Online Learning Resource: 24 Karat GoldWave! A Training Course for Screen-Reader Users

resource, Training 7 Minutes

Are you interested in audio editing with the JAWS screen reader? Check out this online course.

24 Karat GoldWave! A Training Course for Screen-Reader Users.

Introduction.
Many blind people love creating audio content. It is something we can enjoy completely and independently. But how do you get started? Moreover, if you have knowledge of how to undertake simple recording or editing tasks, how do you build on those skills to add effects such as reverb, change the tone of the audio known as graphic equalisation, or apply noise reduction such as for restoring those old vinyl records and tapes?
Fortunately there is not only a training course which can teach these skills but there is also probably the most accessible audio editor we have ever seen: GoldWave.
Our new training course, “24 Karat GoldWave”, will be ideal for those just beginning to learn how to record and process audio content for the first time, through to those people who have some more detailed knowledge. If you use an alternative sound editor, you may like to purchase the training course to learn why GoldWave is streets ahead of the competitors, certainly in terms of accessibility. Put simply, despite its low price point, GoldWave is a simple, easy-to-use, accessible audio production tool, ideal for people who do not want or need to know about the more complex digital audio workstations. Read onto find out about the many features of GoldWave and what you can achieve.
What is GoldWave?
GoldWave is a highly rated, professional digital audio editor. It’s fully loaded to do everything from the simplest recording and editing to the most sophisticated audio processing, restoration, enhancements, and conversions. It is easy to learn and use.
• Play your favourite songs, fast forward and rewind, or change the playback speed so as to learn a song by ear or transcribe dictation.
• Record from any source, such as microphone, line-in, turntable or audio streaming.
• Record speeches or reports, music, your own voice, Set a timer to start recording at a certain day and time. Use level activated recording to continue and pause recording automatically whenever the signal is above or below a given value.
• Edit audio with all the familiar concepts including Cut, Copy, Paste and delete.
• Apply dozens of different audio effects. Adjust bass or treble with the Equalizer. Even out volume levels with Auto Gain. Easily fade in and out background music, add echoes, reverbs, flangers, and much more. Change the pitch of your voice or make it sound mechanical. Preview effects real-time before processing them. Most effects include presets for commonly used settings so you don’t have to be an audio expert.
• Remaster old vinyl or tape recordings. Use Noise Reduction and Pop/Click filters to clean up the audio and take out the buzz, hiss, crackle, and clicks.
• Includes a collection of powerful tools. For example, copy audio directly from an audio CD with the CD Reader tool.
• Contains many keyboard shortcuts for tasks which can be reassigned if necessary to suit your own tastes.
• Freely available script files provide important information required for working on projects.
What Will I Learn?
The course is divided into four sessions, each of which will last 90 minutes. The course not only teaches you how to work with GoldWave, but also to understand important concepts such as good microphone placement, poor and excellent editing, and effective audio mixing. Topics include, but are not restricted to:
• Installing GoldWave and the accompanying script files.
• Configuring GoldWave including the settings specific to recording and playback.
• Customising GoldWave for use with screen-readers.
• Making Your first recording.
• Saving and opening files.
• Playing and navigating through the audio.
• Learning the location of the cursor in hours, minutes and seconds.
• Moving to a specific time in the audio.
• Selecting audio ready for editing.
• Playing the selected audio.
• Cut, copy, paste and delete.
• Making very small audio adjustments.
• Moving between a number of files which are open.
• Copying audio from one file to another.
• Adjusting playback speed.
• Adjusting Volume and Normalising.
• Checking the level metres.
• Trimming.
• Cue Points and how to use them.
• Fading and Crossfading.
• Mixing voice over music.
• Saving recordings to MP3.
• Inserting silence.
• Using Effects to alter sounds in a variety of ways. Changing pitch, volume, graphic equalisation, echo and reverb, Filter.
• Noise Reduction and audio restoration.
• Swapping channels and panning.
• Working with time to ensure audio runs to a specific length.
• Set recording to begin at a specific time of day.
• Extracting the content of CD’s.
How Does GoldWave Compare to Other Audio Editors in Terms of Accessibility and Functionality?
Undeniably, GoldWave is an inexpensive audio production tool and so you may be forgiven for thinking that it does not offer the sophistication of higher priced products. We would suggest otherwise. Not only are many features comparable to similar products, but in terms of accessibility GoldWave outshines them.
