Using Audio-only Instruction

Audio comes in various forms such as music, sound, and speech. Using audio-only instruction could have both benefits and some potential issues. First the benefits of using audio is that audio can provide more information than the written text. For example, when you hear someone speaking, you can gain more meaning because you hear their tone and voice inflection instead of just reading text without any expression. Someone who is speaking loudly might be indicating that the information is serious or maybe an emergency. If someone is speaking quietly, then they might be indicating that they are sad or to proceed with caution.

            The expression in audio can help you comprehend information more accurately. For example, when reading an e-mail, often it is unclear if the sender is upset or joking when reading their text. Many times, I read e-mail and wish that I could hear the tone in their voice so that I know if they are upset, sharing information, or wanting clarification. I have experienced many employees that have misinterpreted e-mails sent from their colleagues; therefore, causing employees to be disgruntled with each other because the text in the e-mail was not clearly understood or communicated. Tone, volume, and the pace of audio can help provide the learner clues to understanding information.

            A benefit of using audio is that students can listen to audio from various locations and at their own convenience. Teachers can record the audio of their lesson, and students can listen to the audio from home. In addition, if the students did not grasp the information or forgot the instructions, they can repeat the audio for clarification.  Teachers can also speak with other experts from remote locations through such programs as Skype or a speaker phone. Listening to the expert speak could be more interesting and engaging than reading using a one-way text-based delivery method.    

            Some potential issues with using audio is that sometimes audio files take longer to listen to than the time to read text. Learners might need more time to complete the task when it includes the use of audio. When combining audio files with other multimedia files, it can be difficult to design a lesson and time consuming for the teacher.
     Personally, I think that creating an audio-only file is fairly simple and quick to make when compared to drawing visuals, typing and formatting text, and creating videos. Therefore, creating audio-only files to clarify and improve comprehension would be easy and less time consuming to provide for the learner.  Audio is a good tool to provide for students who need remediation or to hear the lesson repeated several time so to get all of the details.

References

Barron A E (2004). Auditory Instructions. In D. H. Jonassen (ed.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (2^nd ed., pp. 949 - 978). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.