Archive
Bad audio quality in Moodle Kaltura recordings on iMacs under ambient sound conditions. A running log (closed)
- Symptom: See title.
- Cause: While speakers of the 3.5 mm headset take over from the iMac speakers, when plugged in, the 3.5 mm headset micro does not disable the webcam micro. The webcam micro remains the recording source for Moodle Kaltura (mac os x.6, safari 6, flash 10).
- Possible solutions:
1st choice: is there a way for the admin to override this permanently?2nd choice: is there a way for the end user to override this on a case-by-case basis?- "The Califone 3066AV is compatible with both Windows and Mac audio outputs (but is not compatible with iMacs)." ("The Wow starts now!").. Do we have to tie up our boom and lavalier microphones for this?
- Try the flash settings by right clicking in the video window, selecting the microphone icon, then choosing the external (= non-webcam) microphone for input.
- Fail. The real culprit is the iMacs line-in audio-in for which you need a preamp to get it to work with analog microphones. Preamps seem to start at $40, but for that I can get a PC webcam (Microphone included).
Protected: LRC à la carte I: The teacher’s Vade mecum
Configuring UNCC staff (MS-Exchange 10) email on Android 4.1.2
May come in useful not only during initial setup… I had trouble sorting out the webpages addressing different versions, and translating the picture-less instructions, an so have others when they come to the LRC for help. May this help some.
To publish an aggregate calendar of MS-Exchange ICS calendar subscriptions, use Google Calendar
If you manage many resources that many users need to share, you will want to give them an intuitive overview of the utilization. We manage room and equipment booking in MS-Exchange 2010, but both Exchange and Outlook/OWA/Office365 are not for everyone (to set up), and seem to lack a convenient way to publish an aggregation of the iCal feeds of the individual resources that can be published.
Enter Google calendar: Start with creating a new calendar which will hold your calendar aggregation, and make it public:
First add ICS-based internet calendar subscriptions to Google calendar:
We have prior ICS feeds arranged in MS-Exchange 2010 which are listed in the LRC calendar spreadsheet:
Open the calendar
Copy the URL form the address bar:
Insert it here:
Replace html at the end by ics.
Check “make calendar publicly accessible”
Access calendar settings
Change calendar name to part before @
You can rename these subscribed calendars, but this name will not carry over to the embedded calendar, see below:
Open the settings for the main calendar:
In the settings section “embed”, Click the “Customize” link to open the “Google Embeddable Calendar helper”:
Select the “Calendars to display”: this list contains the ICS-subscriptions you added earlier.
Unfortunately, the Google’s embeddable Calendar helper seems to “eat” the names you have given these calendars, and replace it by the default “Calendar” (there is no calendar name stored in the ICS, it seems), so you have to maintain a color legend manually (the color is permanently stored in the iframe HTML code snippet).
Also, you users have to manually match the color when they (de)select calendar subscriptions from the main calendar:
Embedding the iframe HTML snippet works in WordPress
as well as Drupal: 
Sanako text messaging: How teacher sends URL to all students, to individual, and closes individual response
Save yourself some valuable face-to-face class time with instant messaging of clickable URLs.
How LRC assistants now help maintain LRC functionality with routine checks
Oral assessments have begun this week in the LRC. Please note that when using the LRC you may see LRC assistants going through the rooms doing a variety of chores (if need be, we can remind them that they must not disturb classes and other user activities).
We have written a large number of procedural guides, check lists with spreadsheets and illustrated parts lists (linked below) to train 7 groups of experts (varying in size between 2-6) in how to regularly inventory, test and maintain functionality of LRC equipment and services:
1. Daily LRC walkthrough check
2. Weekly headset test
3. Weekly film equipment check
4. Weekly staff and equipment calendar check
5. Biweekly faculty equipment check
6. Film collection maintenance (work in progress)
7. Help desk supervising
Samples of issues that we hope to address this way:
a. You check out a headset for recording learning materials over the last weekend before classes start and do not want to find it broken.
b. Your students come to the LRC for a quiz assignment/distance education and in the middle of it find the headset does not play audio while the timer/class is running.
c. You hold a recording class in the LRC and do not want to spend the first several more minutes – after the computers logged in – troubleshooting individual headsets that do not play or record.
d. Your students, when setting up film equipment for a film project (with location, actors/interviewees scheduled) have to find that the lights cannot stand essential since screws are missing.
e. Films cannot be located.
f. Etc.
