###### Abstract  
Educational institutions are increasingly using audio-based learning resources and technologies nowadays, especially for students who are auditory learners and visually impaired. The ability to design and create online educational talking books with a pedagogical foundation has become essential for students studying instructional and information technology in the age of digital learning. With the need to enhance such skills to target students in higher educational institutions, instructional and information technology students have no specialized platform for designing and producing an online educational talking book without web programming challenges. This study suggests a new specialized, web-based platform that can assist students in developing online educational talking books. In this study, fourteen instructional technology experts evaluated the proposed platform's usability. An online questionnaire was utilized to gather data, applying qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The results show that the proposed platform is appropriate for creating and developing an online educational talking book for the intended audience of students. Furthermore, the suggested platform's current version had a workable design that was appropriate for helping students acquire the necessary abilities. specialized web-based platform; supportive ICT teaching tool; distance learning; online educational talking books; instructional and information students +
Footnote †: journal: Medical  
books or audiobooks offers several advantages [8]: It provides a comfortable approach to increasing vocabulary and word exposure, it provides a dual stimulus for learning as a form of reinforcement, it is a beneficial tool for students who struggle with memory, and it is considered an assistive technique for dyslexic and visually impaired pupils and promotes independent learning. Recent studies have confirmed the multiple positive effects of audiobooks or digital talking books on learning [9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14]. Also, previous studies demonstrated a positive, significant impact on learning in target students regarding improving their ability to write a narrative text [15], their listening skills [16], and their speaking achievement [17]. In this research, an online educational talking book (online ETB) is a digital course or book with an audio narration delivered over the internet, where it is listened to, and the playback speed is controlled according to the student's learning speed. In addition to the text in the educational talking book, students listen to descriptions of pictures, graphics, and silent videos. Therefore, developing a specialized online educational talking book platform would facilitate the development of specialists and integrate this new ICT tool into future education. One of the most significant issues facing specialist students in instructional and information technology departments in the age of electronic education is the need for new specialized educational software that enables them to design and produce online ETBs for future auditory and visually impaired learners. However, the developed platforms currently lack specialized features to enable instructional and information technology students to easily design and produce online ETBs. This study proposes a specialized web-based platform tool named Educational Talking Book Platform (abbreviated to ETBP) to assist instructional and information technology students in designing and producing online ETBs for any domain. The proposed platform adopted new specialized tools for developing online ETBs, such as the ETB designer tool and ETB creator tool. It also involved some educational principles regarding microlearning [18], E-learning theory [19], cognitive apprenticeship [20], self-paced learning approach [21], and dual coding theory [22].