The Spoken Word Project proposes to transform undergraduate learning and teaching through the integration of digital audio repositories into undergraduate courses in history, political science and cognate disciplines in the U.S. and Britain. If it is true that "You can observe a lot by watching" (Y. Berra, 1964), then it follows that "You can hear a lot by listening." Though rarely taught, listening is an important skill, often assumed to be part of a basic skill set for any individual. Good listening which means 'critical listening' -- is increasingly valuable in a multimedia-rich world. Development of 'aural literacy' is one of four project objectives.

Northwestern University, in collaboration with Michigan State University and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and Glasgow Caledonian University, in collaboration with the BBC - Information & Archives, will develop and implement this vision. Starting with their rich collections of digitized audio resources, associated texts and images and a set of integrated online annotation tools, this project will promote the usability and integration of digital spoken word repositories to improve undergraduate teaching. The project will test whether and to what extent the integration of digital audio resources into the undergraduate curriculum achieves four major project outcomes: (1) improving student learning and retention, (2) developing aural literacy, (3) augmenting student competence to write on --and for -- the Internet, and, (4) enhancing digital libraries through a focus on learning.

Relying on growing digital spoken-word repositories, the project will deploy a set of simple, easy-to-use annotation tools for digital audio. The tools will enable listeners to identify and save start- and stop-points in a streamed or saved media file, adding commentary and descriptive data much as one might have relied on note-cards in an earlier generation. The resulting annotations shall be stored in a permanent repository for subsequent use and shared among user communities stemming from interest in particular audio collections.

The audio collections to be tapped or developed from this collaboration address areas of enduring concern across the humanities and social sciences. Collections of special interest include: World War Two and Its Aftermath, Public Debates in the History of Twentieth Century Science, Oral Advocacy in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Studs Terkel Collection, and The White House Tapes of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. Working together, the partners in this collaboration shall bring thousands of hours of authoritative spoken-word materials into classrooms and virtual learning environments in the United States and United Kingdom. The resulting evidence, obtained from large sample fully crossed experimental design, will determine whether or not project outcomes have been achieved.

This five-year project is funded under an International Digital Libraries Initiative (NSF/CISE/IIS Grant No. IIS-0229808).