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How to switch the input language in Respondus Lockdown browser, e.g. to Arabic

2012/10/23 Leave a comment
  1. Short answer:
    1. Right-click the Language bar on the taskbar and choose “Restore the  Language bar”, like so:
    2. language-bar-restore
    3. This makes the language bar a floating toolbar on top of the screen, like here: image. This floating toolbar you can still access when in Lockdown browser.
    4. The language bar can be temperamental, you may need to bring it up again, try switching back and forth between input fields.
  2. Long Answer:
    1. Respondus Lockdown browser blocks many functionalities, including the shortcut combination to change input languages (usually LEFT ALT + SHIFT) and access to the Language bar on the task bar.
    2. This is not an issue when your quiz is in a western language and you have US- international keyboard layout configured as your default (which lets you type most Western diacritics without need for keys blocked by Respondus Lockdown browser )
    3. It is an issue with e.g. Arabic. You cannot even temporarily set Arabic to your default input language before starting lockdown browser, since then you cannot log in (with MS Maren IME, you can override the Arabic default to enter your username in western characters, but not the password. Respondus Lockdown Browser is built on Internet Explorer, but it does not share the cookies, so being logged into your LMS in Internet Explorer does not carry over to your Lockdown Browser session).
    4. Workaround: See above.
Categories: Arabic, audience-is-students, Farsi, Greek (ancient), Hebrew, Hindi, Korean, Listening-Stations, lms, Mandarin, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging, Spanish, Writing Tags:

STM Crash

2012/10/23 Leave a comment

Oops? Haven’t seen that one before, and the Sanako Study 1200 has been stable. Networking issues again? (availability of file share S-drive?) See similar crash of licensing service recently.

Categories: audience-is-IT-staff, Glitches&Errors, Presenter-Computer, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging, Uncategorized Tags: ,

System.MissingMethodException error when installing recorder standalone light

2012/10/19 Leave a comment

Do we know why? – Still not, but looking into whether all prerequisites are fulfilled (this looks like a .Net error, but the my framework check says higher than version 2 is installed on that faculty computer).

Categories: digital-audio-lab, Glitches&Errors, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging

Replacing the Sanako Authoring Tool

2012/10/18 2 comments
  1. Problem: Oral exams with visual cues have been popular, but the Sanako Authoring Tool we used to create them has been faded out. How can we quickl replace it?
  2. Workaround:
    1. collect your files in my Word  template (left part of screenshot) like before (question/cue, repetitions, response pause time), including your images
    2. Save your MS-Word files as html.
    3. This will create a subfolder with media (right-side of screenshot). All your images are numbered sequentially in the order they appear in your template. Some are duplicated: select the first ones (the duplicate is a size reduction), plus the unique ones, and copy them to a new folder, e.g. “pictures”, on the Sanako teacher share, somewhere underneath your course folder where also your audio exam files resides.

      4. authoring-tool-replacing

  3. During the exam , you can display the pictures while playing the audio portion of your oral exam, from this folder sorted by name (= numbered sequentially) with the default teacher computer image viewer. No need even to fling out PowerPoint….
Categories: audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, Presenter-Computer, service-is-learning-materials-creation, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging, training Tags: ,

Mylanguagelab.com “Authentication failed” glitch in audio recorder

2012/10/18 Leave a comment

Common error in IE8 when students review their test before submitting. No worries, the student recording is not lost. Still, what is the solution?

Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-students, audience-is-teachers, e-languages, Glitches&Errors, service-is-evaluating-learning-tools, Student-Computers, textbooks, websites Tags:

Arabic LRC tutor training Fall 2012

2012/10/17 Leave a comment

image

Categories: Arabic, audience-is-language-learning-center-temp-staff, Dictionaries, e-languages, Listening, Reading, service-is-tutoring, Speaking, training, Vocabulary, Writing

Sanako Study 1200 StudentRecorder.exe install in the LRC

2012/10/17 Leave a comment

Here is the screencast recording I made during local installation: . It includes the install option “static classroom” and (near the end) our classroom name.

