RKCS Learning Solutions

In creating eLearning,I face a challenge that the majority of users do not face.  I have to listen to the same audio again, and again, and again, and again while I edit and build different sections of my modules.  This is fine.  In fact, its an expected part of the process.  However, I do notice that there are times where I begin to go to sleep almost immediately.  Yeah, that could be a compliment or maybe its not.  There are some Barry White-style voices that are soothing and relaxing. But likewise, there are some voices that, while reading, can become almost monotone.  Once I have heard these voices a screen or two, I almost begin to tune out.  Worse than that, if I am watching a module where not much else is happening on the screen or I am not interacting with the module in any way, I am forced to listen to the voice.  So what do I do?  Zone out…go to sleep….daydream.

OK.  So, now it’s time to put yourself in the seat of the learner.  Get rid of the ego for a moment.  Yeah, I know you put your blood, sweat and tears into this thing and it’s hard to hear criticism, but listen for a moment.  Don’t worry.  I have to pay attention to this myself so I’m not preaching at you.  But, put yourself in the learner’s chair for a moment.  What would you want to hear?  What would keep you interested?  What would keep you awake? Some of us have the liberty of hiring professional voice talent while others are forced to cost cut and do certain things themselves.  Just because the word “professional” is before the name does not always mean the voiceover artists don’t need feedback either.  So there are some basic things that can be done to help bring a little more life to your elearning.

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I was asked yesterday about text-to-speech software. While I have not used it extensively, I think it’s a pretty cool development. However, I was asked about it in the context of eLearning. I have actually heard learning modules that used a text to speech application of some sort. While I recognized it as robotic sounding, I do not remember feeling as if it affected my ability to learn the content that I was looking at. However, that may be different for everyone. There are text-to-speech apps all over the web. Sitepal is one that comes to mind. They have been around for a while and have been able to improve the sound of their avatars quite a bit. Some of that is via pre-recorded audio and some of it is definitely text-to-speech.

But the question here, as I alluded to earlier, is whether or not the voice affects learning. I would like to hear some responses on that. Let me throw this into the mix. As a person who does some voiceover work in addition to my elearning, I constantly see that people believe that specific voice tones, pitches, accents, emotions and tempos affect the way their product is viewed. I suppose there is quite a bit of truth to this. But this may be related solely to marketing. Now the other question here is do marketing and elearning co-exist? Let me know your thoughts.

I have an interest in voiceover and narration to say the least. I have spent some time over the last few months researching (and to a degree learning) the voiceover aspect of things because I figured it could only add to what I do as an eLearning developer. Now, in looking at a lot of the eLearning examples I have come across, many are narrated. Some are definitely done by professional voice talent. Others are done by a person with a computer and a mic. If you are that person, I hope you were not offended by my reference.

One of the things that I noticed in some of the examples was that the voice was saying the same thing that I was already reading on the screen…verbatim. At first I rationalized and thought that it might have been for the same reason that closed caption is included in some presentations. Then I thought it may have just been a personal pet peeve or preference. Then I began to look around and found that others had the same personal preference. But I am not one to write off ideas or methods so easily. Maybe there is a reason for this technique. Although Chris over at eQuixotic quoted some stats from Richard Mayer’s book, Multimedia Learning, in which he notes that removing spoken text from screen increases learner retention by 28%. But then, for every technique that proves a point, there are others that reach another conclusion. Another blogger refers to this on-screen narration technique as a means of fulfilling the obligations to SENDA (Special Education Needs and Disabilities Act). Of course, that is the British equivalent of Section 508.

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