The later versions of some of the more popular audio editors are becoming more and more challenging to work with from an accessibility standpoint. Take “Audio Ducking” as an example, the process where a person’s voice can be mixed over music. Many other sound editors do not give you the flexibility and control over this process which GoldWave delivers. Superb results can be achieved in this regard when using this program. Join us and see how it is done!
Who is the Course For?
This course is suited to anyone who has an interest in creating or working with audio content. You should be familiar with how your screen-reader functions together with Windows concepts, such as how to navigate around applications.
By the end of the course, you ought to be able to carry out the simplest of recordings through to creating audio for podcasts, PowerPoint presentations or perhaps to mix together a spot or promo for broadcast on radio. You decide!
There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions regarding the topics under discussion, however this is achieved in a structured manner. This ensures that you can focus on learning the concepts being taught and easily refer back to sections of the archive recording at a later date.
What Happens If I Do Not Have the GoldWave Software?
This is not a problem. A fully functional evaluation copy of GoldWave can be downloaded and installed, details of which will be provided to you when you sign up for the training course.
Should you decide to purchase a copy of GoldWave, a lifetime license for home use is priced $45 or alternatively $15 per year.
Links will also be provided by us for the JAWS scripts mentioned above.
If I Purchase the Course, What Will I Receive?
The course will be delivered online via our accessible Talking Communities server. If you have not used this conferencing software before, you will receive instructions prior to the commencement of the course. This software allows for the delivery of the presentation, including the output from the screen-reading software.
The course will give to you:
• Four lessons starting 15 March 2017. Each lesson will begin at 7 PM UK time, (2 PM Eastern), each Wednesday.
• An audio recording of each lesson in MP3 format.
• Sample files which you can use in your Projects and to work with at a later date.
• Text documentation to reinforce topics covered in the lessons. This will include a comprehensive list of keystrokes so as to achieve all tasks.
• An email list active prior to (and during) the course so you can ask questions outside tuition time.
The proposed dates for the course sessions are as follows:
• 15 March;
• 22 March;
• 29 March;
• 5 April.
If you cannot take part on those dates, you can still gain plenty of benefit, since you will receive all the lessons and accompanying documentation, as well as being able to ask questions through the Email list provided to you.
All recordings, documentation and the Talking Communities chat room are accessed through a secure area of our website which is only available to course participants.
Costing.
The cost of the course is £60 which is currently 72 US dollars.
This is a slight increase from our usual rate due to the production of sample files which are required. Payment should reach us by Wednesday 8 March 2017.
Purchase 24 Karat GoldWave Online.
Alternatively, anyone who would like to take part in the course should register their interest by sending an Email to jaws@hartgen.org, whereupon a fully accessible electronic invoice will be sent to you which can be paid through PayPal or any major credit or debit card. Orders can also be placed by telephone:
• Call us (from within the UK): 02920-850298.
• Call us (from the United States): 415-871-0626.
• Call us (from any other country): (+44)2920-850298.
If you would like to read the views from participants of our previous courses, please Visit our Training area.
Course Prerequisites.
It is important that you have:
• Good keyboarding skills;
• A computer with an internet connection.
• A microphone so as to ask questions within the course.
• JAWS for Windows or the NVDA screen-reader. Please note that our company is exclusively concerned with the JAWS for Windows screen-reader, however there is an Add-On for NVDA and GoldWave. NVDA has been tested extensively with the program and it works well.
• At the very least, a microphone so as to make recordings with GoldWave, or alternatively a more sophisticated environment, such as an audio mixing console. If you do not wish to make recordings, and are content with importing audio including our samples, a microphone may not be necessary.
Summary.
Over many years, GoldWave has proven itself to be a thoroughly usable, productive audio environment in which to work. It has a large feature set, great file compatibility, and plenty of effects and tools for audio restoration. Why not give it a try and learn how to use it from a blind person’s perspective! It’s a Golden Opportunity!

