The Impact of a New Specialized Learning Platform on Enhancing Students’ Skills in Designing and Producing Online Educational Talking Books

Abstract

The use of digital audio-based learning applications in classrooms is increasing. Thus, instructional technology professionals need to become more skilled in designing and developing these apps. To succeed in the future learning process, students studying instructional technology need to have mastered these skills. This study aims to examine the impact of a specialized platform proposed to cultivate students’ skills in easily designing and producing online educational talking books (online ETBs). To improve the target abilities, we developed a new specialized platform as a web-based system for this investigation that includes several innovative tools and special learning content. The research design used was quasi-experimental. Thirty-two undergraduate students majoring in instructional technology who were in the third grade examined the proposed platform. With the pre-and post-test design, all participants were placed into one group. Three online instruments were used to gather the data: a performance observation card; a product evaluation card; and a usability questionnaire. According to the results, the suggested platform considerably increased the practical skills required to design and create an online ETB. Additionally, the proposed platform positively impacted the production of online ETB products with an acceptable proficiency level across various educational subjects. The customized platform has also proven to be a comfortable learning environment for the participating instructional technology students. This platform may be utilized as an ICT teaching tool to enhance instructional technology departments as it is appropriate for constructing online ETBs in various educational areas without coding barriers.

1. Introduction

Using various instructional technology tools to update teaching and learning strategies is essential in the age of digital learning. Web-based eLearning platforms are considered valuable tools for improving the educational environment [1]. For learners, particularly those with visual disabilities and auditory learners, using platforms that provide audio-based distance learning facilitates their learning process. The use of audio-based distance learning has several strengths [2]: it has proven enhancements in the knowledge acquired by both educators and learners; inadequate literacy does not pose an obstacle; it facilitates seamless teaching across grade levels and disciplines; audio-based learning can add more students at a marginal cost; it only requires a modest amount of classroom equipment and minimal technical support; and it can also greatly facilitate portable and “anytime, anywhere” learning. Therefore, it is crucial to develop new platforms with specialized capabilities that let teachers incorporate audio-based learning into the classroom and distant learning.

The online educational talking book (online ETB) or digital audiobook as a new learning technology application has become increasingly used in educational institutions. This application has several pros for learners in terms of promoting literacy [3], improving learners’ foreign language proficiency [4], fostering the sense of independent learning [5], and increasing comprehension and minimizing the working memory deficit [6]. Generally, recent empirical studies that addressed audiobooks or digital talking books have confirmed a positive significant impact on the learning process to target regular and visually impaired learners. Examples include reading fluency [7], listening comprehension [8], reading comprehension [9], development of open and distance learning outcomes [10], increasing blind learner motivation [11], and learners who have developmental dyslexia [12]. Analyzing this earlier research has shown that online ETBs benefit the learning process.

The prior research has concentrated on the effects of educational talking books or audiobooks in a particular area. Based on analysis of these previous studies, educational talking books or audiobooks have demonstrated a many-sided positive impact on the learning process. However, specialized educational software that would enable and facilitate the development and use of such technology for future instructors, especially instructional technology students, has yet to be presented. On the other hand, instructional technology students sometimes lack the skills essential to design and produce online ETB for use as a new technological tool in education. As such, education specialists must acquire the skills necessary to design and produce online ETBs as part of their core curriculum, particularly those majoring in instructional technology. Future educational institutions, particularly those serving visually impaired learners and auditory learners, will need to integrate this technology to benefit these learners. In this research, an instructional technology student is an undergraduate student who learns how to design, develop, implement, and evaluate ICT apps in education.

We have developed a new specialized platform for enhancing the fundamental skills necessary to design and produce online ETBs for instructional technology students [13]. The specialized platform was named Educational Talking Book Platform (abbreviated to ETBP). It integrated several educational principles related to microlearning, E-learning theory, cognitive apprenticeship, self-paced learning approach, and dual coding theory. The primary feature of the developed platform was to provide the intended students with specialized tools for the simple design, production, and distribution of online ETBs. Additionally, it offered learning materials to impart the expertise and skills required for designing and producing online ETBs.

