Using Audio – An Effective Way to Enhance your E-learning Course

Embedding audio in eLearning courses enhances learner engagement and boosts the efficiency of the learning material. The use of audio in instructional design provides significant benefits, as it adds interest, engages learners, and conveys the emotions of the characters. However, indiscriminate use of audio can make it either redundant or overly prominent. Thus, you need to use audio cautiously and cleverly in order to make the eLearning courses exciting and engaging.

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Here are a few tips on how to make effective use of audio in eLearning courses.

Audio should be in a conversational tone

Engaging audio enhances the interest levels of the learners and is a key part of effective instructional design strategies. To achieve this, make the script conversational. A good narration sounds as if a person is talking to another. Use words such as oh, wow, really, that’s great, oh no and so on. These “emotional words” help learners connect with the situations presented in the course, making the learning experience more impactful.

Audio should meet the quality standards

Rather than using audio of poor quality, it is better not to use audio at all. Avoid unwanted noise and mismatch between audio and onscreen text. You also need to make sure that the audio loads fast to avoid learner frustration. Thus, audio should be recorded in a professional recording studio , where in the recording engineers will be able to sort out the technical issues if any and ensures that audio narration is done as per the quality standards. Using instructional design tools can further help refine and optimize audio quality for eLearning courses.

Use professional voice

Audio narration is an art. Use of a professional voice adds depth and richness to your course. So, it is always recommended to hire professionals for narrating the audio script of the eLearning course.

Instructional Design Strategies to Design Engaging eLearning Courses

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Try to use more than one audio character

It is a best practice to use more than one audio character in the course. For example, in a scenario based approach, you can add a variety of audio characters that make the eLearning  course engaging and effective.

Keep it short and simple

Lengthy and tedious audio makes the learners feel annoyed and boring, and they eventually lose their interest. The more you elaborate the audio narration, more are the chances for the learners to get confused. According to the cognitive load theory, audio should not cover everything that is on-screen, as this may distract the learner. One of the features of good audio narration is that it is simple and short.

Avoid ‘Shhh’ and ‘umm’ sounds in audio

Using properly planned background sounds makes the course inviting and exciting. A good soundtrack can create emotional cues. Whereas unexpected footsteps like banging doors ruin a recording. So, be careful and try to avoid unnecessary humming sounds in between the audio narration.

These are the few tips that can make an audio narration in eLearning more engaging and effective. I am sure there must be some more. Please do share your thoughts. We would really appreciate your response.