This textbook was developed by the “California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions OER” (CC ECHO), a project funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Open Textbook Pilot program. CC ECHO is developing openly licensed resources for twenty high-impact general education courses utilizing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework to enhance outcomes at Hispanic Serving Institutions.
Published on December 21, 2022OpenStax American Government Audiobook
Los Angeles Harbor College
Case study written by Kyra Karatsu with input from Brian Barrick. Barrick is the developer of the audiobook for OpenStax’s American Government 3e text, released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Find it on:
- Youtube
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Project Website [https://www.openaudio.us]
Overview
American Government is a high-enrollment course at community colleges satisfying the American Institutions’ requirement for transfer to a California State University. Brian Barrick, an instructor at Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC), had been teaching with the widely-adopted OpenStax American Government textbook for several years in his introductory U.S. Government courses when he realized that students could benefit from a free audio version of the text. An auditory learner himself, he decided to combine his passions for access to higher education, political science, and emerging technologies to produce an openly-licensed audiobook adaptation.
Audiobooks benefit many learners including those with learning disabilities or for whom English is a second language. Support for diverse learners is a major focus of the CC ECHO project, which was able to provide the funding necessary for the additional audio equipment and staff time needed to complete the project. Barrick was also able to hire a student to record portions of the text, adding to its usability and interest.
Over the span of eight months, he recorded, produced, and published the 17 chapters of the entire textbook. Strong interest in the recordings was reported within 2 months of publication:
- Podcast Downloads/Streams: 4,000+
- YouTube Views: 10,000+
- YouTube Hours Streamed: 3,700+
Audiobook Description
As an adaption of the OpenStax American Government 3e text, this audiobook covers important concepts in American politics, government, and history. Each of the 17 chapters were recorded in two-hour segments for over 30 hours of high-quality audio.
Instructor Brian Barrick and student Sarah Arya narrate the audiobook. Barrick narrates the majority of the text while Arya narrates the chapter headings, student learning outcomes, callout boxes, and a number of tables. Having two distinct voices allows listeners to differentiate primary content from additional material.
Since potential learners possess multiple information processing styles and preferences, this resource may be particularly helpful for those who learn best by listening. For instance, visually impaired students will not need to utilize text-to-speech software. Likewise, students with ADD/ADHD or information processing differences can listen while simultaneously reading the text.
Development Process
Several “proof of concept” chapters of the audiobook were submitted to YouTube and used as a demonstration to secure grant funding from the CC ECHO project. CC ECHO awarded $7,000 to produce the audiobook including the purchase of professional audio equipment, including a Shure SM7B microphone and accessories.
The grant funds also made it possible to hire a student to help narrate. High-performing Political Science student, Sarah Arya, was recommended by Counseling colleagues at LAHC and she was hired to narrate callout boxes, tables, and chapter headers.
All chapters were narrated in a small closet in the instructor’s home except for Chapter 4, which was recorded in a studio on the LAHC campus. The small space, irregular angles, clothing, and blankets helped provide a quiet, echo-free environment for recording. Barrick and Arya also met once per week for three consecutive weeks to record her audio in an on-campus office space.
Other openly-licensed audio resources were incorporated, including brief clips of political figures, such as President Franklin Roosevelt, and music from Jahzzar, a musician who publishes under a CC-BY-SA license.
The Team
Brian Barrick. Instructor of Political Science, Los Angeles Harbor College.
Barrick teaches courses on U.S. government and politics, global politics, and political theory. In addition to narrating and audio production, he published the audiobook to streaming platforms, developed a website, and promoted its use.
Sarah Arya. Undergraduate Political Science student at California State University, Long Beach. Arya is a graduate of Los Angeles Harbor College, and an undergraduate student at California State University, Long Beach. She is currently studying Political Science with a concentration in Law, Politics, and Policy, and hopes to become a lawyer.
Peer Review
The OpenStax textbook content was already peer-reviewed, but the audiobook team did receive help on technical aspects of the project. They would like to thank:
- Jacob Winik – COO and Technical Director of Cosmic Standard, an audio production and podcasting company based in Oakland, California. Winik provided feedback on audio equipment, including the selection of microphones and other hardware.
