Beginner tutorial on AWS transcribe with a recorded file during classroom

Bill — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 20:04:27 +0000

I've started school at distance for a month with recorded sessions. Going back on premise would be slightly challenging with all the setup I had. Big monitor, larger screen estate and a much more powerful computer. It got me thinking, why not record the audio during class. I have spent sometime searching for an ideal app to do the recording and surprisingly Windows already have one. It's surprisingly good! The most important feature is to mark an audio track and it's there. The output file is a mp4.

With a 2 hours audio file on hand, let's get started with AWS Transcribe!!!

1 - We first need to create a s3 bucket and import our audio file there. On your AWS management console, search for s3 and create a bucket name XYZ. You can leave all the settings as default.

2 - Once the bucket is created, click on it and start uploading your file. My file is 2 hours long, you can upload a maximum file of 4 hours.

3 - We have one major part done. Let's get to Transcribe via the AWS management console. Look for "Transcription jobs" on the left pane and click on it. Enter a job settings name, I used "2022-vng-transcribe". On input data section, click on the input file location on s3, you'll have a helper to guide you to your s3 file. Leave everything on default, create the job and let the service do its job.

4 - Once your job is done, the status will change to Complete. It took me about 15 minutes and cost me "around" 1.40$.

What you get after the processing is the text and a json file available to download.

For a beginner with AWS services, it was extremely easy to perform this task. If your planning to try, I've included some links regarding the cost and to the actual documentation. What is important to take into account, it is the length of your file and the filetype. When recording make sure that your not in a noisy environment. In my situation, my laptop fan was running non stop, therefore I couldn't get a good result. I'll definitely try again with my phone or with another appropriate hardware.

I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial!

Here are some links, on the pricing and on the documentation.

As a newcomer to the cloud, why I took the aws cloud practitioner certification

Bill — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 19:31:32 +0000

In the cloud environment, you have three main providers to choose from, such as Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. I chose AWS for its balance between these three attributes: services versatility, support and documentation. Having no experience with any of them, I must base on reviews found in private forums, reddit and twitter posts.

With AWS

Knowing which provider to dedicate is the first step for narrowing down the knowledge gap you want to close. Each provider has their own sets of certificates to validate your proficiency with their tools. The documentations are overwhelming at first, you'll eventually learn to navigate and find the details needed to succeed.

For someone new, it is recommended to start with AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. You'll familiarize with the key services, the fee structure and billing, your responsibility as a client, the exam structure and test center. There are two risks you want to mitigate: surprised billing and exam fees.

Passing the CCP is the best way to mitigate any financial risks incurred when using services that runs on simple clicks. You get a better understanding on the fees associated with the services used and how you can bring them to your attention. It's unfortunate but you'll eventually find stories with customers burned by their ignorance incurring a huge debt on their financial sheet. This is not a position I wanted to get myself into when starting.

Passing the CCP will also help you familiarize with AWS test format for future certificates. The CCP is an introductory exam, and it took me about 35 to 40 hours of dedication, which consist of viewing Youtube, listening the whitepapers, building flashcards and reviewing. I used Toggl to track my time, here is a screenshot of my report.

Study material I used

The main study material I used to pass the CCP is from Andrew Brown. His actually an Amazon Hero, after going through his material and Youtube channel, it's pretty self-explanatory why he is a Hero ;). I strongly recommend using only his material to pass the CCP. I tend to prioritize books over videos, but how he presented the materials was extremely, EXTREMELY, easy to follow. Slides of power points, graphics to visualize the concepts, use of bold and colour fonts to emphasize on key ideas to retain. ✅

You'll find his full material in a 4 hour stream with Freecodecamp or you can choose from his company playlist, Exam Pro. 😎

Freecodecamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hLmDS179YE
ExamPro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4kl23udOKo&list=PLBfufR7vyJJ4fOplWPOtYqRyQ6YPMsBsF

Second, I also glossed over two whitepapers. Having spent so much time in front of a screen, what I like to do for any reading material is to open them through Edge and use the "Read Aloud" feature on 1.5x. ✅

https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certification-prep/?cta=dev_examprep

Two more benefits I have to add for doing the CCP first

You'll get a 50% discount voucher for your next certification and a Free practice exam voucher. The CCP cost 100$ USD, the associate levels 150$ USD, the professional and specialty levels 300$ USD. Needless to say starting with CCP first will cost you less for a newcomer to the cloud space.

https://aws.amazon.com/certification/benefits/?src=certification-faqs

Last note, in February 2021, I passed the CCP on my first try with materials by Andrew Brown. Thank you if you are reading it! Huge respect for your contents! 👊 👊 👊 👊 👊

DEV Community: Bill

Beginner tutorial on AWS transcribe with a recorded file during classroom

As a newcomer to the cloud, why I took the aws cloud practitioner certification

With AWS

Study material I used

Two more benefits I have to add for doing the CCP first

Reference