This Field Research Case Study accumulates the best practices in designing audio educational content for visually challenged students. About 30 audio educational lectures were designed and developed in consultation with teachers and blind students, which cater to approximately hundred blind students' educational needs.

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CHANDIGARH, INDIA
Released: June, 2011

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A R I S E has worked and developed special audio educational modules for last one and a
half years catering to the out-of-classroom self learning needs of the visually challenged
students.
Research surveys have been undertaken for developing content. Feedback Surveys were
undertaken to study the best possible combinations of speed and content, design of
Educational module packages and ease of various deployment platforms catering to the
educational needs for approximately hundred students.
Research Surveys have also been done to establish best practices in designing audio
content for approximately hundred visually challenged students over last one and a half year
(January, 2010 – June, 2011). This Field Research Study accumulates the findings of such
research surveys to serve as a comprehensive guide.
Context
150 visually challenged learning students enrolled at Institute for the Blind,
Sector-26, Chandigarh, undergoing their primary and secondary school
education
Description
All students are on-campus and have never met the teacher face-to-face
Students were provided with audio modules that were used to supplement the
learning materials within their computer based learning environment
Technology
Mp3 audio files recorded using the software Windows Sound Recorder, and
donated via CD. The vlc media player software was installed and was used to
play the audio files
Increasing student engagement using

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The case study examines the use of simple audio modules in a computer based education
class, as part of the continuing Special Education Module (SEM) research project
undertaken for the visually challenged students enrolled at Institute for the Blind, Sector-26,
Chandigarh by the Act to Rise for Innovation for Special Education ( A R I S E ), a
public Educational cum Charitable Trust, India.
It discusses the benefits of using audio modules as part of an integrated computer based
learning strategy in a computer assisted learning context, and gives an overview of how
audio modules were used to introduce concepts, provide support for self-study, and to
increase engagement with educational materials as well as support multimodal self learning
without any assistance.
This is especially useful in case of self learning or revision, as well as for preparation for
examinations. These audio modules aim to assist the conventional classroom teaching with
out-of-classroom assistance.
These audio modules can also be uploaded on the mobile phones carried by the visually
challenged users and were compatible with most of the standard audio/video media players.
This also makes the learning possible anytime, anywhere.

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The advent of digital broadcasting using audio has enabled a large number of individuals,
companies and educational institutions to develop and distribute content to broad audiences.
An audio module consists of a series of audio lectures catering to a specific topic in a
particular subject. The module consists of audio files that are developed specially taking into
the account the needs of the visually challenged learners and their comprehending
capabilities. They can typically be stored for playback in a PC or notebooks or smartphones
or even ipods or music players.
They are an integral part of computer/mobile assisted out-of-classroom self-learning
program for visually challenged students.
The teachers recording the audio lectures were different from the classroom teachers.
Content design was undertaken in consultation with the classroom teachers taking into
accounts the visually challenged students’ needs surfaced through exploratory research
surveys conducted at Institute for the Blind.
The model is as depicted below:
Fig I : Methodology of Delivering an audio SEM

5. Feedback Surveys were conducted on both quantitative and qualitative parameters. Open-
ended suggestions were also acquired.
Cumulating the past results of our surveys conducted for approximately 30 custom-made
audio lectures, this field research case study has been developed to accumulate the best
practices for developing and delivering audio educational packages for the blind students.
The people worked on this Research Project include Ankita Goyal and Abhishek Syal.
Various volunteers supported and assisted in the research project like Aayush Bhasin,
Aakriti Goyal, Tapish Mittal, Angad Gyani, Lovely Khurana, Manisha Kathuria, Tarun Vir
Singh Banga, Priyanka Syal, Himani Jindal, etc.

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KEY BENEFITS:
Teachers reported greater levels of student engagement with learning materials.
Feedback from students was positive, particularly relating to using audio learning
materials for self study and revision.
Since students hear their teachers’ voices, content is more personalised, allowing for
a more ‘human’ connection between the distance learner, their teacher and learning
content.
Retention of information, and the quality of the final student dissertations improved.
When audio SEMs were used to contextualise and explain key concepts, the amount
of confusion or questions from students was reduced.
Audio modules offer increased flexibility and mobility for students. Downloaded audio
modules onto mobile device platforms can be listened to anywhere, anytime.
Making an audio lecture can save the teacher a lot of time compared to preparing the
same amount of material in written form.
Audio lectures can be re-used from class to class, and updated relatively easily -
saving time and money
The use of audio lectures has reduced the amount of printed materials required for
the class, and for notes.

7. KEY ISSUES TO CONSIDER:
It can take a little time to get used to the technology involved in creating and
publishing audio packages (uploading to the various devices for distribution).
Always have a plan. Preparing a structure that outlines the introduction, key
objectives and conclusion of the audio module will make it easier to record the
material.
Keep audio lecture short, interesting and to the point. 5 to 10 minutes maximum was
found to be effective.
Be mindful of file size when making audio lectures keeping in view the storage
capacities of mobile phones. Keeping the duration short, and saving the files in mp3
format will help keep the file size manageable.
Varying the format over a series of lectures in the same module or package can be a
way to keep students interested. For example lecture style, conversational, question
and answer, different speakers, etc can be deployed to serve the above purpose.
Practice recording your voice before making an audio lecture to ensure your voice is
clear and the message comes across concisely.
The final result does not have to be perfect. Students reportedly engaged more when
hearing a more informal, natural tone rather than a carefully scripted recording.
Be sure to thoroughly test your delivery system and media player compatibility to
ensure students don’t have problems like audio codecs not being supported by the
media player installed.
The Learning Management System wasn’t deployed. It can help to deliver the audio
lectures online and support RSS feeds, which can alert students about new audio
learning modules as they became available.

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The Field Research Case Study emphasizes the important best practices that have emerged
from last one and a half year experience working on delivering custom audio learning
content for more than hundred visually challenged students.
This study serves as a reference guide for developing such future audio educational
packages.
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