Working with audio

There is a lot of optionality around audio, which can be linked with text, images and interactivity. Working with audio can be time-consuming, particularly if you need to record, edit and upload it into Xerte, but there are ways of saving time, for example by using the Audio Recorder to record and deploy audio within Xerte.

You can add audio to any Xerte page, and there are several ways in which this can be done.

Firstly, you can add Narration from the General Optional Properties. You then add a sound file (through Media Browser), and this is made available to the learner through a player which displays along the bottom of the screen in learner view. Using Narration makes sense if you only have one audio file on the page, and particularly for a long recording that you want the learner to be able to navigate through, because the timeline extends across virtually the whole width of the page.

Secondly, from the toolbar you can select Insert HTML5 audio, and then add a sound file in a specific position on the page. This may be a better option if you want to relate the audio to a specific section of text, and particularly if you have several audio files you want to make available to learners on one page, interspersed with text. The audio player displays as “small-scale” audio player.

Finally, in Xerte release 3.11 an Audio Recorder option was added to the Toolbar, which enables you to record and deploy audio within Xerte. You have the choice of inserting the recording straight into the page, or saving it to the Media Browser, where it can be deployed anywhere in the project.

There are also a number of page types for which audio is integral.

Transcript Reader allows you to synch sections of text with sections of audio. Whilst it can be used to present a written transcript, the audio and text do not have to include exactly the same content, so it can be used more flexibly, for example to explain aspects of pronunciation which require written illustrations. Audio Slideshow produces a similar effect.

Dictation will enable separate audio clips to be played on one page, with learners typing a written response into a text-entry for each clip. Learners can then compare their responses to a model answer.

You may want to have audio autoplay when a learner moves to a page; there are autoplay options for Narration and Insert HTML5 audio.

With the Hotspot Image page type you can insert HTML5 Audio, so that a piece of audio autoplays when a learner clicks on a hotspot. This inserts a small audioplayer which displays only for the active hotspot. You can achieve a similar effect with the Hotspot Image Connector page type, if you select Sound from the Optional Properties (instead of, for example, Destination Page).

Your choice of how to include audio in your project will depend on a number of factors;

• whether you already have the audio file, or need to record it (if you need to record it, Audio Recorder may work well for you)
• whether you need to edit the recording before uploading into Xerte (you can't edit in Audio Recorder)
• whether you need one recording on the page (Consider Narration, Transcript Reader, Audio Slideshow) or several recordings (consider Insert HTML5 audio or Dictation)
• whether you need to synch sections of audio with sections of text (Transcript Reader?) or with images (Audio Slideshow?)

You can link audio with Interactivity at any level in a project. For example in a Quiz you can put audio into a single question, or even into a single answer.

You can even include audio in feedback, and in some cases audio feedback may be more effective than written.