SPPP1042 Educational Technology

9. AUDIO in TEACHING AND LEARNING

Department of Science and Mathematics Education and Creative

Multimedia,
School of Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

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 OVERVIEW

Which learning activities consume the

major portion of a student’s classroom
time?
A.Writing
B.Listening
C. Reading
D. Sleeping

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 Introduction

• Listening includes both hearing and

comprehending audio

• Effective listening for learning includes

• Accurate hearing
• Focused listening
• Reinforcement to stimulate neural
connections

How??

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 Audio in the Classroom

Teacher Use Student Use

• Prepared recordings • Interviews
– Direct instruction • Presentations
– Skills practice • Record field trips
– Practice listening skills • Recite poetry
• Professional Development • Audio books and stories
• Evaluate student learning • Record music

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 Audio in the Classroom

Interviews
Teacher use

Presentations
Prepared Professional Evaluate
recordings Development student
learning

Student Use
Record field trips
Direct
instruction
Recite poetry

Skills practice
Audio books and
stories
Practice listening
skills
Record music

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 Audio in the Classroom
Use when student learning will be enhanced from:
Guidelines Examples
…text being read High school students with limited reading
ability listen to a …

…listening to key political Middle school students prepare for a

speeches debate by listening to podcasts of
speeches given by candidates for mayor
of their city.
…recording impressions Students create a digital journal of their
learning by recording monthly
impressions of the most important things
they learned.
…easy access to verbal Students use the “Noun” menu of a
examples Spanish language CD to listen to new
vocabulary pronounced by a Spanish-
language speaker.
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Use when student learning will be enhanced from:
Guidelines
…listening to an author
reading her story
…hearing the sounds of
nature
…listening to an expert
…listening to current events
…recording personal reading
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Audio in the Classroom
Examples
As a story is being projected on a screen,
elementary students listen to a recording of the
author reading the story that is streamed from a
children’s storybook website.
Intermediate-grade students use a bird website to
practice identifying the sounds of different birds
from their local area to prepare for a field trip to
the nature trail.
Students in an art class listen to a CD recording
of a successful photographer sharing tips for
taking balanced photos.
A social studies teacher plays an Internet radio
broadcast of a presidential address.
Elementary students create a digital reading
journal that contains yearly recordings of the
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ADVANTAGES
• Readily available, simple,
portable
• Inexpensive
• Reproducible
• Provides verbal message
• Offers current information
• Provides free access to
archived audio files
• Ideal for teaching second
languages
• Stimulating
• Resistant to damage
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Audio in the Classroom
LIMITATIONS
• Copyright concerns
• Doesn’t monitor attention
• Pacing
• Fixed sequence
• Difficulty in locating
segment
• Potential for accidental
erasure or deletion
• Need hardware & software
for digital audio
• Noise interference from
other sources
 Audio in the Classroom
Readily
available,
simple,
portable
Resistant
to Inexpensive
damage

Stimulating Reproducible

Advantages

Ideal for
Provides
teaching
verbal
second
message
languages

Provides
free access Offers
current
to archived
information
audio files
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 Audio in the Classroom

Copyright
concerns
Noise
Doesn’t
interference
monitor
from other
attention
sources

Need
hardware & LIMITATION
Pacing
software for S
digital audio

Potential for
accidental Fixed
erasure or sequence
deletion
Difficulty in
locating
segment
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 Audio in the Classroom

Suitable for students Audio materials can be

with poor/lack of organised and edited
reading skills

Flexible time : the Can be repeated for

pace can be student’s understanding.
controlled.
Recording
Erasable and reusable
natural/original sound.

Small and portable device

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 Hearing and Listening

Quality of the Audio

Organization and medium Receiver
presentation of the comprehension
message • Encoding
• Decoding

Articulation of the Factors

message • Volume
• Auditory fatigue
Learning • Physical

Quality of the from impairment

• Listening skills
message Audio • Experiential
background

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 Accessing Audio

Streaming Portable Digital

Podcasting Internet Radio Audio Recorder
Audio Audio

Players can Digital

Live and
Files are sent in Recorded MP3 store recorders
recorded from
packets files distributed thousands of
around the
over the Internet songs and
world
audio files Cassette
recorders
Listen while the Subscribers
file is Variety of
downloaded • Auto receive programs
• Convenience (news, sports,
music, etc)
Available via the
Internet
Podcasting
software
• Student/Teacher
Free software
opportunities

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 Integration

Audio uses

• Unlimited
• All phases of instruction
• Self-paced instruction
• Pre-recorded materials
• Audio files can be added to presentations
• Teacher use
• Student use

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• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=ZkuCiso-
gts
• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=mUvKOq
Wgx5o
• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=tnQd7Td2
vRs
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 Audio
Format????