Categories: audience-is-IT-staff, Screencasts, service-is-documenting, service-is-it-managing Tags: ,

How the LRC can help you proctoring your computer-based make-up exams

2012/10/15 Leave a comment
  1. We are testing
    1. whether we can offer proctored make-up exams for students that missed scheduled (publisher website- or Moodle-based)  computerized exams that were held in the LRC. We have not been given additional resources for this service, so we have to set it up as smoothly as possible – as you and your students will desire also.
    2. Alternatively, you could administer your exam in your office, like you used to, but now using your office computer (where presumably you tested the exam in the first place – the LRC can temporarily borrow you a headset
    3. or we could group schedule all remaining students  for a make-up in the main LRC classroom maybe during class meeting (likely more secure and quicker, but taking away from contact hours). Both the presence of the teacher and the lrc director may be required.
  2. The teacher  gives
    1. to  the studentthe exam’s
        1.  step-by-step instructions (depends on your exam website, look at my example here regarding mylanguagelab  tests (version 2012-10): goo.gl/g8q5g),
        2. or, if the exam is self-explanatory to the student (nothing ever seems to be, so if you want to go this route, please be prepared to troubleshoot with your students, the LRC can only help with making step-by-step guides beforehand), the link, i.e. login (e.g. mygermanlab: goo.gl/JUSUC) and exact location  of exam (either path for  manual browsing  or (preferably, if at all possible) a direct link);
        3. duration
        4. deadline
    2. to the LRC coordinator the exam password.  The LRC coordinator publishes the password in LRC Moodle forum “sticky notes” (to which only LRC staff has access).
  3. The student
    1. From her NINERMAILcalendar
      1. prepares a new/meeting request,
        1. “subject: [your course number] make-up exam”,
        2. to “resource:” lrcroomcoed433c @uncc.edu AND lrcroomcoed433d@uncc.edu, our small group rooms,
        3. uses the tab:”scheduling assistant” to find a free (= white, not-blocked) time-slot with the exam duration and before the exam deadline,
        4. and deletes that group room that s/he does not need before actual sending the meeting request (For the quietest experience, s/he should also stir clear of tutoring hours, subject:”up to ####” in the other group room http://mail.uncc.edu/owa/calendar/LRCRoomCOED433c@uncc.edu/Calendar/calendar.html  http://mail.uncc.edu/owa/calendar/LRCRoomCOED433d@uncc.edu/Calendar/calendar.html ).
        5. The student can get help withmaking this meeting request at the LRC reception desk, including booking the room on the fly, but no group room may be immediately available for walk-in clients).
      2. cancels the meeting request if s/he changes her mind, to make the room available to other (we record the check-in time to report offenders who prevent other students from taking their make-up exams). Only in our 2 group rooms next to the reception desk the student can be (loosely) monitored by LRC assistants serving as proctors from behind the reception desk. We can test before term start if your website can use additional security features like Sanako controlled web browsing or Respondus Lockdown browser.
    2. comes to the LRC  shortly before her scheduled time slot,
      1. logs in on the computer in her group room first (to speed things up);
      2. opens her meeting request on the reception desk computer to receive a check-in code from the LRC assistant into the meeting request and “sends update”;
      3. places any personal possession behind the reception desk;
      4. opens the exam instructions (e.g. goo.gl/g8q5g) on the group room computer;
      5. Following instructions therein, goes to the exam website on the group room computer, opens the exam, so that the LRC assistant can type in the password from the LRC Moodle forum “sticky notes” without letting the examinee know the password.
      6. TBA: Will we require  students to get a checkout code? The LRC assistants are not in a position to enforce exam deadlines; your testing software likely should be.
Categories: assessments, audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-teachers, e-languages, policies, Reception-desk, service-is-assessing, small-group-work-spaces, step-by-step-guides Tags: ,