Audio Tools in the Educational Setting

Audio, whether in the form of music collections, audiobooks, or digital recordings, will always be something found in school libraries. The internet and free web tools have created numerous opportunities to expand the use of audio within the library and the classroom. Below are some examples of different audio tools and how they can be used in an educational setting:

AudioPal: AudioPal is a free web tool that helps to make websites more interactive through the addition of audio. Librarians, and teachers, can create an audio message to include on their library (or class!) websites, which would add a personal touch for your users. If you were to highlight a certain book or collection on the library website, you could have students record book talks to include as well. AudioPal also allows unlimited AudioPal messages, so you can add weekly messages or updates about the library or classroom, such as a weekly audio newsletter to keep parents informed of what is going on in the library. An issue with AudioPal is that it runs on Adobe Flash. Google Chrome began blocking Flash in September 2016 and will only allow Flash if that is all a site supports. If cross-browser compatibility is required, than AudioPal may not be the best option. If you are reading this blog on Chrome, you will need to have Flash installed and view this through Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Blabberize: Blabberize is a free tool that allows you to create talking images. One fun way you could use Blabberize in the library or classroom is to have students find character from a novel and record their favorite line(s) from the novel that would best suit them. You could also do this with speeches for historical figures.

Podcasts: A podcast is a digital audio file that is made available for download and typically features installments for users to subscribe to. For educational purposes, podcasts can be very beneficial, as they provide digital and portable means to retrieving and disseminating information. Librarians can use podcasts to promote book talks, book reviews, reading incentive programs, and other information about the library in general.

Educators who implement TED Talks in their classrooms might enjoy utilizing TED Radio Hour, in which each podcast weaves together numerous TED Talks that follow along the same theme or concept. I teach my American Literature classes thematically, rather than chronologically, so I really like that I could use TED Radio Hour to supplement anchor texts for each thematic unit.

And because I am a major nerd, you can also listen to MuggleCast, which is a free Harry Potter podcast.

Voki: Voki is a great website that allows you to create speaking avatars. A fun way librarians could use Voki is to do a “Guess Who”-type activity where students would create a script about a book character, author, historical figure, etc. in a first-person narrative style. Students could then record themselves reading the information with a look-alike avatar and have classmates guess who they are. This could be used as a fun review, and would be more interactive than a worksheet review or lecture. The one downside I found in regards to Voki is that unless you purchase one of the upgraded packages, it is impossible to embed your avatar and audio into websites, so that was kind of disappointing.