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 Audio Format

ANALOG DIGITAL
AUDIO AUDIO

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 Audio Format

DIGITAL  In digital recording, sound are

AUDIO transformed into binary information.
 a series of 1’s and 0’s.
 Many format of digital audio
 Many way to access the files (eg.
Streaming, podcasting)

 Educational materials sources –

CDROM , downloading..
 Can be play back on a variety of
players.
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 Audio Formats
 Digital Audio • Analog
 Compact Disc (CD)
 Up to 80 minutes of audio – Audiocassette
 Quickly locate selections tapes
 Damage resistance – Continued
 Easy to create and record
 MP3 classroom
 Compressed audio resource
 Reduced download/upload
time
 Internet sources
 WAV
 Digital versions of analog
 High quality
 Large file size

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 Audio Format

DIGITAL Which file can be download form

AUDIO web??

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 MP3 Players

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 Why You Need Good Listening Skills

Good listening skills make teachers more productive. The

ability to listen carefully will allow teachers to:
• build rapport with your students
• show support
• work better in a team-based environment
• resolve problems with students
• answer questions
• find underlying meanings in what others say.

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 N
Creating Audioi
n
e
• Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
– Technology for creating music
– Example: Garage-Band
– Uses lines of sound on a grid
• Digital Synthesizer Software
• Original music
• Radio programs
• Audio presentations
• Podcasts
• Sound effects

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 Choosing an audio format

Audio Needs Suggested formats

Short voice greetings WAV, AIFF, MP3

News broadcasts Streaming solutions

(RealAudio, Windows Media)
Background music MIDI, WAV

Music samples for some MP3 or QuickTime

audience
Radio-style or Live RealMedia System
broadcasting
Musical E-greeting card MIDI, WAV

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 Guide to audio practice.

• Why does Mr X integrate the use of

technology and media into his lesson?
• What ideas does Mr. X provide for obtaining
quality audio recordings?
• How does the use of audio enhance student
presentations?
• What technology skills do students need to
create their presentation?

Then play the audio..

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 Setting up for Audio
• SETTING UP FOR AUDIO

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To Avoid Feedback
 Microphone Types:

BODY STYLES:
•hand held
•lavalier
•body
•shotgun
•headset
•boom
•parabolic
•desk/stand
•boundary

images from RCA, Shure Brothers, Inc., Electrovoice, Audio Technica, Gibson and AKG
 Microphones

• The first link in the audio chain.

• Try to capture a realistic sound – something that
sounds like the instrument
• Sound quality can be affected by:
the construction
their sensitivity
where they are placed
 THE BASICS
• Microphones are a type of transducer - a device which converts energy from
one form to another. Microphones convert acoustical energy (sound waves)
into electrical energy (the audio signal).
• Different types of microphones have different ways of converting energy but
they all share one thing in common: The diaphragm. This is a thin piece of
material (such as paper, plastic or aluminum) which vibrates when it is struck
by sound waves. In a typical hand-held mic like the one below, the diaphragm
is located in the head of the microphone.
 Construction
There are 3 basic construction types:
• Dynamic
Dynamic microphones are versatile and ideal for general-purpose use. They use a simple design
with few moving parts. They are relatively sturdy and resilient to rough handling. They are also
better suited to handling high volume levels, such as from certain musical instruments or
amplifiers. They have no internal amplifier and do not require batteries or external power.
• Condenser
Condenser microphones require power from a battery or external source. The resulting audio
signal is stronger signal than that from a dynamic. Condensers also tend to be more sensitive
and responsive than dynamics, making them well-suited to capturing subtle nuances in a sound.
• Ribbon
Ribbon microphones are generally the most delicate and expensive microphone, but modern
materials have been introduced that make present-day ribbon microphones durable enough for
loud rock music and stage use. They are prized for their ability to capture high-frequency detail.
 Dynamic microphones
• Most popular for live sound
• Can handle high volume sound
(EG drums. Amplifiers, and some rock vocalists)
 Condenser microphones
• Most popular for recording purposes
• Sensitive, accurate but can be expensive.
• Require a small amount of voltage 9 or 48 volts to function properly.
This voltage is called phantom power.