The online ETBs differ from general audiobooks regarding instructional technology and design. Online ETB was designed based on a digital course or book with audio narration for specific target learners; it is suitable for educating several kinds of learners, such as regular learners, where it contains an audio narration with content pages. Moreover, it is well-matched with auditory learners and visually impaired learners. It has designed and integrated several educational theories and principles, such as microlearning and E-learning theory, to ensure the quality of learning outcomes. In contrast, general audiobooks are not concerned with educational background but are designed for any content and are more suitable for public listeners.

Online ETBs can be used as instructional tools for remotely delivering courses to learners in the instructional technology domain, such as introduction to educational technology, computer network technology, and computer fundamentals. Moreover, it can be used to introduce courses that require enhancing the skill-building of learners, such as the design and production of electronic courses and books and techniques for producing educational graphics. As well as that, it can also be incorporated with varied teaching and learning situations like blended learning and distance learning and as a teaching aid in classrooms.

In this study, we conducted and analyzed an empirical experiment with undergraduate students majoring in instructional technology to examine the impact and usability of the proposed platform. Particular instruments were implemented to assess the learning outcomes and usability. Upon completion of this study, the instructional technology students designed and produced their online ETBs. The findings demonstrate how this suggested platform considerably raises students’ proficiency in designing and producing online ETBs. This study concentrated on two research questions to achieve a structured education for online ETBs. RQ1: What is the impact of the proposed specialized platform in developing skills in designing and producing online ETBs for instructional technology students? RQ2: What is the usability of the proposed specialized platform from the perspective of the instructional technology students?

2. ETBP Development and Learning Process

The proposed ETBP was developed as a specialized learning platform for designing and producing online ETBs. The developed ETBP was implemented with several educational theories and principles [13] as follows: The microlearning principle was incorporated into the ETB Designer no-code templates; this allowed students studying instructional technology to create efficient online ETB segments without overloading learners, and it was also reflected in the content that ETB Visual Learning offered. E-learning theory principles were also applied in the ETB Designer (Segmentation) templates and ETB Creator (Multimedia, Learner Control). The ETB Visual Learning tool is founded on the same idea as well, which speeds up comprehension. The ETB Visual Learning realized the principle of cognitive apprenticeship by offering foundational content and hands-on learning using ETB Designer, Audio Recorder, and ETB Creator. Instructors can also provide feedback to learners based on generated reports, enhancing ETB development. Self-regulated learning is achieved through quizzes, allowing students to verify their comprehension and choose the necessary functions. The user interface design incorporates the dual-coding approach, which fosters a concentrated learning environment.

There are two modes in the developed ETBP: an instructor mode and a student mode. When using the ETBP tools in instructor mode, the instructor has complete control over their administration. As seen in Figure 1, the user interface for student mode gives instructional technology students interactive learning materials and specialized tools to create and develop their own online ETB. The ETBP was developed using the CakePHP framework, JavaScript, CSS, and MySQL database software. Furthermore, the ETB visual learning tool and screencast recording app generated the ETBP learning resources. The ETBP system has been made available in two languages: Arabic and English.

2.1. Inventive Tools for Designing and Producing Online ETBs

The constructed platform has some unique features, such as innovative tools that make it simple and require no specialist technical expertise to design and produce online ETBs. These tools offer management functionality (create–edit–delete) for students to provide flexibility in the development process using the proposed platform. It displays to instructors all the online ETBs designed and produced by students as learning outcomes on the platform. An overview of these tools is below.

2.1.1. ETB Designer Tool

This tool gives students a set of pre-made templates (book overview, chapter/unit, content page). It automatically generates the text scenarios for each section, allowing them to develop digital designs for the target online ETB portions.

