I’m not aware of any apps in the iTunes App Store that will record audio and allow it to be saved as an .mp3 file, which is probably the most widely accessible audio file format. However, I heard about the Hokusai app from Joe Dale on Twitter earlier this year. Joe works in Modern Foreign Languages and writes on his own Blog. The Hokusai app, available for iPhone and iPad in the iTunes Store, is a neat little app. It is very easy to record audio using this app. It saves it as a .wav file (uncompressed) or a MPEG-4 file (compressed) but not .mp3. However there is a way around this.
Record some audio using the Hokusai app. Within the app, you then have the option to export the recording to your Dropbox account as a Wave file. Then open the Audacity free audio recording/editing software on your PC or Laptop. Import the Wave file that you recorded from your Dropbox acccount (you may have to copy the file onto your PC/Laptop first) into Audacity and then choose to export the Audacity file as an .mp3. This podcast can then be embedded into a website or blog for people to listen to.
This is a roundabout way of creating MP3 sound files, but it is handy to be able to record audio while on the go and then to be able to convert them into .mp3 files to share with others.
Shame there isn’t an easier way to record mp3 files. Would make things a lot easier. Is there an app that lets you save audio directly to an iTunes account?
I’m not sure is the answer to that question Simon. Of course, you could use the Audioboo app to record your audio, save it there and embed that in your blog. However, I think you’re restricted to 5 minutes recording time, which may be more than enough for schools.
Thanks for the mention! Another workaround I’ve found is to sync a Box folder with Wappwolf, add the action ‘convert audio’ and ’email it’ so that you can export your Hokusai recording in the Box app, upload it to the specific folder which converts it to mp3 automatically and email the results back to you! I have a video of a presentation I did in June which demonstrates how to do this. Hope to publish it on my blog soon 🙂
Joe