Cross-Section of a Typical Condenser Microphone

 Ribbon microphones
• A Ribbon microphone is a type of dynamic mic that uses a thin
metal ribbon placed between the poles of a magnet and generate
voltages by electromagnetic induction.
• Have a unique sound though – often called ‘silky’ or ‘smooth’.
 Polar patterns
Omni directional
Picks up sound evenly from all directions (omni means "all" or "every").
Unidirectional
Picks up sound predominantly from one direction. This includes cardioid and
hypercardioid microphones.
Bidirectional
Picks up sound from two opposite directions.
 Omni directional
• Uses: Capturing ambient noise;
Situations where sound is coming
from many directions; Situations
where the mic position must
remain fixed while the sound
source is moving.
• Not used for close-micing (less
than 30cm) as too much
background sound is picked up.
 Cardioid
• Cardioid means "heart-shaped", which is
the type of pick-up pattern these mics use.
Sound is picked up mostly from the front,
but to a lesser extent the sides as well.

Uses: Emphasizing sound from the

direction the mic is pointed whilst leaving
some latitude for mic movement and
ambient noise.

• When used close-micing emphasizes bass

frequencies. This is called the proximity
effect and is found only on cardioid mics.
 Hypercardioid
• This is exaggerated version of the
cardioid pattern. It is very directional
and eliminates most sound from the
sides and rear. Due to the long thin
design of hypercardioids, they are
often referred to as shotgun
microphones.

Uses: Isolating the sound from a

subject or direction when there is a lot
of ambient noise; Picking up sound
from a subject at a distance.
 Bidirectional
• Uses a figure-of-eight pattern and
picks up sound equally from two
opposite directions.

• Uses: As you can imagine, there aren't

a lot of situations which require this
polar pattern. One possibility would be
an interview with two people facing
each other (with the mic between them).

• Capture sounds from the front and

back, but not from the sides
 Microphone Impedance
• When dealing with microphones, one consideration which is often
misunderstood or overlooked is the microphone's impedance rating.
• A mic will still work with the wrong impedance but for “best quality” it is
worth knowing.
• Low impedance is better than high impedance.
• Impedance is an electronics term which measures the amount of
opposition a device has to an AC current (such as an audio signal).
• Impedance is measured in ohms, shown with the Greek Omega symbol
Ω or the letter Z. A microphone with the specification 600Ω has an
impedance of 600 ohms.
• You will often find that mics with a hard-wired cable and 1/4" jack are
high impedance, and mics with separate balanced audio cable and XLR
connector are low impedance.
 Which Impedance to Choose?
RODE NTK
• There are three general classifications for SPECS
microphone impedance. Different manufacturers
use slightly different guidelines but the Pickup Pattern:
Cardioid
classifications are roughly: Frequency Response:
20Hz - 20kHz
• Low Impedance (less than 600Ω) Output Impedance:
• Medium Impedance (600Ω - 10,000Ω) 200 ohms
(100 ohms per leg)
• High Impedance (greater than 10,000Ω) Sensitivity:
-38dB re 1V/Pa (12mV
• Note that some microphones have the ability to @ 94dB SPL) +/-1dB
select from different impedance ratings. Equivalent Noise: 12dB
SPL
• High impedance microphones are usually quite
cheap. Their main disadvantage is that they do not
perform well over long distance cables - after about
5 or 10 mt they begin producing poor quality audio
(in particular a loss of high frequencies).
A LOW
IMPEDANCE MIC
 Loudspeakers
• How they work?
• Find out about Different Types of Loudspeakers
• Which is the most effective and appropriate
units for the intended purpose and location?

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 AUDIO DALAM
PENDIDIKAN

Bincangkan pendekatan yang anda akan

gunakan jika berpeluang menggunakan
audio sebagai bahan bantu mengajar di
sekolah???

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THANK YOU

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