2.1.2. ETB Creator Tool

This tool lets students produce content for the online ETB using a template without requiring them to know how to write code. Upon completing the data in the primary online ETB template, students can utilize this tool to generate and publish the online ETB overview with audio narration. Figure 2 shows the ready-made template with no coding for creating an online ETB overview by uploading an audio narration file. Additionally, it offers a pre-made template that can be used to quickly create and publish an online ETB chapter or unit, together with audio narration. Students can also create and publish an audio-narrated online ETB content page.

2.2. Learning Materials for Online ETBs

The developed platform incorporates the versatile ETB Visual Learning tool. This tool lets instructors and researchers create and publish learning resources about how to design and produce online ETBs for target students. Additionally, it offers a pre-made template that may be used to quickly create and publish lecture materials with multimedia.

Based on using this tool, we created unique lecture materials that are shown via the specialized platform so that students studying instructional technology may design and produce online ETBs. As seen in Figure 3, an example of a screenshot of the lecture-learning contents contains some multimedia components such as text and video. The initial lecture covered an overview of online ETBs, their benefits, and design criteria. The main topic of the second lecture is how to design an online ETB as an educational tool. Producing an online ETB is explained in the third course.

2.3. The Process of Learning Using the Proposed Platform

Using the suggested platform, Figure 4 illustrates a typical learning process with the proposed platform (ETBP) to optimize designing and producing online ETB. First, students studied and practiced the small visual lectures of the ETB visual learning tool. Then, they answered a formative quiz for the visual lectures using the quiz tool at the end of each lecture. Next, they used the ETB designer tool to create a digital design for their own online ETB in a particular subject. Next, they used an audio recorder tool to create audio narration clips for written scenarios of online ETB design parts. Lastly, they produced online ETB products with audio narration using the ETB creator tool.

3. Methodology

In this study, a developed specialized learning platform was used to educate the process of designing and producing online ETBs for instructional technology students. The main objective of this study is to investigate the actual impact of the proposed platform in cultivating the target skills of designing and producing online ETBs. Thirty-two students studying instructional technology participated in an experiment designed to address the RQs. This research used a non-probability sampling technique. The proposed platform for third-grade students enrolled in the instructional technology program has been announced. The sample was recruited based on their interest in learning how to design and produce online ETBs. The written consent of students to participate in the experiment is considered essential. For the analysis procedure, the paired sample t-test was applied to measure the impact of the proposed platform on improving students’ designing and producing online ETB skills, as well as descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used as the qualitative method for open-ended questions and comments. On the local IIS server, the ETBP was made accessible for operational use as a web application.

3.1. Participants

The participants of this research were thirty-two undergraduate students (9 males and 23 females in the third grade of the faculty of specific education. They were majoring in instructional technology and ranged in age from 20 to 24 (Mean = 20.8; SD = 1.2)). All of them were assigned to one experimental group. They took part in a class with the proposed platform in the first term of the academic year 2023–2024 and were taught by the same instructor. The scientific research ethics committee of the specific education college, South Valley University, permitted this study to experiment with participants. All the volunteers who took part in this study as students also gave their written consent. The experiment had no negative psychological or physical impacts and was centered on education.

3.2. Instruments

For the empirical investigation, we used three evaluation instruments to collect data. The instruments used to gather quantitative and qualitative data were specifically designed for this study. All instruments involving students of instructional technology were administered online. In addition, we conducted a pilot study with seven students to validate the inter-rater reliability of some instruments.

3.2.1. Performance Observation Card

This study used an online performance observation card to assess the proficiency of instructional technology students in designing and producing online ETBs. The card evaluated 11 skills using three rubric subscales: high-performing; moderate-performing; and not-performing, as seen in Appendix A. The card has a total score of 22. The card’s inter-rater reliability percentage was 100%. The card set a mastery skill target of 80%. Before and after studying on the suggested platform, a researcher monitored students’ skills using the rubric scale.

