I am always looking for new and potentially useful technologies that I might transfer to improve the learning experience. Here’s another I found today. Soundtracks for books …
The questions, to which books or textbooks would you add a soundtrack to enhance the learning experience and further enable the learning process?
Since I’ve never had a soundtrack added to a book, I’m starting to wonder if I supply my own. Listening to a soundtracks book starts to feel like a ken Burns documentary. Personally I think that’s a good thing.
Before the talkies, theater owners found that adding live music to the silent films added a giant dimension to the experience of watching the movie. More cues. Think of the scene in Jaws at the buoy when the shark attacks the swimmer. Or the musical communication between the humans and the aliens at the end of Close Encounters. Soundtracks enhance movies and have become an inextricable part of the experience.
Would a soundtrack do the same for a book or textbook that was used as part of the learning experience? Is this the next logical step in the world of digital publishing? You heard it here first …
So here’s the challenge: What book or textbook do you think
would be greatly enhanced by the addition of a soundtrack?
Read on for the details …
Booktrack matches synchronized music, sound effects and ambient sound to the text of e-books in a way that’s automatically paced to the reading speed of the user.
Filmmakers have long been aware of the power of sound to enhance a story, but now a New York-based startup aims to bring a similar experience to e-books. Booktrack matches synchronized music, sound effects and ambient sound to the text of e-books in a way that’s automatically paced to the reading speed of the user.
Working in collaboration with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Park Road Post and Full Fathom Five, Booktrack offers users a new way to experience the stories they’re reading. Readers begin by downloading the Booktrack edition of the book they want to read from Apple’s App Store. Pricing ranges from free to USD 4, depending on the title. Booktrack e-books can currently be enjoyed on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, but versions for Android and other devices are coming soon, Booktrack says. Either way, as the reader progresses through the story, the soundtrack keeps pace, with the ability to pause and resume whenever needed. Separately controlled music, sound effects and ambient soundtracks, meanwhile, can be turned off, lowered or raised individually, depending on the reader’s personal preference. The video below demonstrates Booktrack in action:
If you’re interested in more. check out Push Pop Press and its efforts to bring multitouch capabilities to digital books; now, Booktrack’s focus on sound is equally compelling.
Publishers around the globe: you’d better be paying attention!
Website: www.booktrack.com
Contact: info@booktrack.com
David Grebow KnowledgeStar 