Dolphin Publisher Case Study: New course materials enhance learning and improve comprehension.

Creating total inclusion in the classroom

Can the DAISY format, a means of delivering books digitally that can incorporate text, audio and images on a single multimedia CD, open up the world of books and course content for students with visual and print impairment?

That is one of the questions the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) wanted to find out when they embarked on a pioneering trial to introduce DAISY revision materials and workbooks into an inclusive classroom environment. Secondly, would these materials, produced in the DAISY format, enhance the pupil’s study enjoyment and motivation?

Typically, a DAISY book is a combination of synchronised text, images and audio: as the audio is played, the corresponding text is highlighted and accompanied by supporting images. DAISY content can be delivered on CD-ROM, downloaded from the Internet or played over a network, using a variety of hardware and computer software players.

The DAISY format is believed to be ideal for reference materials and learning resources because it allows full search and navigation capabilities, and the inclusion of audio means that visually impaired pupils can understand the graphical and pictorial content contained within these texts.

Traditionally, visually impaired and print impaired pupils work with a variety of formats including Braille, large print and audio recordings, as an aid to learning and revision.
These formats are not without their limitations - Braille and large print documents are by their nature rather cumbersome to store and handle and are also only two-dimensional. Producing more dynamic content in the DAISY format means that richer, more complex materials can be made available, that can be easily integrated into existing study methods. DAISY versions of the study materials provided an all-inclusive resource, used by the whole class together as well as their teachers.

Early in 2004, the RNIB began the project with the main objective of identifying the relevance, challenges and working practices involved, in implementing DAISY books into the classroom. The trial in this instance involved pupils with sight difficulties within secondary schools and who were also participating in the DfES (Department for Education and Skills) small programmes funded Key Stage 3 multimedia project.
The main focus of research was to determine:

• The student’s response to the “added value” provided by DAISY course materials.
• How students used the materials and the benefits over the previous methods.
• Improvements in motivation and self esteem.
• Would the student’s enjoyment of studying be enhanced by DAISY?

The trial was to be conducted on pupils studying Key Stage 3 literacy (11 to 14 year olds) in three secondary schools over the course of 12 months, after which time, questionnaires would be given to the participating students and teachers to gauge the success of the trial.

To conduct the trial, existing course materials needed to be produced in the DAISY format as well as providing the means to playback the materials.

To create the materials in the DAISY format, the RNIB used EasePublisher from Dolphin Audio Publishing.

A total of seven books were identified to support KS3 literacy studies as follows:

• Buddy, by Nigel Hinton, published by Heinemann
• Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Cambridge Schools Edition
• AQA Fiction Anthology (English A, 2004), published by AQA
• AQA Poetry Anthology (English B, Best Words, 2004), published by AQA
• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
• Face, by Benjamin Zephaniah
• Stories Old and New: Contrasts From Two Centuries, by various authors, published by Longman Imprint Books (1997)

Rather than having to create separate books for the main content, for course notes, exercises and revision, using EasePublisher, it was possible to re-structure the total content so that all materials were contained in one, easy to use DAISY book. A typical example of one of these books would start with course notes explaining the subject matter to pupils followed by assignments and exercises based on the subsequent passage or chapter for the pupil to work from.
EasePublisher allowed the navigation structure and the layout of the books to be tailored exactly to suit these requirements.

With the content created, the RNIB also needed a flexible and easy to use delivery mechanism for the DAISY books. For this they chose EaseReader, also from Dolphin, a software reader that delivers synchronised audio, text and images. The user interface and user controls are laid out logically and are simple to use and are aesthetically appealing.

The results

Flexible, efficient and comfortable

The pupils and the teachers felt very comfortable using the new DAISY course materials and EaseReader players. Pupils were delighted with the easy to use navigation controls within EaseReader. Feedback from students showed that the ability to skim and scan the text and increase playback speeds were extremely beneficial. This was something that was not possible to do using alternative formats demonstrating the versatility of the DAISY format.

Ultimately, the student’s felt that DAISY allowed more to be done in the available study periods than ever before.

‘T’, one of the students involved in the pilot, said that; “using the DAISY books made reading a lot easier.” Her reading speeds had considerably improved as she was now able to skim read and could adjust the playback speeds to suit her own requirements.

The teachers also noted that the pupils posture was improved using EaseReader with large text style sheets as opposed to traditional low vision aids. Prior to using EaseReader, often pupils would sit in very cramped and awkward positions in order to read the text. As a result, the books delivered in EaseReader were less tiring to read and student concentration was enhanced.

Will Pearson of RNIB commented “Students are now in more control over how a book is used, how it looks, where it is used, and even why it is used”.

An all-inclusive format

How the teachers and fully sighted pupils used the book was different and this supported the concept of one book being used at different levels in a way that suits the individual user. Most of the students stated that the rest of the class also enjoyed the DAISY books, and this resulted in some of the visually impaired pupils feeling much happier in their studies as they generally did not like to distinguish themselves from their peers in terms of access.

Another student named ‘D’ commented; “The variety of colour schemes available meant less eye strain compared with trying to read a text book. It was simple to change style sheets and colour schemes.”

“If ever there was an active embodiment of inclusive practice, this could be it.” said Will, who then continued, “DAISY is a positive rebuttal of the “special” connotation given to adapted materials”.

Improvements over traditional formats

So how did the new DAISY books compare in the pupils minds compared to existing Braille and large print study materials? The response to this was overwhelming. Because of the freedom of navigation and logical structuring of the DAISY books, it was felt that the DAISY books considerably improved cross-referencing between the text and the revision notes. It was also noted that the DAISY books improved reading speeds, as long text strings and words needed less time for visual decoding due to the supporting audio.

Another student named ‘K’, added that the choice of different style sheets and settings had helped his over all reading skills and improved his comprehension and English language.

Some pupils also reported that dramatic sound effects to accompany the text particularly stood out and enhanced both their study enjoyment and also recollection of key parts of the texts.

Images and diagrams, often an invaluable element of course materials, were considerably enhanced by the addition of audio descriptions. This meant that for the first time, images could be accurately described using both written and auditory descriptions.

In conclusion

In general, there was a significant improvement not only in the reading skills of the students involved but also their comprehension and memory recall. Many of the students involved in the trial reported that the rest of the class also enjoyed the DAISY books, despite having no visual or print impairment. The combination of text, audio and images provided an enhanced learning experience.

This trial has again demonstrated the power and potential of the DAISY format to aid and improve learning, not only amongst visually and print impaired students, but also across the class as a whole.

On the outcome of the pilot scheme, Will Pearson commented “The project succeeded on many levels, expertise was gained in DAISY production as well as the teacher and student benefits of this format. The students received an intrinsically more useful learning experience”. Will then continued “DAISY digital books have started to unlock potential and levels of interaction that should be explored and expanded upon so that valuable momentum cascades out”.

As well as in the classroom, publishers of educational reference materials need to take notice of the power of the DAISY format as an alternative to traditional print books. As awareness from teachers and students increases, so will demand for such all-inclusive resources. Publishers should take special note of the fact that the release of EasePublisher now means that copyright protection is resolved using DAISY’s Intellectual Property Protection (IPP).

NB. This article details exact situations and findings, however, the children's names have been changed to protect their right to privacy.

To find out more about services provided by the RNIB, please visit the RNIB website.

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