DLS Tutorials

1. Get DLS Canva account login information.
2. Open up Canva and sign in to make sure your design gets saved.
3. Click on "Create a Design" in the top right corner. 
4. Pick the format that you want. For small graphics, “Logo” or “Poster” may be best.
5. On the left side of the screen you’ll see your tool bar. This is where you’ll find most of your designing and editing tools.

6. Here’s a rundown of what each tab does:

   • Design - Here, you’ll be able to look at editable templates for your graphic. If you find one you like, simply click on it and it will open up. 

   • Elements - Use this tab to find shapes, pictures, little graphics, designs, etc… anything you may need to decorate. 

   • Text - This is where you’ll be able to add text. This tab has a lot of cool fonts and headlines. 

   • Brand - Don’t worry about this tab, you won’t need to use it. 

   • Uploads - Use this tab if you want to use a specific photo from your computer. You can also use this to take images from google and bring them into Canva. 

   • Draw - Just as it sounds! This tab has tools to create your own drawings. 

   • Projects - you can access other projects that you’ve made if needed.

   • Apps - Don’t worry about this tab, you won’t need to use it.

7. Use the toolbar to create and edit your design. Canva should automatically be saving your work as you go.

8. Once you’re done go to the top right corner of the screen and click on the share button.

9. If you want to generate a link to the canva page with the design, click on the “collaboration link” bar.

10. Change access to “anyone with the link.” 

11. Now, click the copy link button and you’re done! 

Getting Started:

• Audacity manual: google “audacity getting started” 
  • Should come up every time you open audacity unless disabled 
• Basics 
  • Red button to start 
    • Shift and red button if you want to record a new track, or Tracks (in menu) → add new
  • Pause to temporarily pause recording 
  • Black box to stop
  • If you make a mistake: select the time in the recorded clip where you made the mistake, transport (in menu) > recording > punch and roll record or use shift+D
    • It will playback the prior 5 seconds, then start recording again  
    • Undo and redo if you are unsatisfied 

Menu 

• File - boring stuff: start a new project, open an old one
  • When you save, it's only in a format which can be opened to edit again
  • If you want to listen outside of audacity, export 
• Edit - undo, redo, cut, copy, paste 
• Select - if you want to edit a specific track, point in time on a group of tracks, a part of a track, or an audio clip, you will need to select it first
• View - edit the interface to best suit your needs ex. Fitting your project on one screen 
• Transport - playback, recording, and looping playback 
• Tracks - add, align, and label audio tracks 
• Generate - add tones, noise, or silence to an existing track 
  • Can add at the cursor position, creating a break in your audo 
  • Can select any amount of audio and replace it with something from generate 
• Effect - audio processing 
  • Ex. reverb, distortion, speed 
• Analyze - get information about you audio or label key features 
  • Determine difference in volume between foreground and background 
    • Helpful for auto duck 
  • Label sounds 
• Window ( MAC ONLY) - display and zoom project windows 
• Tools menu…? 
• Extra - commands for track focus
  • Most helpful for those with visual impairments or trouble with mother skills related to moving the mouse 
• Help - get to the audacity manual and find tutorials 

Grace's favorite features: 

• Auto duck 
  • Reduces the volume of one or more selected tracks when the volume on a control track reaches a certain volume 
    • Imagine background music that gets louder when there is no talking 
  • Effect > volume and compression > auto duck
    • Select the track that you want to duck (the background track) 
    • Deselected the control track, the track directly underneath your selected track will become the control 
    • Adjust parameters to your needs 
• Sync lock
  • Allows you to keep audios synced through insertions, deletions, changes to speed or tempo
  • First select tracks then go to Tracks (in menu) > sync lock tracks
• Change speed and pitch 
  • Effect > pitch and tempo > change speed and pitch 
  • When you reduce speed, all frequencies become lower and vice versa 
• Noise reduction 
  • Effect > noise removal and repair > noise reduction 
  • Trial and error until you find the appropriate noise reduction parameters 
  • Works best for constant low level background, like a fan in the room with you

Other applications for podcast production 

• Audition tutorials on the DLS libguide
• Podcasting Resources on the DLS libguide