Technology in Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Grades | 1

Module 5:Audio Media

Topic Learning Outcome:

a. Produce audio materials that can be used in the classroom for teaching and learning
enhancement.

Enabling Activity

Instruction: Watch ‘Be Your Own Teacher: Perfecting Audio’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

1. What does it take to create an audio?

Deepen!

 Sound – is a waves of air molecules

 Audio - It is used particularly for learners with reading and/or other learning difficulty and
those who are visually impaired.

 Hearing vs. Listening

 Hearing
o Is one of the five senses of a person
o It is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such
as the ear
o “It is the process, function or power of perceiving sound; especially: the
special sense by which noises and tones are received as stimuli” (Merriam
Webster)
 Listening
o Also known as ‘Active learning’
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o It is where after brain receives the nerve impulses, it interprets, then it then
sends feedback.
o It is a key to good communication, therefore it requires concentration so that it
can lead to better academic performance.

Techniques on how to Develop Listening Skills

 Directed listening
o Give students some objectives or questions to guide their listening before
presenting the audio material to the class.
 Following directions
o Give directions individually or as a group and ask students to follow instructions
 Listening for main ideas, details, or inferences
o Give a guide on what to listen like the main ideas, details or specific information
 Using context in listening
o Distinguishing meanings in an auditory context by listening to sentences with
words missing and then supplying the appropriate words
 Analyzing the structure of a presentation
o The students can be asked to outline what they have listened to after listening
 Distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information
o Identify relevant and irrelevant information after listening to a given audio material

Audio Formats

It is a file format for storing sounds or music . It can either be analog or digital.

 Digital Audio
o These are files kept on a digital storage such as CD, computer hard drive, a flash
drive or a digital recorder.
o Computers are digital devices. The method of computing is referred to as “binary
system” meaning they perform calculations using ones and zeros.
o These are saved in MP3 or WAV format.
o Most commonly used audio files are wave (.wav) files and MPEG Layer-3 (.mp3)
files.
o Other audio formats are Windows Media Audio (.wma), Real Audio (.ra, .ram) or
Musical Instrument Digital Instrument (MIDI)

Audio File Types

 wav
o standard audio file format used mainly in Windows PCs.
o It is considered as a “first generation” format
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 mp3
o It is used for compressing audio file into a very small file that is used for digital
storage and transmission.
o It is the most popular format for downloading and storing music
 wma
o It is a Microsoft audio file format which is used for compressing audio files.

Digital Storage Devices

 Optical disc
o It is a storage medium for which data is read and to which it is written by lasers
o It is common for storing digital data like music and other types of data.
o AUDIO CD were available since 1982 as a physical storage medium for audio.
o Types of Optical Disc
 Read Only Memory (ROM)
 Used for distribution of standard program and data files.
 It come with data already encoded onto them.
 It cannot be modified because it is permanent but can be read a
number of times
 Write-once read-many (WORM)
 These discs can be written to only once. The information stored
on the disk cannot be changed or erased.
 Re-writable, write-many (WMRM)
 These discs allow information to be recorded and erased many
times.
 Analog Audio
o It is a representation of a sound that is analogous to the air pressure waves o the
sound.
o It is a representation of the intensities of those waves in a different form, such as
voltages on a wire or magnetized particles on a cassette tape (Mack)
o It reads media by scanning the physical data off the media.
o Examples: Audio type players, VCRs, and record players

Guidelines on how to use a microphone to record analog audio of a sound

 Place the microphone on a floor or table stand away from hard surfaces such as
chalkboards, windows or bare walls. If a stand is not available, place on a hand towel or
other soft cloth.
 Place the microphone on a good spot to achieve maximum pickup of desired sounds and
minimal pickup of extraneous ones. Avoid handing the microphone form one person to
another. If necessary, move people instead, before recording.
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 Maintain a constant distance from the microphone. As a rule of thumb, your mouth should
be about a foot from the microphone. If you are much closer, p’s and b’s will tend to “pop”
and other breathy sounds may become annoying.
 Speak over the top of the microphone, not directly into it.

Accessing Audio

 Streaming audio
o It is a method of delivering audio signal to your computer using the Internet.
o As the data arrives, it is buffered for a few seconds and then playback begins.
o Most popular and well-known websites that offer audio streaming are:
 Spotify www.spotify.com
 Pandora www.pandora.com
 Last.fm www.last.fm
 Rhapsody www.rhapsody.com
 Grooveshark www.grooveshark.com

 Podcasting
o It is a combination of the words IPod and broadcasting
o It refers to the recorded audio files in MP3 format that are distributed over the
internet.
o These audio files can be sent automatically to “subsribers” and stored in their
computers for listening at their convenience.
o You need to download it before you can listen to them.

 Internet radio
o Internet or wi-fi radios can give you access to thousands of internet radio stations
o
 Digital players
o These are also called as mobile digital media players
o These are portable electronic gadgets used to store and play digital media such as
audio.
o Some commonly used digital media are iPod Touch and MP3 players.

Creating Audio

 Using Sound Recorder

Application of Audio in the Classroom

 Students can hear the voices of experts by listening to their ideas and opinions.
 By using audiotape or audio recordings, it can help the learner perform a task, such as an
experiment, when written notes are not available.
 Students can generate their own recording which can be part of their learning activity
 It can provide public lectures
 Learn a new language
 Can be used as a motivation to start a class

Guideline in helping using Audio

 Make sure that you know where you want to start playing
 Check the volume level in advance
 Check the environment. Make sure all the students can hear
 If possible, minimize external noise that are not part of the audio material.
 Have an introduction of what the students would be hearing. Guide questions can be
provided.
 A handout or worksheet can be used to supplement audio media.
 To create discussion or other activities, audio presentation can be paused or stopped.
 Use a follow up activity after the audio lesson.