3.2.2. Product Evaluation Card

This instrument was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of a platform for improving the production skills of online ETBs for students studying instructional technology. The instrument was based on previous studies on audiobook evaluations and microlearning [14,15,16]. The card evaluated 17 criteria using three rubric subscales: Available; Somewhat Available; and Not Available, as seen in Appendix B. The card scored 34 points overall, with an inter-rater reliability mean of 86.56%. The card aimed to reach 70% mastery as the mastery criterion. After students used the platform, one researcher assessed each product using a rubric scale.

3.2.3. Usability Questionnaire

The questionnaire consists of three sections: (1) demographic data for students studying instructional technology; (2) usability assessment of the developed platform using ten closed-ended questions with a five-point Likert scale; and (3) open question about students’ comments on the proposed platform. The questionnaire items were derived from previous system evaluations and web-based platform design scales [17,18,19].

3.3. Experiment Procedure

One group pre- and post-test was used in a quasi-experimental study design. The participants were given internet access to a university computer lab to participate in this experiment. For this experiment, the suggested platform’s Arabic version was utilized. Before beginning, a briefing was held that explored the goals of this study and the intended learning outcomes. One researcher registered participants as ETBP system users for the student mode. Each accessed the resources and tools on the ETBP local address using their login and password. Subsequently, the pre-test tools and the performance observation card were utilized to evaluate the participants’ initial level of skills in designing and developing online ETBs. Next, using a self-learning strategy with the suggested platform, the participants were instructed to study the lecture material in the computer lab under the guidance of the instructor. As seen in Figure 4, the participants followed the typical learning process with the proposed platform (ETBP). Lastly, once they had completed learning on the suggested platform, the participants completed the post-test instruments, which required them to demonstrate their practical knowledge of designing and producing online ETBs based on the items on the performance observation card. Using a rubric scale, one of the researchers observed the students and evaluated their skills. In addition, a usability questionnaire was given to the participants to complete. Finally, one of the researchers utilized the product evaluation card to rate their online ETB products (which contained excerpts from books but not the entire text). Figure 5 illustrates the empirical experiment procedures with quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test designs for one group. During the computer lab’s planned platform learning process, the instructor’s main duty was to answer students’ inquiries about the learning materials that explained how to create and construct online ETBs. Additionally, the instructor guided the students in the development of online ETBs.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Performing Skills of Designing and Producing Online ETBs (to Address RQ1)

A paired-sample t-test was performed to compare the scores of the thirty-two participants on the performance observation card before and after learning with the proposed ETBP. As shown in

Table 1. Results of the pre-and post-test of performance observation card.

Evaluation Instrument	Group	N	Mean	SD	DF	T-Value	p	Significance Level	Effect Size (Cohen’s d)
Performance observation card	Pre-test	32	1.8	1.1	31	53.5	0.000 *	0.05	9.46
	Post-test	32	20.9	1.7

* p < 0.05 Performance observation card full mark score = 22.

, the results indicated that the scores on the post-test (M = 20.9; SD = 1.7) were higher than the scores on the pre-test (M = 1.8; SD = 1.1), t (31) = 53.5; p < 0.05; Cohen’s d = 9.46.

The observed effect size d is large, 9.46. This indicates that the magnitude of the difference between the average of the differences and the expected average of the differences is large. These results show a significant difference at 0.05 level, with the effect size exceeding Cohen’s d convention for a large effect. Thus, these results illustrated that the ETBP treatment had a notable impact on developing the performance of the designing and producing online ETB skills of the instructional technology students. The ETBP provided participants with instructional videos, ETB designer and creator tools, and training opportunities to learn online ETB design and production skills. These tools were designed to be user-friendly and provided ready-made templates for beginners without web programming expertise. The average post-test percentage for the performance observation card was 95%. This demonstrates how the suggested ETBP has improved participants’ skills in designing and producing online ETBs at a very proficient level.

4.2. Producing Skills of the Online ETBs (to Address RQ1)

The product evaluation card scores of the 32 participants were subjected to a criterion of a 70% mastery level after learning with the suggested ETBP. As shown in

Table 2. Results of the participants’ scores on the product evaluation card.

