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Make life simpler in the language lab by disabling extra audio panels

2013/05/10 Leave a comment
  1. Problem: Having multiple audio panels enabled can led to too many options = sources of errors and confusion.
    1. Software (e.g. Saba Centra) may defaults to different audio panels (front “Microphone” preferred over a “Rear Input” that can be used as a Microphone and is the preferred device in your lab (for security, safety and ergonomic reasons).
    2. Students may make erroneous assumptions and try to reconfigure the PC audio by plugging cables into a different outlet.
    3. ESP Panel  software detects plugging in of devices and asks users to identify whether microphone or line-in device has been plugged into rear input which confuses our users even more.
  2. Software configuration:  On Dell Optiplex 760 under Windows 7 , you can
    1. run  mmsys.cpl,
    2. go to tab:“recording” devices
    3. to disable the front panel input microphone:
      1. select “microphone”(that is the front input)
      2. right-click and  choose “disable”: image
      3. result: image
      4. right-=click and uncheck “show disabled devices”
    4. to configure the “rear input”:
      1. select and click “properties” image
      2. go to tab “custom” (may require having an add-on driver installed, consult the DELL driver update utility) image
      3. check “use as microphone”
      4. check (optional, recommended): “microphone boost”
    5. “Ok” out of all mmsys.cpl dialogues and (for good measure) restart computer.
  3. Test your software configuration to work (listening, recording) with the applications used in your lab:
    1. Sanako student recorder
    2. Saba Centra
    3. Audacity
    4. Voicethread
    5. Moodle: Audio and Kaltura (even though no webcam)
    6. Etc.?
  4. Hardware configuration
    1. Plug your headset microphone and speaker into the rear audio panel. Tie the microphone cable down with a cable tie. Students have managed to pull the cable through the cable tie, so tie the cable into a knot around the cable tie to prevent that
    2. Tape (plastic that student cannot push a plug through easily) over the front audio panel and put a label on top: “Do not use! Get help at desk!”. Instruct your help desk student staff.
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, hardware, headphones, service-is-configuring-learning-tools, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging Tags: , ,

How to provide students with blended human/computer-automated feedback on their speaking using a dictation with speech recognition assignment screencast

2013/05/08 Leave a comment
  1. Teachers often feel there is never enough time for grading students’  speaking proficiency. Fortunately, we can now automate feedback on pronunciation using Windows 7 dictation with speech recognition.
  2. This feature will be  available for 7 languages on Windows 7 in the LRC, here is a demo for a reading exercise dictating German.
  3. An assignment step-by-step could look like this: Students
    1. record a screencast of their dictation,
    2. read a text to the computer in MS-Word,
    3. turn track changes on in MS-Word and correct the text (immediately or after dictation) where the computer could not recognize their speech,
    4. upload their screencast to Kaltura in Moodle.
    5. To grade the performance, the teacher has to review only at the very end of the screencast to see how many corrections the student needed to make (when it doubtabout the speech recognition validiiy, the teacher can easily jump to the screencast segment in question and, if necessary, override the speech recognition).
  4. This could be a regular assignment type since it provides the following benefits:
    1. immediate automated intelligent feedback for the student
    2. little grading overhead for the teacher, so that the teacher can concentrate her work on providing aural feedback on student recorded speech as a highlight maybe twice per term, maybe after mock exams  before a midterm and final exam
    3. some multimedia pieces demonstrating language proficiency for the student’s ePortfolio.
  5. Requirements:
    1. a quality headset (we use Sanako SLH-07Sanako SLH-07 USB)
    2. Windows 7  Enterprise/Ultimate with Language Packs,
    3. knowing how to switch the display language, (optional/recommended:) TBA:a simplified language switching facility,
    4. individual voice training data: speech recognition users have to train the computer  – once, even in a deepfrozen computer enviroinment,  since we enabled you to save this data to and restore it from a flash drive or personal network share space,
    5. a reading text (often authentic texts can be taken straight from the textbook, to fit in with the syllabus, like in this example from Treffpunkt-Deutsch 1st-year German),
    6. MS-Word with track changes
    7. screencast software (we use MS community clips)
    8. a way to submit the results to the teacher (we use Moodle with Kaltura video uploading (example for teachers, students do it similarly), but email could be sufficient depending on screencast length and attachment size allowance).
Categories: assignments, audience-is-teachers, eportfolio, multimedia-recording, Screencasts, Speaking, step-by-step-guides Tags: , , ,

Sanako Spring 2013 Newsletter is out: Nottingham University now boasts 11 Sanako Study 1200 language labs…

2013/05/02 Leave a comment

image

…for about the same size undergraduate student body (wow!), emphasizes need for training (I trained in their lab when it was still a  Sanako Lab 300). Read the whole Sanako Spring 2013 newsletter here.

