Archive
Archive for November, 2012
How to use MS-Skydrive with your university account here
2012/11/29
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- One of the benefits of live@edu is institutional access to file storage space in the cloud. You need not set anything up for that. Just go to http://skydrive.com and log in with (1) your university account, here is what you get:
- You can create (or upload) folders and files (this one is from a long time ago, since I briefly could log in when live@edu was first introduced. Students always could log in).
- 7 GB of free space in the cloud should be plenty, including
- for teachers looking for a convenient way to bring files to the classroom beyond the limitations of the H: –drive “ My documents”
- for film students misplacing they backup hardware. No more hogging of checked out cameras just since you did not bring your portable hard drive. Just upload your clips to skydrive.com, access them from home.
- If you install the optional free Skydrive app (available ofr Windows Vista and up and MacOS X.7)
- the file size limit is expanded from 100MB to 2GB.
- files can be automatically synchronized between your classroom and home computer.
- To access files on classroom computers without the skydrive app, just use skydrive.com
ICS corruption in Moodle calendar events?
2012/11/28
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- I am seeing once again a large number of events loaded as internet calendar into MS-Outlook via an iCal link default to the same day:
- This time the iCal sources is Moodle, but it also displays the iCal feed internally so:
- I observed a similar issue when loading certain Drupal calendars into MS-Outlook, only that
- it seems to have affected only certain sites on the same (?) Drupal instance (is this user input error?)
- Events defaulted to the current day in MS-Outlook – the Moodle issue does not.
- All events were effected – not so in this Moodle issue.
Categories: documentation, Glitches&Errors, lms
calendaring, drupal, ical, moodle, ms-outlook
Help with MyLanguageLab recordings
2012/11/28
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- Taken almost straight from the BB_Voice_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf:
- When using the Voice Recorder, first click the (0) blue “Record” to load the recorder. You may have to accept a security warning.
- Then click the (1) red record button
- IMPORTANT: Click the (2) black STOP
![clip_image001[14]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clip_image00114_thumb.jpg?w=37&h=34 "clip_image001[14]")
button to save your recording. (If you do not click the stop button, your recording will NOT be saved and your instructor will not be able to hear your voice). When you stopped, the timer in the upper right will change from showing “time remaining” to “time recorded”. - Click the (now not grayed out, but ) green PLAY
![clip_image001[8]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clip_image0018_thumb.jpg?w=38&h=36 "clip_image001[8]")
button to confirm your voice was recorded. If you do not hear anything, check your microphone and the volume controls on your computer. - If you wish, to re-record your voice,
- click the red record button again.
- Click YES when asked if you want to Override Current Recording.
![clip_image001[16]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clip_image00116_thumb.jpg?w=244&h=62 "clip_image001[16]")
- Re-record and again click STOP. and play to Playback your recording.
- When finished, Click Submit for Grading to submit the recording to your instructor for review.
![clip_image001[14]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clip_image00114.jpg "clip_image001[14]"){kind=small}
![clip_image001[8]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clip_image0018.jpg "clip_image001[8]"){kind=small}
![clip_image001[16]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clip_image00116.jpg "clip_image001[16]")
Categories: audience-is-students, e-languages, multimedia-recording, textbooks, websites
mylanguagelab
Some concrete examples on how to use the Sanako Study 1200 Playlist and Pairing in language teaching
2012/11/27
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From the Sanako-UK Fall 2012 Newsletter – click on the link or article for accessing the full newsletter (Hint: No need to wear suit&tie when using the LRC Sanako; headsets, however, tend to be a required accessory
).
You can learn more here on how to use Playlist and Pairing. Or visit our Fall 2012 Faculty Workshop I: Intermediate Sanako Teaching Techniques and the following Fall 2012 Faculty Workshop II: Clinic on creating teaching materials for use with the Sanako
Protected: How to get SamAccountName name through Outlook Global Address List
2012/11/27
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Categories: e-infrastructure
directoryservices, ms-.net, ms-active-directory, outlook, userprincipal
A classroom-management-system-based emporium to improve tutoring support for Hybrid Spanish students
2012/11/26
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- “[T]o bridge the gap between students’ demand for introductory Spanish courses and adequately staffing”, UNC-Charlotte – using, among others, a UNC-Chapel Hill pilot as a model, which, however, served a different student population and was soon faded out again – introduced a hybrid model for 1st year Spanish:
- Weekly contact hours were cut in half (effectively doubling student numbers per teacher ) ,
- and attempted to be replaced by more extensive assignment of homework exercises/quizzes from the online textbook component
- for lack of own technical resources (p.54), not that the components were designed for a hybrid purpose – but always nice to see language teachers adopt technology for ROI in creative ways when they have to.
- for the same reason of incapability of “adequately staffing”, so that teachers do not have to operate the computers, only those activities from the online components were chosen that could be automatically graded (while the continued reliance of online quizzes on right/wrong black/white schemes instead of at least considering editing distance (maybe reasonably also for foreign language diacritics), not to mention attempts on a truly semantic understanding of student input, makes one wonder if this subset of assignments could effectively and should be left to auto grading).
- and other, auxiliary syllabus guidelines, like:
- taking more advantage of the online textbook component for
- heavier formative testing
- outcome testing
- requiring “oral testing administered two or three times a semester” (p.46, 64)
- increased focus on taking advantage of contact hours by communicating, what is now often deemed flipped classroom pedagogy and used to be called homework preparation
- taking more advantage of the online textbook component for
- tutoring, for students that could not handle the cut in face-to-face time with teacher (note, tutors were from the grad student teacher pool – not all teachers were grad students)
- face-to-face:
- online, during off-hours (weekends):
- seems a welcome extension, and a convenient time-saver
- however, little adoption
- additionally, hindered by a technology change from Wimba to Centra.
- also hybrid? The LRC
- could be host to an emporium like Virginia Tech’s: computerized for access to online assignments, but under tutor guidance;
- could provide the Sanako classroom management and digital audio lab system for making this learning experience even ore efficient. The tutor on teacher station can monitor many students (simultaneously or automatically cycling through student stations at an interval of choice, while stopping interactively where desired) via screen sharing. Interact with any student computer via remote control, with the student over headphones, without disrupting,
- easily escalate presentation of tutor or model student screen and audio discussion of endemic problems to either student group as a whole or subset (meaningful as long as 2 or more students overlap in their assignment activity and have similar issues) via the Sanako – and of course also use the classroom projector.
- Hybrid Spanish clearly constitutes a radical program change, dictated by shortness of funds and requiring measures to efficiency and effectiveness of instruction, upholding of standards, and management of attrition.
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If you cannot find it here, look there: 5,500 Language-Learning Links and Programs for learning or teaching 150 languages
Shortcuts:Our Lists, Our Maps, LRC Staff Moodle Site,LRC Project Moodle Site, 49erexpress, UNCC Moodle, Student Recordings: s:claslcslrcsanakostudent
Learning usage samples: Sanako oral exam, Kaltura webcam presentation, Dictation with speech recognition, Sanako written exam, Chinese and Japanese interactive stroke-order practice
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