Research Instrument	N	Min	Max	M	SD	Criterion Score of Mastery Level 70%
Product Evaluation Card	32	10	30	24.4	4.3	23.8

Product evaluation card’s full mark score = 34.

, the results of the post-test range from 10 to 30 (the full mark was 34). The mean of the correct percentage of the product evaluation was higher than the original mastery level, at 71.8%. This indicates that the proposed ETBP has the potential to enable students to reach the mastery level in producing online ETBs.

Based on the results, the ETBP was effective due to interactive learning materials, design scenarios for online ETB sections, and pre-built templates. It included instructional videos and formative assessments and presented design scenarios for online ETB sections (book overview, chapter/unit, content page). The ETB creator tool provided a common template for creating and publishing online ETB sections with audio narration. The ETBP allowed participants to complete sufficient training and create and manage their online ETB products. This allowed the participants to produce online ETB products in a variety of subjects without needing to know how to code.

4.3. Usability of the ETBP (to Address RQ2)

Table 3. Usability testing questionnaire results for the ETBP (N = 32).

Questions Items	SA	A	N	D	SD	Mean	Standard Deviation
1. The interface design of the proposed platform is satisfactory and artistic;	25	6	1	0	0	4.75	0.51
2. The navigation in the platform is clear and easily understood;	27	4	1	0	0	4.81	0.47
3. The platform functions work without technical problems;	20	5	5	2	0	4.34	0.97
4. The platform provides appropriate performance relative to (response time from one page to another, page generation speed, and download time);	25	7	0	0	0	4.78	0.42
5. The learning content available on the platform regarding designing and producing online educational talking books is appropriate and sufficient;	27	5	0	0	0	4.84	0.37
6. It is easy to design and create the online ETB using the platform;	28	4	0	0	0	4.88	0.34
7. The platform provides messages for assistance and appropriate guidance;	24	7	1	0	0	4.72	0.52
8. The platform design prevents user errors;	25	3	3	1	0	4.63	0.79
9. Overall, the platform is easy to use;	28	4	0	0	0	4.88	0.34
10. Overall, the quality of the platform design is acceptable.	27	5	0	0	0	4.84	0.37
Overall Mean,						4.75	0.51

Note: SA (5) = Strongly Agree; A (4) = Agree; N (3) = Neutral; D (2) = Disagree; SD (1) = Strongly Disagree.

illustrates the participants’ perceptions regarding the quality of the platform design and ease of use. The mean scores for question items Q6 and Q9 were 4.88, indicating that 100% of participants (strongly agree and agree) agreed that the proposed platform was generally easy to use, especially for designing and creating the online ETB. The participants confirmed that the ETBP included adequate learning materials for designing and producing online ETBs. Additionally, the design quality was acceptable for the target students, as reflected by the mean scores for Q5 and Q10, which were 4.84. Regarding Q1, the overall mean score of 4.75 shows that approximately 97% of participants (strongly agree and agree) thought the recommended ETBP’s interface design was artistic and satisfying. For Q2, approximately 97% of the participants (strongly agree and agree) confirmed that the navigation of the suggested ETBP was clear and intuitive, with an overall mean of 4.81. The participants also confirmed that the ETBP performed well in terms of response time, page generation speed, and download time, as indicated by the mean score for Q4, which was 4.78. They noted that the platform provided helpful messages and guidance, as shown by the mean score for Q7, which was 4.72. For Q8, 88% of the participants (strongly agree and agree) believed that the platform’s design effectively prevented user mistakes, with an overall mean score of 4.63. Furthermore, approximately 78% of the participants had a positive attitude toward Q3, while about 16% were neutral. Overall, about 96% of participants had a favorable opinion of the ETBP, with broad agreement on its usability, as indicated by the overall mean score of 4.75.

In Section 3, an open-ended question on the opinions of the participants regarding the suggested platform ETBP was answered by 22 out of 32 respondents (68.75%). As shown in

Table 4. Perceptions of the participants for the ETBP.