Categories: audience-is-administration, audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, marketing Tags:

“Clickonce” to download Langlabemailer (BETA)

2013/04/26 Leave a comment

After receiving the response to your request for a download link, click the link in the response to go the download page, and on that page click the button: “Install”.langlabemailer-clickonce

Next:Install. Or Langlabemailer (table of contents).

Categories: assessments, assignments, audience-is-language-learning-center-manager, compiledcode, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, service-is-programming Tags: , ,

How a teacher can easily restart the Sanako Study 1200 licensing classroom server when experiencing a crash

2013/04/26 Leave a comment
  1. Try  clicking and running this (http://goo.gl/lTVLc), if you see that:
  2. image
  3. this is for
    1. if your sanako tutor hangs with status message "verifying tutor" and you are confronted with the error dialogue "Connection to the communication platform has been disconnected and the system is not able to communicate with the classroom server anymore"
    2. And if you run the classroom server on the same computer as the tutor (as we do)
    3. And if you have checked  your "network connection",  like gone to a website, and it is restored (e.g.  If you simply had unplugged your  the cable)? 
    4. And if you do not want to "restart your system if needed" since, as in our case, that takes a big chunk time out of your class
  4. Hint:  this can’t fix your network if that is the root cause, but may be able to work around temporary service outages.
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, e-infrastructure, Glitches&Errors, Presenter-Computer, service-is-programming, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging Tags: , ,

Protected: How a teacher can give students aural feedback on oral exams using the Sanako Study 1200 Lite Recorder

2013/04/25 Enter your password to view comments.

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Categories: audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, grading, multimedia-recording, Screenshots, Speaking Tags: , ,

How to make (and cancel) a room/resource booking without conflict by sending a meeting request from OWA and OUTLOOK–the ultimate training…

2013/04/16 Leave a comment

…using animated .gifs. Note the update for Outlook (desktop) users at the bottom. (Slower? Click the Links.)You can not only book lrcroomcoed434@uncc.edu like this, but any resource listed here.If you need the classroom repeatedly or other advanced features, read on.

To Book:

0.25sec,0.5sec, 0.75sec, 1sec, , 2sec, 3sec, 4sec, 5sec, 6sec, 7sec, 8sec, 9sec, 10sec. 1.5sec

To Cancel booking (why so?):

0.25sec,0.5sec, 0.75sec, 1sec, , 2sec, 3sec, 4sec, 5sec, 6sec, 7sec, 8sec, 9sec, 10sec.

Both book and cancel booking: Compact: 0.25sec,0.5sec, 0.75sec, 1sec, , 2sec, 3sec, 4sec, 5sec, 6sec, 7sec, 8sec, 9sec, 10sec. 1.5sec Or including unmarked frames: 0.25sec, 0.5sec, 0.75sec, 1sec, 1.5sec, 2sec, 3sec, 4sec, 5sec, 6sec, 7sec, 8sec, 9sec, 10sec.

And now in addition 2 screencasts (make/cancel reservation) for our OUTLOOK (desktop) users:

Categories: animated-GIFs, audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-language-learning-center-temp-staff, audience-is-teachers, e-infrastructure, office-software, service-is-documenting, service-is-library, training Tags: , , , , , ,

Testing my Langlabemailer…

2013/04/11 Leave a comment

image

… to improve the integration of the digital audio lab into the university’s language teaching processes – 1000 emails at a time. Smile (Coming soon: same day delivery. More on this project will be available here: https://2013.iallt.org/session/driving-tutorial-call-face-face-classroom-and-what-it-took).

Categories: compiledcode, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, service-is-programming, Speaking Tags: , , , , ,