Auditory Elements

Look for content that might be best presented in an audio form. Keep in mind that audio takes much less bandwidth than video. Consider adding supplement visuals to audio to spur interest such as still photographs, diagrams, or lists of key ideas. If a single narrator is used, think about providing a still image of the speaker.

You can link to audio clips or embed them on the page.

Audio Clip Sample (MP3 file :25, 396KB)
Listen to the audio sample. Then, think about how audio could be used in your class.

Pros and Cons:

• Pros
  • No talking head
  • Great for orators
  • Can read from script
  • Can supplement text
• Cons
  • Can be very boring
  • Add quiet background music
  • Add 2 voices

Ideas for Integration

• Introduce Concepts. You might record short introductions to key concepts.
• Draw Conclusions. Use audio to draw closure to a topic.
• Course Commentaries. Think about audio for commentaries within the course.
• Directions. Use audio for describing processes or providing directions.
• Narration. Use audio to narrate a slide show or comment on an image such as a photograph.
• Podcasts. Some instructors record periodic podcasts to highlight core content or provide course announcements.

Ideas for Building Great Audio

• Listen to NPR (National Public Radio)
• Include instrumental music
• Pause
• Ask questions
• Provide examples
• Include a script & images

Use audio to add simple interactivity on your page.

• Listen to Clip 1 and Clip 2. Write about the clues that tell you about Alex's age.
• Notice how audio is used in the Pet Shop project.

Suggestions:

• Provide directions for use of audio clips.
• Provide details about the file type, length, and required plug-ins.
• Keep audio clips short and to the point.
• Consider providing a transcript.
• Use a consistent format throughout the course.
• Save audio and video files in a subfolder inside your main web folder. They will need to be uploaded separately. Be sure to test your sound files on various browsers.
  
• Find sources of audio at the following websites:
  • Wikipedia: Free Sound Resources
  • Sidekicks: Audio - scroll to bottom of page
  • Multimedia Seeds - web radio, music collections, audio collections

Explore how audio is used in the following courses:

• Animal Behaviors- Audio lectures
• Brain Structure and Its Origins - Selected audio lectures / lecture notes
• Chinese I - Audio recordings
• Chinese II - Audio lectures within Study Materials
• Chinese IV - Audio files (MP3): Demonstration - audio and in Study Materials
• Engineering Ethics - Audio lectures
• Introductory Biology - Audio lectures
• Introduction ot Psychology - Audio lectures and Lecture Notes
• Neuroscience and Behavior - Audio lectures

Look for examples of audio lectures and materials at iTunesU.

Learn more about Sounds from High Tech Learning.

---