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Bad audio quality in Moodle Kaltura recordings on iMacs under ambient sound conditions. A running log (closed)

2014/08/22 Leave a comment
  1. Symptom: See title.
  2. 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).
  3. Possible solutions:
      1. 1st choice: is there a way for the admin to override this permanently?
      2. 2nd choice: is there a way for the end user to override this on a case-by-case basis?
      3. "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?
      4. Try the flash settings by right clicking in the video window, selecting the microphone icon, then choosing the external (= non-webcam) microphone for input.
      5. kaltura flash microphone settings0kaltura flash microphone settings
      6. 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). 
Categories: audience-is-IT-staff, audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-students, documentation, e-languages, Glitches&Errors, iMacs, lms, multimedia-recording, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging, Speaking Tags: , , ,

Interpreting against audio files sources with live feedback in Sanako Study 1200

2014/04/25 Leave a comment
  1. How will we be recording
    1. Individual recording
      1. Voice insert: student control how much time they have interpreting
        1. students can stop the source where they want, they can rewind and review the source, they can overwrite their initial interpretation, they can interpret at the speed they want.
        2. We could insert cues at sentence ends in the source; and also (but little need,) slow the source down or insert pauses
      2. Student track
        1. students have to follow along at the speed of the source can stop the source where they want, they can rewind and review the source;  they can with some difficulty overwrite their initial interpretation/
        2. More difficult: We likely should slow the source down or insert pauses
    2. Model imitation: like an exam,
      1. students all speak in parallel, without individual control
      2. Most difficult: We most likely need to slow the source audio down, including inserting pauses as "breathers")
  2. What audio track will we be collecting?
    1. If student saves manually, student can save either or both tracks , but need to be taught.
    2. If model imitation, we collect only student recording.
    3. If lock player/collect buffer, we collect both source and student track
    4. Listener can focus on one track by controlling the balance during playback: https://thomasplagwitz.com/2014/03/31/how-to-manage-balance-on-stereo-audio-using-audacity-sanako-student-recorder-or-any-audio-player-on-windows/
    5. Listener can also split the audio tracks (= delete the source track),
      1. more easily (file / save as) in the sanako recorder
      2. More
  3. Teacher listening in
    1. Is always possible,
      1. just click the student icon in the classroom layout
      2. or use screen control / autoscan: the audio switches with the screen, this has a bit of overhead, and our computers are network are not the fastest, but we made some changes to optimize speed; best reserved for when you also need to see the student’s screen.
  4. Teacher speaking: Teacher providing on-the-fly feedback via "Discuss":
    1. Playlist Launch and open (goo.gl/2awRG/): then you can stop each individual student (students do not work in sync, remote-controlled) .
    2. Model imitation (goo.gl/ZL7DG/) : then you cannot talk to one (all students record in sync).
    3. Teacher providing non-live feedback :
      1. Teacher can provide aural feedback later when grading the student submissions from your office pc:
        1. How a teacher can use Sanako voice insert to easily add spoken comments to students’ Sanako oral proficiency exams- step–by step
        2. We recorded here how it is being done for Business Spanish: Protected: How a teacher can give students aural feedback on oral exams using the Sanako Study 1200 Lite Recorder
        3. For that voice-insert, you need to install the Sanako Recorder on your office PC.
    Categories: audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, Interpreting, Speaking Tags:

    Slowing source audio for interpreting classes in the digital audio lab

    2014/04/25 Leave a comment
    1. To judge from listening to Simult. Lesson 1, text 2 on Acebo Interpreter’s Edge (ISBN 1880594323), I am wondering  whether some of our students (= personalization) would need this audio to be simplified, to gain the benefit of a well-adjusted i+1?  I can pre-process the audio :
      1. Where the flatlines = natural pauses are in above graph, insert a audio signal as where students can press voice insert recording,  Example: clip_image001
      2. We can also  insert a pause and a cue at the beginning and end to set students a limit how long they can interpret, but if students operate  the player manually, there is no teacher control and no exam condition, and the students having to manage the technology tends to distract from the language practice.
      3. Slow down the audio without changing the pitch (just have to make sure not to overdo it, else will sound like drunken speech  – my time stretching software would be able to avoid “drunken speech” syndrome, but I have not been able to work on it since briefly for IALLT in Summer 2011 for 3 years now…)
        1. clip_image002
        2. clip_image003
      4. We can use this adjusted with the Sanako grouping feature to personalize instruction (find the right i+1 for each of your student, useful if there are considerable variations in their proficiency): How to group students into sessions  (in 3 different ways)    goo.gl/JgXUP/.
    Categories: audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, Interpreting, Listening, service-is-learning-materials-creation, Speaking Tags: , , ,

    Protected: Elti0162 Syllabus with learning materials for listening and speaking

    2014/04/07 Enter your password to view comments.