I hope you will find experiencing fewer such issues a simplification in your interactions with the LRC .
How LRC assistants help maintain the film collection
Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 10:14:54 PM | plagwitz
Protected: How LRC assistants help with LRC room and resource mailboxes
Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 11:17:00 PM | plagwitz
New supervisor role for senior LRC Assistants
Monday, January 13, 2014, 7:09:36 PM | plagwitz
Friday, January 10, 2014, 10:45:32 PM | plagwitz
Friday, January 10, 2014, 8:52:51 PM | plagwitz
Thursday, January 02, 2014, 9:34:08 PM | plagwitz
Thursday, January 02, 2014, 9:00:44 PM | plagwitz
LRC daily walkthrough for all computers
Thursday, January 02, 2014, 9:38:44 PM | plagwitz
LRC daily walkthrough for classroom PCs
Thursday, January 02, 2014, 9:34:03 PM | plagwitz
LRC daily walkthrough for iMacs and printer
Thursday, January 02, 2014, 9:31:03 PM | plagwitz
LRC daily walkthrough for listening and group room stations
Thursday, January 02, 2014, 9:30:24 PM | plagwitz
Protected: A checklist for our regular equipment inventories
Monday, December 23, 2013, 11:43:29 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for the LRC Camera16
Monday, December 23, 2013, 11:32:25 PM | plagwitz
Monday, December 23, 2013, 11:19:13 PM | plagwitz
Monday, December 23, 2013, 11:15:42 PM | plagwitz
Monday, December 23, 2013, 11:14:29 PM | plagwitz
Checklist transcription foot pedal
Monday, December 23, 2013, 10:58:52 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for Voice recorder 03
Monday, December 23, 2013, 10:54:45 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for Voice recorder 01-02
Monday, December 23, 2013, 10:43:35 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for light kit (08-11)
Monday, December 23, 2013, 10:15:00 PM | plagwitz
Functionality tests for LRC microphones
Monday, December 23, 2013, 7:05:13 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for Vixia cameras (11-14)
Monday, December 23, 2013, 6:59:00 PM | plagwitz
LRC Wireless microphone basics
Monday, December 23, 2013, 5:59:04 PM | plagwitz
Monday, December 23, 2013, 5:25:24 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for light tripod (05-12)
Monday, December 23, 2013, 4:27:07 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for lavaliere microphones (01-03)
Monday, December 23, 2013, 3:29:47 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for heavy tripods (01-04)
Monday, December 23, 2013, 3:26:20 PM | plagwitz
Monday, December 23, 2013, 2:24:28 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for Rebel cameras (17/18/19/20)
Monday, December 23, 2013, 12:46:44 PM | plagwitz
Checklist for microphone booms
Monday, December 23, 2013, 12:34:00 PM | plagwitz
Wednesday, December 11, 2013, 3:02:51 PM | plagwitz
Code documentation for a quiz template based on MS-Word
- trpQuizGenerator allows for using simple markup (view training here) to produce cloze quizzes in large fonts, for easy screen sharing through the face-to-face classroom management system (see samples of quizzes based on this template here.)
- Click the table of contents below to browse the VBA documentation built with Aivosto.
Questions? Read the About. Or just ask me a quick
FAQs for LRC student staff or for students or for teachers. To search our FAQs, in the browser addressbar, add after "https://plagwitz.wordpress.com/feed/?tag=faqs+/" "+TAG1" (from tag cloud below) OR "https://plagwitz.wordpress.com/feed/tag=faqs
&category_name=" "CAT1" (from category hierarchy below). OR search both categories and tags, and multiple TAGs/CATs (connect with "," for OR-search, with "+" for AND-search), like so: https://plagwitz.wordpress.com/feed/?tag=TAG1+TAG2+...TAGn&category_name=CAT1
+CAT2+...CATn"
Other ways to find help
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
Test the Sanako Installer, Webbrowser Popup Konfigurator for XP, or Windows7, faster LRC TeacherPC Log-in Let MS facilitate diacritics writing by installing for you US-International keyboard layout
This is my personal blog (Google+). The views expressed on these pages are mine alone and not those of my employer. The information in this weblog is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Thomas' Work Space 