Analysis Categories	Number of Respondents	Comments
Positively commented on the proposed ETBP	Ten participants from the total sample (31.3%)	The positive comments of the participants are as follows: 1. The platform is easy to use and simple; 2. The platform is very acceptable and easy to use; 3. This platform is very beneficial for students with special needs, and this is extremely useful—it does not accept anything without specification, which means that it is free of defects; 4. The platform is flexible, easy to navigate, and supports both languages. There is no negative comment or suggestion because it is excellent; 5. The platform is easy and clear to use for new students; 6. Dealing with the platform is easy and simple; 7. The platform is enjoyable and interesting to learn; 8. Easy to navigate the platform; 9. The platform is easy to use, fast, and easy to learn on; 10. My experience with the platform was one of the most beautiful experiences I have had. It is easy to use and easy to deal with, and I benefited a lot from it during my experience.
Positive comments and suggestions for improving the proposed ETBP	Six participants from the total sample (18.8%)	One of the participants said, “Determining a place to put the image or sound without allowing others” and suggested improving “Activating the platform title so that when you click on it, it goes to the home page”, and another participant stated, “1-The idea of the platform is generally excellent because it benefits people with special needs, thus taking into account individual differences among all learners and providing learning to all members of society 2-The design of the platform is generally easy” and suggested for improving “Add the ability to edit audio files”. And another participant stated, “The platform is easy to use and flexible in handling” and suggested improving “The possibility of modifying the audio”. Another participant stated, “The platform is easy to use and easy to produce educational talking books” and suggested for improving “That there be a solution to the mixing of data when names of files are similar among users-When designing or creating more than one chapter or page, it is preferable for the content to appear in a sequential list as an index and not through Next button or choose between pages according to numbering-the exit button is not clear. It would be better for it to be at the top of the page”. Another participant stated, “The platform is enjoyable, easy to use, time-consuming, helps raise student achievement and helps students with special needs” and suggested improving “Deploy the platform where it can be opened at home.” Another participant stated, “The platform is smooth to use and the explanation within the platform is simplified and not boring, and by calculating the number of hours to learn it and creating a book consisting of two chapters, I did not complete the 10 h” and suggested for improving “when creating pages within a chapter I suggest that there be smoothness in switching between their order”.
Suggestions for improving the proposed ETBP	Four participants from the total sample (12.5%)	The suggestions of the participants are as follows: 1. Lesson objectives must be added on the same page and not on the unit objectives page; 2. Facilitating the process of moving between the ETB designer tool and the ETB creator tool; 3. It is possible that when the talking book is created using the creator tool, the book will be present, and the design will be present, meaning I will only put the sound, and this will save time and effort. More than one image should be added during creation due to the presence of more than one picture on one page in the educational books; 4. Add a summary for each icon when you hover over it with the mouse.
Positive and negative suggestions toward the proposed ETBP	one participant out of the total sample (3.1%)	The participant said, “Ease of adding files and ease of working with the platform, and the lectures have sufficient explanations”. He also made a negative comment, “Not allowing modification to the audio”, and suggested improving “Allowing modification to the audio”.
Negative comment toward the proposed ETBP	one participant out of the total sample (3.1%)	The participant stated, “When an image with a name like the name of another image is added by one of the remaining users, the images change or overlap with each other, and the audio files as well. Other than that, the platform is very excellent”.

, the open-ended question was analyzed using the qualitative data coding (inductive coding) approach. The purpose of this analysis is to identify the favorable opinions that participants had of ETBP, as well as any unfavorable opinions. Additionally, the students recommended several features for improvement to be included in the proposed ETBP. The coding of analysis of students’ responses included five categories (entirely positive comments toward the proposed ETBP, positive comments with suggestions for improving the proposed ETBP, suggestions for improving the proposed ETBP, positive–negative comments–suggestions for the proposed ETBP, and negative comments toward the proposed ETBP).

