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Audio
/ Audio Books
What it is:
Audio Books often refer to works produced for distribution on audio media, typically audiotape cassette or audio compact disk and more recently as MP3 or MP4 files via the iPod and other hand held devices. Audio books are usually spoken-word adaptations of works originally created and produced in print. These works sometimes feature the author's own voice although many are given dramatic readings by one or more actors and/or at times embellished with sound effects.
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How does it work:
Here are some great sources, by category.
Textbooks: Most of the major publishers provide an audio version for many of their textbooks. For example, Houghton Mifflin’s Legacy of Literature and SRA/McGraw-Hill’s Open Court can be ordered with audio tapes or an audio CD. Prentice Hall Literature offers CD versions, as well as a Spanish/English Summaries Audio CD. Prices for these range from $55-$165 per title. Textbooks from Scholastic Reading Counts! are available on CD or audiocassette for grades 1-8. Your school may already have a copy of these accessible versions.
Free Sources of Current Fiction/Nonfiction: Your school library or public library may subscribe to a service that provides MP3 versions of books. Look on the library website for a key phrase such as “Electronic Resources” or “eAudiobooks”. The downloaded audio files can be played on the computer, on an iPod, or other MP3 player. Files are “checked out” for three weeks after which they will no longer play.
Free Sources of Older Fiction/Nonfiction: There are three projects that are posting human voice versions of public domain books and stories for free. AudioBooksForFree.com has 83 classics for children which can be downloaded for free or ordered on CD. LibriVox is a volunteer project dedicated to reading every book in the public domain (published prior to 1923) for free download. Their ever-growing list of titles includes short stories and poetry.
Free Sources of Current Magazine Articles: Assistive Media has recorded hundreds of articles from 50 different magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, Discover, and MAD Magazine. A click will start them playing. A right button click will save the MP3 file to your computer.
Fee Sources of Books: The Random House book site sells a large number of audio books. The site provides excerpts of the first chapter or two in RealPlayer format for a number of these books. In a new book available from ISTE, The Digital Reader: Using eBooks in K-12 Education, Dr. Terence Cavanaugh reports that students who listen to the first chapter being read by a professional reader often become interested and motivated to read the book independently. Families seeking audio versions may have already found the RecordedBooks or the Audible Books sites, both of which have collections of children’s and young adult literature.
Free Sources for Students with Disabilities: If you have students with a documented physical, visual, or learning disability, you can order free audio books from Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic or the American Printing House for the Blind. Your state’s Department of Education may also provide audio versions of textbooks upon request.
Classroom Examples:
As students can listen at a higher level than they can read, educators are using audiobooks to enhance assignments and engage students with more advanced material. Audiobooks can also be used to introduce new vocabulary along with pronunciation. Read more quick how-to’s from teachers at Educator of the Month .
Tips for Implementing:
You will need headphones if you set up a station for individual or group listening in the classroom.
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