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Introducing the LangLabEmailer

2013/06/04 Leave a comment
  1. The LangLabEmailer helps integrating the digital audio lab (still widely operating based on files and network shares)  into the departmental language teaching and learning process by automatically forwarding  (audio, text) assessments and assignments collected in the digital audio lab to teachers and students via campus mail (using MS-Exchange automation).
    1. Easy on the Language Lab Manager who can "set up and forget": 1000s of assessment files will reach their originating students and teachers in near real time without you lifting a finger.
    2. To earn "extra credit", show your teachers how they can override the default LangLabEmailer behavior by adding “_noemailing” or “_nostudentemailing” to the folder name when saving their digital audio lab collections.
  2. Status of the language lab and purpose of the software
  3. Features
  4. Prerequisites
  5. Downloading
  6. Installing
  7. Configuring (and sharing back)
  8. Running or scheduling
  9. End User options
  10. Troubleshooting
  11. Requesting features
  12. Getting Updates
  13. Uninstalling
  14. Samples & questions at my IALLT 2013 session.
Categories: all-languages, audience-is-language-learning-center-manager, Coed432, digital-audio-lab, documentation, e-infrastructure, recording-software, service-is-assessing, service-is-programming, Speaking, table-of-contents, Writing Tags: ,

How to easily view resource mailboxes calendar free/busy using Outlook calendar groups

2013/05/29 Leave a comment
  1. Display all items in a category with a single click on the checkbox I front  of the calendar group
  2. Display any portion of the time line in " scheduling view"  by
  3. Selecting the days in the square calendar sheet in the upper left
  4. Navigate the time line with the bottom horizontal scrollbar
  5. Note the additional helpful "from [start date]" indicator in a mailboxes booking that is not displayed completely
  6. How to easily view resource mailboxes calendar free busy using Outlook calendar groups
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, documentation, e-infrastructure, office-software Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

How to quickly add resource mailbox calendars as an Outlook calendar group

2013/05/29 Leave a comment
  1.  Right-click the left calendar tree.
  2. Choose context menu item: add calendar group / from address list:
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  4. Type " LRC" to search  – or the consistent naming scheme you implemented  (I hope!).
  5. Select all relevant calendars to add.
  6. Click on  button: "calendar".
  7. Click on  button: "ok":
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  9. Done:
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Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, documentation, e-infrastructure, office-software, service-is-library Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

How to organize your email by creating an Inbox rule in OWA

2013/05/28 Leave a comment
  1. This step-by-step GUIDE was written for filtering emails from our langlabemailer program (they happen to have “Your UNCC-LRC”  in the subject) into a separate folder so that users of the LRC keep the overview:
    1. students (longitudinally, for their language learner ePortfolios) ,
    2. but especially teachers (of classes with up to 36 students, throughout the term).
  2. But you can easily adapt the guide to any other email purpose.
    1. Including other LRC workflows based on emails: LRC resource booking also relies on OWA emails. All email sent from LRC resource mailboxes have “LRC”  at the beginning of the user name and email address.
  3. In short: Options / Create an Inbox Rule / Click “ new” / choose a type / choose keywords / choose folder to sort the email into when it arrives. Or graphically:
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Categories: audience-is-students, audience-is-teachers, documentation, e-infrastructure, Institution-is-University-of-North-Carolina-Charlotte, office-software, step-by-step-guides Tags: , ,

How to get access to the LRC Sanako (teacher materials, student recordings) from your office or home PC

2013/05/15 1 comment
  1. Run the Sanako Installer (first meant for faculty offices only, but now faculty also want to have access from home, so I added that functionality).
  2. On your office and or home PC, you get a folder “SANAKO” on your desktop.  This folder will contain all you need to access student assessments from past classes or upload learning materials for future classes:
    1. In the office:  image: It is sufficient  to click the additional “UNCC…” links at the bottom of the list .
    2. At home: image
      1. Click “1st connect…” and log into the campus.
      2. Click “How teachers find…”, log in with the blog password, open the PDF, click  the links in the PDF to the Sanako off-campus folders, log in again with the network credentials as shown in the PDF (sigh…).
      3. EXAMPLE: Here you can see on a faculty home PC:
        1. the sanako recorder and campus connector: image
        2. the SANAKO desktop folder shortcuts: image
          1. You get the Word templates only if you can use them (have WORD installed –  remember you can install MS-Office with your free faculty license from here).
          2. (No, you won’t get the “UNCC…”shortcuts at home, we simplified since.)
      4. Both office and home:
        1. Drag any audio  files into the Sanako study recorder window (further reading on why the Sanako study recorder is useful for teachers).
        2. Need to record? configure your microphone in Sanako study recorder, menu Tools.
Categories: audience-is-teachers, documentation, e-infrastructure, e-languages, faculty-offices, Institution-is-University-of-North-Carolina-Charlotte, service-is-configuring-learning-tools, service-is-it-managing, service-is-programming Tags: , , , , , ,

