Can the use of audio material, in online content delivery and support of practical work, improve the student learning
experience and support of practical work,in electronics and embedded systems?
The research questions below relate to the areas in which the interview could provide valuable information for future
research in the area of audio assisted teaching material. The questions are designed to help answer the research problem
above. They form the major themes for the interview with a student after completion of the online work.
Is using audio description to explain a diagram more effective than text in an online context?
Does the similarity of content and style of the support affect the student response to subsequent material?
Is the effectiveness of audio support less if the language of the support is not the native language of the student?
A specially designed example of simple online teaching material was created for use in this piece of research.
It is a series of four linked pages, with a button at the end of the first three to move to the next page. The pace
of material presentation is therefore controlled by the user.
The first two pages introduce the concept of AND in a simple electrical setting. The first page has a diagram
a simple circuit with text explaining its operation. The second page has a table of all the possible states of the
circuit, again with the explanation given in text form.
The second two pages introduce the concept of OR using the same components but in a different configuration.
The third page has the diagram of the new circuit but with an audio explanation. The last page has a table of all
possible states of the circuit, again with an audio explanation. [ Each audio explanation has the usual control to allow the user to replay the audio as many times as required.]
