands-on digital preservation advice see the document An Introduction to Digital Preservation.
Read full advice document...File Formats and Compression
This document looks at the theory of file formats and the common methods of data compression.
Read full advice document...Fonts: Basic Guide to Font Licensing
Fonts are software for creating and displaying typefaces. As with any software, you need to license font software in order to use it. This document provides a simple guide to font licensing.
Read full advice document...Graphical User Interface Design: Developing Usable and Accessible Collections
This paper looks at the development of a graphical user interface (GUI) for a digital collection. It takes a general view of facilitating effective access to a digital resource and then examines more closely the issues of usability and then accessibility. It is intended to be of use to collection managers wishing to grant access to a digital resource.
Read full advice document...Introduction to e-books
This guide discusses the various types of electronic book (e-book) and ways to read them. It also discusses some key design considerations for e-book production and introduces the types of multimedia file formats that can be supported.
Read full advice document...Introduction to e-Learning
We understand that the term ‘e-learning’ can be confusing. Aimed at practitioners who are just starting out in incorporating e-learning into their teaching, this document will demystify the term, outline key terminology and its relevance, and introduce commonly used e-learning terms.
Read full advice document...Links to Digital Media and Digital Preservation Organisations
The list below survey a selection of audiovisual and digital preservation related organisations and provides links to their websites.
Read full advice document...Metadata Standards and Interoperability
This advice document aims to provide a comprehensive look at the various choices the developer of multimedia collections has in terms of metadata standards and the principles behind using them. It attempts to provide a synopsis of general metadata trends, a) in usage for audio, moving and still image format types; b) in specific areas of practice such as museums, archives, libraries and education; and, c) in various activities and tasks such as preservation, interoperability and resource discovery. For an overview of the whole series of papers, and an introduction to the metadata issues discussed here, please see An Introduction to Metadata.
Read full advice document...Open Source and Free Software Directory
The following tables comprise a selective guide to various free and open source software tools for a variety of digital media applications.
Read full advice document...Organising Digital Media Content in a VLE
Here we highlight the major considerations needed when managing still images, video and audio within a virtual learning environment (VLE) and look at practical solutions to help ensure you do this effectively.
Read full advice document...Overview of JISC Digital Media Materials for those involved in Business and Community Engagement
This guide provides an overview of the JISC Digital Media website, highlighting materials we think may be of particular use to HE/FE staff involved in business or community engagement (BCE).
Read full advice document...Providing Live Support to your Community over the Web
Email has long been established as the primary communication tool for online support between two parties. However the synchronous nature of newer tools, themselves becoming quite established, means there are now opportunities to improve web-based support incorporating digital media.
Read full advice document...Putting Things in Order: a Directory of Metadata Schemas and Related Standards
This directory provides a list of formal metadata schemas and related standards giving brief descriptions and links to further information. It complements JISC Digital Media's series of advice documents on metadata, which the reader is strongly advised to read alongside this resource.
Read full advice document...Sustainability of Digital Collections
Once funding for a digitisation project comes to an end, how will you ensure the long term sustainability of your newly-created collection? This is a fundamental question that needs to be addressed at the outset of the project. This document looks at different approaches to sustainability and discusses the factors you need to take into consideration when planning for sustainability. We will highlight the practical steps a project can take and examine various options for financing the ongoing maintenance and availability of the collection beyond the life of the project.
Read full advice document...Systems for Managing Digital Media Collections
Everyone's collection and context is unique, so your choice of a system (or systems) for managing your digital media will require a careful assessment of your needs and resources and an evaluation of the available options. This paper provides an overview of a number of different approaches to media management: from some very cheap and 'low-tech' approaches to much more complex and specialised solutions.
Read full advice document...Use of VLEs with Digital Media
This advice document gives you an overview of the things to consider when using digital media in your Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Read full advice document...Using digital media for your e-Portfolio
e-Portfolios are an important part of many learners' academic life. This advice document introduces the concept of an e-Portfolio and explains how digital media can be used effectively.
Read full advice document...Using Digital Media in Moodle
This advice document is intended to provide an understanding of how digital media can be used in the Moodle VLE to support teaching and learning. We will be referring to the term digital media as: still images, moving image and audio. Each may be used in conjunction with written learning material.
Read full advice document...Using Digital Media with Blackboard
This advice document aims to introduce the Blackboard virtual learning environment (VLE) and how you can use digital media to support your Blackboard course design, content, and delivery. We will be referring to the term digital media as: still images, moving image and audio. Each may be used in conjunction with written learning material.
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Training courses
- Advanced Techniques in Digital Image Capture
- Audio Production: Recording Lectures, Seminars, Interviews and Podcasts
- Building a Departmental Image Collection
- Colour Management
- Copyright and Digital Media
- Digital Media Restoration (Audio-Visual only)
- Digital Photography - Getting Started with your SLR
- Digital Photography - Taking Control of your SLR
- Digitising Analogue Audio
- Digitising Grooved Discs and Open Reel Audio
JISC Content provides an introduction to digital collections to help academics, students, researchers and librarians understand the wealth of resources available to them.