How to upload files into WordPress and link them to articles

2013/05/02 Leave a comment
  1. In the WordPress “Dashboard” (the landing page after you login as WordPress Admin), in the left menu, click menu item : “Media” /  “Add New”., and drag&drop (or browse and select them).  
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  3. The upload success is visible immediately:
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  5. In the media library, after uploading media, on the “edit media”, there is an opportunity for adding metadata to files
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  7. How do you link files from an article? Click on button: “Add media”, and drag&drop files. How about previously uploaded  files? Click on button: “Add media”, tab:”media library” (instead of the default tab:”upload files”) , ad find your previously uploaded file in the list.
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Categories: documentation, e-infrastructure Tags: , ,

How a teacher can see student computer screens in Sanako Study 1200–the ultimate training summary

2013/04/04 Leave a comment

…using animated .gifs. Slower? Compact: 0.25sec,0.5sec, 0.75sec, 1sec, 1.5sec, 2sec, 3sec, 4sec, 5sec, 6sec, 7sec, 8sec, 9sec, 10sec.Or including unmarked frames: 0.25sec, 0.5sec, 0.75sec, 1sec, 1.5sec, 2sec, 3sec, 4sec, 5sec, 6sec, 7sec, 8sec, 9sec, 10sec. 1sec

Categories: animated-GIFs, audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, documentation, e-learning, Presenter-Computer Tags: ,

How a teacher can organize a student-controlled high-stakes assessment recording session using the Sanako in the LRC

2013/03/12 Leave a comment
  1. How:
    1. An initial central microphone and speaker test (animated step-by-step) is recommended. Clear the session afterwards.
    2. Recording: Have the student operate the Sanako recorder to individually record (like during a self-access assignment)
      1. For starters, teacher can display this narrated individual recordings with the Sanako Student Recorder training screencast, it auto-starts and auto-cycles):
      2. And/or explain:
        1. Red Record Button to record;
        2. Blue Stop button to stop recording
        3. Green Play Button to play their assignment for review (also use the recap button to jump back)
        4. Menu: “File / New”, if they want to redo the assignment.
        5. Button: call/envelope to call the teacher on the teacher station for help (an audio connection between student and teacher should pause  the recorder automatically)
    3. Submitting:
      1. Individually by students:
        1. Menu “File” / “Save” (opt to save as student track mp3), to save locally, once student is happy to submit.
        2. (recommended:) upload the save file to a Moodle single-file upload assignment. Requires the teacher to create a Moodle Single file upload assignment, with optional attached file first.
      2. From the Sanako tutor at the teacher station:
        1. For entire class (If you do not need the flexibility to have students end at different times). TBA
        2. Group-wise (varying (staggered) recording times):  TBA
  2. Pro’s:
    1. Less distraction from language learning by having to operate technology (editing audio rather then practicing L2) and more language-learning-specific features (sidetone, recap) than if using Audacity.
    2. Works with the Sanako Study 1200 teacher stations (e.g. automatic pause of recorder when remote connecting to student during monitoring of recording task).
  3. Con’s:
    1. noise interference with dozens of student speaking in a confined space simultaneously. Nobody wants to return to the language lab station of yore, i.e. in a cubicle. However, a teacher-controlled oral exam (sample video, step-by-step video),
      1. can play a soothing background sound to students over the headphones which insulates them from their neighbors (prevents both distraction and cheating);
      2. there is no room  for distracting unrelated chit-chat;
      3. there is no need for distracting conversation when  students do technical troubleshooting, during highly structured question/response exams.
    2. More user flexibility/control  is achieved by more individual distracting operation of computer technology, which always implies more opportunity for user error. To reduce (not eliminate!) the error ratio:
      1. Students
        1. have to have received the general digital audio lab introduction for students.
        2. have to double-check their recordings for quality before submitting.
      2. Teachers
        1. have to monitor students’ recording progress closely
          1. which the Sanako Study 1200 teacher station (link cannot replace hands-on training) greatly facilitates (provided Students use  the Sanako Student Recorder, as described above).
          2. however, even with a classroom management system like Sanako Study 1200, it is impossible to completely monitor a class size of students operating computers. Therefore teachers
        2. have to check the validity of submissions before students leave.
          1. If you use submission through Moodle, here are 2 tips how to do this quicker:
            1. how to quickly download their Moodle file submissions
          2. Whether you use submission through Moodle or collection through Sanako tutor:
            1. view end of this video for how to quickly check validity of all file submissions in a folder using Audacity
          3. are advised to have a make-up assessment plan not only for those students missing the exam, but also for those that miss to complete the computerized multimedia assessment correctly.
Categories: audience-is-students, audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, documentation, lms, multimedia-recording, Presenter-Computer, step-by-step-guides, Student-Computers, training Tags: , , ,