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    Categories: English, Listening, service-is-learning-materials-creation, Speaking, Spreadsheets Tags:

    Watch how to start and activate speech recognition from the desktop

    2014/04/04 Leave a comment

    Categories: animated-GIFs, audience-is-students, Speaking Tags:

    Watch how to configure the speech recognition wizard on Windows 7

    2014/04/04 Leave a comment


    Choose the same options in your language (every time you log in, until we find a way to set these options on a per-machine level).

    Categories: animated-GIFs, audience-is-students, Speaking Tags: ,

    Faculty Workshop Spring 2014: "Mira, mamá! Sin manos!". Practice speaking L2 with automatic intelligent feedback by operating LRC PCs through speech recognition instead of keyboard/mouse

    2014/03/13 Leave a comment
    1. When: March 28, 2:15-3:15, April 4, 2:00-3:00
    2. Where: LRCRoomCoed434
    3. What: Language learning speaking practice assignments with automatic intelligent feedback using Windows Speech Recognition
      1. As part of the foreign language tools we installed with Windows 7 this past Fall, we got speech recognition on the LRC PCs for 6 languages (English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish ) representing over 85% of our enrolment.
      2. Unlike the speech recognition that comes with learning content packages like Auralog or Rosetta Stone
        1. which had to be purchased, for individual languages, but stopped functioning on the server on a long time ago,
        2. was limited to built-in content ,
        3. was restricted by a separate account system,
      3. Windows Speech Recognition is
        1. free (with the operating system), runs on the local lab pcs, and should be a bit more robust,
        2. content agnostic and hence can integrate flexibly with your curriculum and contribute meaningfully to your students’ progression,
        3. can be integrated with the existing user accounts.
      4. We combine Windows speech recognition with the new LRC screencast software, MS-Office and Moodle to offer a simple self-access assignment type that
        1. is available on all 45 LRC PCs (= scales even to large enrolment languages and 1st-year classes that cannot use the 24-seat Sanako for face-to-face speaking proficiency training)
        2. and blends the “artificial intelligence” of speech recognition with human intelligence to provide students with immediate automated feedback during pedagogically sound speaking practice, with minimal grading overhead for the teacher (= grade secure assignments by looking at the very end of a student-submitted screencast).
      5. This workshop will show actual speech recognition usage and assignment samples
        1. so far in English, French, German;
        2. if you want to bring your own samples to this workshop – there might still be time- , or to an upcoming faculty showcase, I can help you during my biweekly LRC clinics (see LRC main schedule, or schedule your own).
      6. We will step you through – hands-on, including tips&tricks – a sample voice training and assignment completion: Better than my made-up assignments would be if you could bring one or more concrete tasks to be solved using speech recognition that we could prepare assigning to your students. Here are some parameters for that:
        1. Speech recognition can replace mouse and keyboard when operating the computer. Voice commands are simpler than sentences, so this could be a beginner task, as long as you have students study the (limited) command vocabulary (which I will make available during the workshop).
        2. Speech recognition can replace any writing task with dictation. Suggestions for proficiency levels:
          1. I have dictated a web page assigned for reading comprehension in a textbook used in 1200 or even a as a false beginner.
          2. However, a one-time training helping the computer recognize an individual’s voice is required and comes sentences that vary in complexity between languages
            1. English: very easy, Beginner level;
            2. German, French: let’s have a look together, I’d say 1202 level;
            3. Japanese: 3000 level, I was told;
            4. Please test with me during the workshop: Spanish, Chinese.
    4. Download the SlideDeck (too big too embed)
    Categories: audience-is-teachers, English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin, os, Slideshows, Spanish, Speaking, workshops Tags: , ,

    How students can manage sidetone manually

    2014/03/08 Leave a comment

    Sidetone echoes your voice from the microphone back into  your headphone speakers. It makes wearing the headphones feel more natural, and lets you evaluate your pronunication better.

    Until it is configured properly out of the box, to enable it, you have to:

    Open sound settings: image

    Check and Increase the sidetone volume until you can hear yourself talking well: image

    Categories: audience-is-students, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, Speaking Tags: ,