4.4. Outline of the Empirical Experiment’s Result

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the developed platform (ETBP) in enhancing the skills of designing and producing online ETBs for instructional technology students. We also examined the usability of the developed platform for target students. The study’s results were as follows: For RQ1, the results verified the beneficial impacts of the developed ETBP on students studying instructional technology as they acquired mastery-level skills in designing and producing online ETB. Furthermore, the suggested platform had a favorable effect on the production of online ETB products with an adequate level of skill across a range of educational subjects. For RQ2, most participants consented that the proposed ETBP could be relied on to learn how to design and produce online ETBs.

The developed platform adopted several educational theories and principles such as microlearning, E-learning theory, cognitive apprenticeship, self-paced learning approach, and dual coding theory to guarantee a high standard of instructional design. The positive results of this study in terms of effects in improving the target skills and usability might be influenced by these educational theories and principles that have been realized in the developed platform as follows:

• The ready-made template design based on the multimedia principle of ETB Visual Learning was assisted in creating and publishing learning content using visual (video or instructional images and graphics) and text, which ETB Visual Learning offered to participants;
• The platform realized the learner control principle in the ETB Visual Learning tool through video controls, such as “play”, “stop”, and “repeat”. Moreover, navigation options like “next” and “back” might help participants control their learning pace;
• The platform also realized the microlearning and segmentation principles by breaking the learning content into three small lectures, which ETB Visual Learning offered to participants. This may decrease learning overload;
• Some E-learning theory principles were realized on ready-made templates of ETB Designer (Segmentation) and ETB Creator (Segmentation, Multimedia, Learner Control), which allowed participants to produce online ETB products well-matched with modern pedagogical principles that have proven to have a positive impact on the learning process;
• The cognitive apprenticeship principle was realized by offering foundational content and practical learning using ETB Designer, Audio Recorder, and ETB Creator, which may assist participants in practicing and repeating their skills very well;
• Self-regulated learning was achieved by creating and publishing self-based quizzes for lectures, which allowed participants to verify their understanding and choose the functions they needed.

Generally, this study examines the effects of using a newly developed, customized learning platform as a digital teaching tool for designing and producing online ETB for higher education. Earlier studies focused on verifying the beneficial effects of instructional audiobooks or talking books on supporting the learning process. Our research evaluated how a novel specialized learning platform improved instructional technology students’ skills in designing and producing online ETBs in numerous domains. In addition, it provides specialized learning content about how to design and produce online ETBs, as well as practical tools such as the ETB designer tool, audio recorder tool, and ETB creator tool. Therefore, the recommended platform may support skill-based learning by allowing students to design and create online ETBs, making it a distinguished digital learning tool. The research paper’s findings on empirical evaluation are valuable.

The positive results of this study well matched with the positive results of some recent studies that addressed specialized learning platforms that were basically founded to enhance specific learning skills and tasks for target students, such as [20], presented an online collaborative writing platform to improve English writing abilities of the university students. Moreover, it positively impacted student engagement and enjoyment in online collaborative writing; additionally, ref. [21] introduced a virtual physics experiment platform for ninth-grade middle school students. It also increased participants’ motivation, especially in the perceived value dimension. In addition, ref. [22] presented a gamified mathematics learning platform as a distance learning tool for facilitating third-grade pupils’ self-directed learning and mathematical abilities. Moreover, it fostered pupils’ self-directed learning abilities and mathematics learning abilities.

However, some participants offered feedback regarding drawbacks and suggested improvements for the proposed ETBP. Based on the results of the usability analysis of the feedback from the open-ended question, some participants reported some drawbacks of the developed platform, such as not allowing the user to modify or edit the audio file. Additionally, the images and audio files were changed or overlapped with each other when using the same file name. The results also include the feedback from some participants who suggested enhancing the suggested platform with additional features like an audio editor for modifying the audio, a summary that appears when hovering over each icon, lesson objectives on the same page, multiple images in the ETB creator tool, page reordering, an index for book content, and publishing the platform online so that students outside of the university can access it. There were utterly some practical issues and improvements regarding some proposed functions, such as the user interface design, ETB designer tool, and ETB creator tool. This result matches the Q3 usability questionnaire, which asked about the platform functions working without technical problems.