Brian Hartgen
Choose Hartgen Consultancy for high quality JAWS Script Writing, training and our products including J-Say, J-Dictate and Leasey.
Telephone (in the UK) 02920-850298.
Telephone (in the United States of America) 1-415-871-0626.
Telephone (from any other country) +44-2920-820598.
Visit our website for more information!
Follow us on Twitter, HartgenConsult.
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JAWS Certified 2016.

Published by Albert Ruel

The Albert A. Ruel Road to Blindness A 21 year old man stood on the beach at the Sproat Lake Provincial Park with friends early in May of 1977, and upon gazing across the lake found the Gulf Oil sign missing from the dock-side filling station there. When this fact was shared with his companions they glanced at him with puzzled looks and said, “No Albert, the sign is still there”. That was the beginning of a road through confusion, anger, isolation, loneliness and discovery for me. It all began with a visit to a local Optometrist who could see that my vision wasn’t right, but that corrective lenses wouldn’t help. He then referred me to a General Practitioner, where I received a clean bill of health and an additional referral. This time to an Ophthalmologist. Immediately upon peering through the dilated pupils, Dr. McKerricher was able to see the problem, Retinal Vasculitis. Now, you would think that all would start to improve at this point, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You see, CNIB, from 1918 until 1985 only served the needs of people who were “Legally Blind”, a level of vision loss I wouldn’t reach until November of 1979. The words of Dr. McKerricher still echo in my mind today, “Albert, I don’t know what has caused this and nothing we’ve tried is helping to stop it, and you’re not blind enough for me to refer you to CNIB”! In the middle of this transition from 20/20 vision to “Legally Blind” came the Motor Vehicle Branch and it’s rules of the road. On August 3, 1978 I drove a car for the last time as my vision had reached the level at which operating a motor vehicle became too dangerous, further intensifying feelings of fear, isolation and anger. Sadly, through this period the only available guidance and support was through family and friends, but not the experienced professionals I needed at the time. Although these support systems are critically important they can often be smothering and facilitating, rather than encouraging and supportive. With gratitude, and some trepidation I finally was able to access CNIB services in November of 1979, and the world opened up then. There I was able to meet other blind people and receive the daily living and mobility skills required to live independently in this sighted world. I learned elementary braille and began to discover technology as necessary tools of independence. Thankfully, in 1985 CNIB’s National Board altered the course of service to visually impaired Canadians forever. They added a third prong to their Mission Statement, “To promote sight enhancement services”. This opened the door to all Canadians who were beginning to lose sight, as well as those who had a fear of vision loss to access the full range of CNIB Support and Rehabilitation Services. So now, whether it’s someone’s Mother who is experiencing Macular Degeneration, or an Uncle experiencing the affects of Glaucoma, all have the ability to seek information, guidance and support as all involved deal with the fear and anxiety that accompanies such life altering experiences. With the help of professional Rehabilitation Workers and Employment Counselors I was able to continue traveling independently within my own community, and even more remarkably anywhere in the world I desired to go. I managed to attend College in Nanaimo and New Westminster, as well as traveling to the Mayo Clinic and to doctor’s appointments in Nanaimo and Vancouver without assistance. All of this while living with some usable vision, but not yet needing a white cane for travel. During the mid 1980’s I was a stay-at-home Dad and did all that was required of that challenging work, from changing diapers to preparing meals, and from cutting the grass to maintaining our home. I even took a woodworking course through Alberni’s Adult Education program and built and restored several pieces of furniture. Of course the 1958 Chevy Impala in the garage was my pride and joy, and I devised ways to do much of the work it required. I also joined and participated in many community activities, like the local Car Club, and a disability support group that catered to the needs of people with many different disabilities. Of course, continued participation in family life remained of critical importance through this period. In 1989 a secondary condition began to extinguish the vision that remained, which set into motion a new stream of professional rehabilitation services and supports. By the spring of 1990 Glaucoma had turned out the lights completely, and the darkness I had feared so desperately was upon me. Strangely though, I found this to be a great relief rather than the tragedy I had imagined it would be. Through several professional rehabilitation sessions, and by joining peer mentoring and advocacy groups I was able to come to terms with this strange feeling, and to learn additional skills and strategies for living with no visual cues of the world around me. This is also about the time that I decided to explore CNIB as an employer, and to see if I could provide the sort of guidance and support to others that had been my pleasure to receive. Those 14 years were a wonderful experience of ongoing discovery for me, as teaching may be the best way to solidify one’s own learning. In other words, those we assist through this transition in turn help us all as we develop best practices and improved service. Following a 14 year career with CNIB I also served the blind community as the first National Equality Director employed by the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC), and as a Basic Computer Literacy Trainer with the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB). Most recently I have enjoyed coordinating the CCB’s newly launched Get Together with Technology Program in Western Canada, which brings to the fore my passion for assistive technology and the power of peer mentoring. Without sight I have continued to travel far and wide, with trips to Conventions of and for the Blind in Anaheim California and Melbourne Australia, as well as to many events and activities in Toronto and Vancouver. Of course my work has taken me to many communities throughout Western Canada, and most particularly nearly all regions of BC and on Vancouver Island. None of which would have been possible without the services and support of organizations like CCB, AEBC and CNIB. For most people blindness generates a fear of extended movement, both within one’s home and community, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Independence comes from personal desire and increased skill. Many community organizations can assist with both through their mentoring and skill development programs. I remember always that life has little to do with what happens to me and 100% what I do about/with it. There is a quote I like to use from the National Federation of the Blind in the USA, “With adequate skill development and opportunity blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance”, and nothing could be closer to the truth. Helen Keller said many years ago, “There is nothing more tragic than someone who has sight, but no vision”. She also challenged the Lions Clubs of the world to become the “Knights of the Blind, and to take up the crusade against darkness”. I too joined a Lions Club in 1992 and continue to work on the crusade that Helen Keller began in the 1920-s.

Published

2 thoughts on “Online Learning Resource: 24 Karat GoldWave! A Training Course for Screen-Reader Users”

  1. Albert

    This sounds very interesting but much more complicated then I would need

    What would you recommend for someone who wants to make copies of CDs or albums including the ability to clean up order recording’s and and possibly retrieve information, such as artist name album name names of tracks, when copying from CDs? Thanks

    Jim Hamilton

    Sent from Jim’s iPhone

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    1. Jim, I use Windows Media Player to Rip my CDs into the computer. Check the settings in the Tools Menu, Options Dialog Box. The two places I alter are the Rip and Library Tabs. I convert to MP3 100% and I check the box to have the computer go online to complete the artist and song name info.
      As for the comparison of Audacity and GoldWave, I conducted a Google search to find some interesting results. Try the following text:
      Comparison of GoldWave and Audacity
      As for the conversion of your record albums to digital formats, check Amazon for several options. Here’s one item that turned up in my search results.
      by Honest Technology
      PC
      $65.02Open box and new(11 offers)
      3.4 out of 5 stars
      17
      Product Features
      … MUZBOX, an RCA to USB audio conversion device–works with most …

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