- Elle Dimopoulos – Assistive Technology Specialist at the College of Marin. Dimopoulos provided consultation on equipment, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), editing workflows, and insight into accessibility, most notably for visually-impaired students.
- Tom Buck – YouTube content creator. With tutorials on audio hardware devices, the YouTuber’s content was a valuable resource and helped to identify and select the appropriate equipment for the project.
Challenges
Time management was challenging, as every hour of recorded audio required at least four hours of production. As a full-time instructor with a family, Barrick said it was challenging to find quiet moments to record. This resulted in much of the audiobook being recorded in short sections while his family slept.
Securing funding for website development was particularly difficult and resulted in Barrick paying out-of-pocket for the website and its hosting fees, domain registry, SSL certificates, and other costs. He also had to learn about website encryption in order to install proper SSL certificates and eliminate “malicious content” warnings from the site.
Outcomes
First utilized in Barrick’s Political Science 001 classes at LAHC, the audiobook is now being used by students across the nation, with twenty percent of podcast downloads coming from Texas alone. Moving forward, he continues to promote the project with fellow political science instructors and OER advocates throughout the U.S.
Student Feedback
YouTube Comments:
I am a student who works 12-hour shifts. Having this allows me to listen to the text and then go home and read it. It has helped me immensely and my grade shows it! I wish I had this same opportunity in my other classes!
I have a learning disability and learn better when I read the text while also listening to it. I hate having to use text-to-speech [software] because of how it sounds. However, this was amazing. Thank you!
Students in Barrick’s own classes have reported that hearing the book is helping with their learning. One working mother said that she commutes so much that she practically lives in her car, but being able to download the audio allows her to listen on her commute.
Instructor Feedback
Feedback from instructors has been positive. Currently, at least one other political science instructor, Jessica Scarffe at Allan Hancock College, has shared it with her students. Several other instructors plan to use the resources when the new semester begins.
Some faculty members have suggested that audio resources are less rigorous than written text but in assessing his students’ understanding of the course objectives Barrick has not seen any detriment.
If this resource helps them to retain more information, then I believe that this enhances, rather than detracts from, their learning.
Brian Barrick
Lessons Learned
Don’t underestimate the time needed for editing
Every chapter required a great deal of editing to remove narration mistakes and moments of “dead air” when the speaker needed to catch their breath.
Limit the number of narrators
“Because we all have our own vocal rhythms and cadence, you come to learn how to edit specific voices more efficiently over time. Having multiple voices would be more challenging from an audio editing perspective.”
Choose a recording environment that controls for background noise
“The recording space was small and air conditioning could not be used while recording. Consequently, temperatures in the recording space often exceeded 100 degrees during the summer in Los Angeles.”
Create an OER Audiobook (How To Guide)
CC BY 4.0 Watch on YouTube
Barrick presented at the Wisconsin Open Education Symposium on October 28, 2022. In this how-to video, he explores the initial concept, funding source, equipment needs, planning, production process, finding and creating audio resources, and strategies for publishing. He also explains how to utilize platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts for distribution.
Impact and Sustainability
Based on experience with his students, Barrick predicts an audiobook supplement will enhance student learning and comprehension for political science students throughout the nation. As the number of audio and Youtube streams grows into the tens of thousands, this project provides a successful example for future OER audiobook development.
After completing the audiobook, Barrick developed an Instructor Resources package for Canvas. The Canvas shell allows faculty members to incorporate embedded audio players into their courses. Also included is syllabus language for instructors who wish to add details to their course syllabi. These resources are posted on the project website and Canvas Commons. The audiobook team is exploring the possibility of using a “Common Cartridge” so that the material can be imported into other LMS systems as well.
Instructional video to help instructors download and use the course shell
About the author:
Kyra Karatsu is an OER Specialist at College of the Canyons (COC) and primarily edits, formats, and designs openly licensed materials. In addition to her work at COC, Kyra is a third-year Communication major at UC Santa Barbara.
The contents of this case study were developed under an Open Textbooks Pilot grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.