There may be some limitations to this study. A larger sample size might yield greater results than the current study, which included only 32 instructional technology students. Thus, the current sample size may lead to limited generalizability of the study findings. Although participants have time restrictions, conducting more training sessions will yield greater results, especially for producing more efficient online ETB products. This study was implemented by students in the instructional technology domain in Egypt and may require appropriate localization when applied to other cultures. This study is limited to the one-group pre-test–post-test design as a quasi-experimental design. The lack of a control group with students who did not attend learning with the developed platform might affect the generalizability of the findings.

4.5. Educational Implications

The results of this study have multiple implications for instructional practice. First, the ETBP platform can foster designing and producing online ETB skills in undergraduates majoring in instructional technology, especially those with limited computer web programming skills. Second, they suggest that educators in the instructional technology departments should consider integrating the ETBP platform into their teaching practices. Third, they suggest that eLearning specialists utilize the proposed platform as a digital training tool to train instructors to develop online ETBs in schools and universities. Fourth, the results of this study encourage and provide insights for developers of learning platforms to inspire and develop new systems with new features suitable for visually impaired and auditory learners’ characteristics. Fifth, the results of this study also motivate and guide instructional designers of educational software to adopt several educational theories and principles such as microlearning, E-learning theory, cognitive apprenticeship, self-paced learning approach, and dual coding theory to guarantee acceptable learning outcomes.

5. Conclusions

In this study, we suggested that ETBP would let students study instructional technology design and produce online ETBs. Thirty-two students interested in implementing ICT in the classroom participated in this study. According to the RQ 1 results, the ETBP statistically significantly affected these students’ learning skills for designing and producing online ETBs. The participants’ average skills score in designing and producing online ETBs improved to 95%. In other words, the online ETB products primarily achieved the desired skill level, and the average product score rating was higher than the aimed mastery criterion level, at 71.8%, because of the influence of the ETBP. Regarding RQ2, the results also demonstrated that 96% of participants had a favorable opinion of the ETBP, with an overall mean score of 4.75. Accordingly, almost all of them see it as an effective way to impart the knowledge and abilities necessary to develop online ETBs. The suggested ETBP was introduced to students in instructional technology departments as a new, specialized tool that would allow them to design and create online ETBs as an up-to-date technology tool to enhance learning. The results indicate that the ETBP platform can potentially improve online ETB design and production skills for undergraduates in instructional technology departments, particularly those with limited web programming knowledge. It recommends that teachers in instructional technology departments consider incorporating the ETBP platform into their teaching practices. Furthermore, eLearning experts can utilize it as a digital training resource for developing online ETBs for educators in academic institutions. Ultimately, the results motivate and provide insights for learning platform developers to design new web-based learning systems with functionalities specifically for the requirements of auditory learners and those with visual impairments. This research may have certain limitations. The outcomes of the current study, which only included 32 students using instructional technology, may be better with a larger sample size. Organizing more training sessions may lead to better results, especially when developing more effective online ETB products. The design processing requirements of some functional tools, including the ETB creator, ETB designer tool, and user interface design, limit their design quality. This study is limited to one group without a control group, which might affect the generalizability of the findings. Further design and functionality improvements to the ETBP are the subsequent phases to avoid technical problems with some function tools, which are followed by additional testing. There will be some additional features included. Once finished, the most recent iteration of the ETBP will be re-examined to help instructors improve their abilities in designing and constructing online ETBs. In the future, the developed platform will be tested in varied educational settings, such as testing the impact of the platform on developing online ETBs with language instructors and enhancing the skills of instructors of the visually impaired in designing and producing online ETBs. The proposed platform will be updated and tested to determine its impact on teaching learning materials for visually impaired students in schools and universities. Also, the impact of the developed platform on enhancing long-term skill retention with various other learners will be examined.