Speech intelligibility is paramount whether a class is in-person, virtual, or hybrid. If students can’t hear or understand the instructor, their ability to learn and retain information is compromised. Cognitive strain and fatigue quickly set in when students struggle to hear clearly. The larger the room, the more critical speech intelligibility becomes.
In small classrooms, instructors may be able to speak louder to reach the back of the room, but that’s not a viable option in a lecture hall or large auditorium, especially given the challenging acoustics inherent in those spaces.
Speech intelligibility can be improved by focusing or directing the sound on the audience instead of areas with disruptive reflections in the room, like the ceiling or floors. An excellent solution to address these challenges is digitally steerable loudspeaker technology. Digitally steerable loudspeakers like our Aimline Series of column arrays allow for precise control of where sound is directed. It also allows for the listening experience to be tailored in a way that loses no level of quality across that space, offering several advantages over classic distributed systems. This is made possible with a combination of amplification, DSP, FIR filters, EQ, and delay — all programmed using software.
Intelligibility plays a huge role in learning and information retention. If you’re in a reverberant space like a church or train station and hear muffled speech, you’ll quickly give up trying to understand what’s being communicated. The same is true for students — if they can’t hear and understand the instructor, they’ll zone out. The higher the speech intelligibility, the easier it is to retain information and understand the topic of conversation.
Beam steering in a nutshell
Beam steering allows the user to focus acoustical output on a specified listening area without physically or mechanically aiming the loudspeaker. There are no motors inside the loudspeaker. Instead, each transducer has its own DSP and amplifier channel, resulting in the ability to tailor beams via software in very granular increments, allowing acute steering capability. By controlling the relative phase and amplitude difference between each element, you can shape the acoustic emission pattern according to your needs. The almost infinite number of settings allows the system to control the size, shape, and direction of the acoustic wave.
By directing sound towards the audience and away from other surfaces that cause reflections, digitally steerable loudspeakers deliver highly intelligible speech and natural music reproduction. In many cases, digitally steered products are the only way to achieve the required levels of speech intelligibility in large reverberant spaces like lecture theaters and auditoriums.
The goal for education sound systems is consistent front-to-back coverage, meaning that people in the front of the room hear the same sound, at the same level, as the people in the back of the room. Realistically, the fewer loudspeakers deployed, the fewer visual distractions for students.
Great sound for focused learning
Every listener deserves the clearest sound possible, especially in educational environments. The audio quality needs to help create immersive experiences for students because when students struggle to understand the instructor or program audio, it reduces their understanding of the topic and increases their audio fatigue, creating a less-than-optimal learning environment. Clearer delivery of audio content not only prevents possible misunderstandings but also increases student engagement and participation, making lessons more accessible and interactive. Using loudspeakers with high directivity — such as digitally steerable arrays like the Aimline ALX-D — provides you granular control over where the audio is distributed. The audio improvements can lead to better student achievement.