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Audio recordings have long been available on cassette tape, and more recently on Compact Disk (CD). Audio recordings can be a valuable resource for people with a vision impairment, or print disabilities such as dyslexia. Another emerging option for short audio recordings is use of mp3 electronic files.
Audio recordings have the advantage that they can be used by a range of people who, for a range of reasons, have difficulty reading print.
Tape recordings have some drawbacks – it can be difficult to find specific parts of the recording, or to update information without re-recording everything again.
Digital recordings allow for updating and marking tracks, making them much more efficient to use.
How do I produce audio recordings?
Queensland Narrating Service The Queensland Narrating Service uses trained volunteers to produce audio format educational materials for a wide range of educational institutions. These recordings are for the use of people with a print disability only. Recordings can be on audio tape, or on CD. QNS is looking at mp3 format recordings as well. QNS keeps a master copy of their recordings.
Student work is always given the highest priority. QNS also produces recordings for libraries and private sale, of commercial publications including popular fiction and non-fiction.
Educational material that has been narrated includes:
QNS produces recordings at a very low cost, and tapes and CDs are presented in quality presentation boxes.
If you are sending material to QNS for recording, you can help the process by:
Contact the Queensland Narrating Service:
Phone no: 07 3846 1755
Web site: http://cwpp.slq.qld.gov.au/qns/
Address: PO Box 3376
Hear a Book http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/hearbook/hearbook.htm
A non-profit Tasmanian organisation similar to Qld Narrating Service, Hear a Book has an online catalogue of over 11,000 books on tape and more recently CD.
DIY – Doing It Yourself
Sometimes you might choose to make audio recordings inhouse. This might be because of the material is needed urgently, or because the material contains a lot of jargon or technical terms that need to be pronounced correctly. There could also be many graphics which need to be described by someone who knows the subject area.
Some tape recorders allow you to add tone indexing – an aid to finding specific sections.
Braille and large print labels can be extremely useful.
Pronunciation Guides
The ABC Book: A Pronunciation Guide to commercial names US National Library Service http://www.loc.gov/nls/other/ABC.html
ASCII Pronunciation Guide Netizen Pty Ltd http://www.zoic.org/training/unixtools/a1511.html The guide provides pronunciation for a range of punctuation and other symbols used.
According to California Community Colleges (1999):
Having material read aloud may be the most convenient and efficient way for a blind or visually impaired individual to deal with short handouts or articles, materials that are time sensitive, or forms that require brief written responses. Textbooks and other longer materials can also be accessed using readers, and some individuals prefer this approach, but it will generally be desirable to record such materials for subsequent review.
An advantage of using a reader is that the student can check for understanding, and talk through new terms. Using a reader, however, is limited to when the reader is available, and can be more expensive. |
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This site is a working draft only! For more information on this project, send an email to: unidesign@optusnet.com.au
© State of Queensland (Department of Employment & Training) 2005 |