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Sanako Lab300 Oral-exam-question-response-recording-cycle

A 6-minute screen-cast explaining the sanako-lab300-oral-exam-question-response-recording-cycle.wmv

Please consult the transcript for a table of contents:

 

0,00

Here we are administering an oral exam. we are going to play pre-recorded teacher-questions to multiple students, we are going to record their responses and, at the end, we are going to collect their recordings in a batch:

0,12

for this, we have all seats where a student is present added to group a, and have set the program source for group a to media file

0,22

we monitor the situation on the student computers by accessing menu: other / thumbnail of group, 

the screen sharing is slow here, has been improved somewhat by installing more memory, the crowded screen situation has also been improved by installing a secondary monitor, use it for viewing the thumbnail window

0,59

in the group a pane, we use the button: duo launch, and ok the dialogue, to open th estudent recorder on the student computers

1,07

in the section:media source, button: file open, we access our pre-recorded question file

1,13

in the meantime, the duo has launched on the student computers – as you can see in the classroom layout from the squares on the student seats, as well as on the mosaic thumbnail screens

1,35

we double-click on a single thumbnail to demo to the students on the screen projector how to adjust the volume

1,43

we click button:transfer to play the volume test file to the students

we have the students record their name at the end of the sound test, to check all recorders, and to be able to identify the speaker in the actual exam file (which will be saved with only the student number in lab 300)

we stop the button:transfer and go to menu:test:response recording

in the pane:”response recording”, in section:”collect”, we click button:”start”

we save the recording in a subdirectory with a meaningful name of our choice

we ok the dialogue that informs us of the response recording

in the window:mosaic, the encoding activity window briefly flashes on the student screens

we browse to the student collect folder, where all subdirectories are saved

we check the folder visibly for the right number (use select all), size or duration of audio files –

it would be even safer, even though more time consuming, to open all the test recordings with audacity, especially on a slow computer, and check the volume graph – open audacity and drag and drop all files onto it

4,07

the soundtest is a complete recording cycle. Simply repeat for the actual exam, but

first  close the pane:response recording, to go back to your pane:group,

in section:program transfer, click button:group control, click icon:file/new, to flush the prior test out of the student recorders,

in the dialogue:”save changes”, click no

and this time load the actual exam audio file

once the sound check is done, we could use button:lock for the students to prevent them from interfering with the computers during the exam

Subtitling Audio Files with Windows Media Player Enhanced Tag Editor

Working with (target language) subtitles is a common requirement in digital language labs.

While the method demonstrated in the following screencast requires some getting used to – remember to share and reuse the result -, the advantage over Sanako Media Assistant subtitling is that the subtitles get stored in the file and not only linked to in a separate file (links tend to/are bound to break if you try to manage your product in course management systems or erepositories): subtitling-with-windows-media-player-enhanced-tag-editor.wmv.

And then there is this very nice capability of YouTube.com: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=100077, if you dare navigate the waters of copyright, data protection and privacy (FERPA).

Note: The  newer Windows Media Editor does not contain the tag editor any more, but on Windows XP, you can roll back the Windows Media Player version by going to Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs / Remove a program. Click Windows Media Player 11, and then click Remove

Create a PowerPoint slide with a timer from template for a timed audio recording exercise

If you require an audio recording exercise, where you allot to students a longer period of time for a free-form response, possibly to a visual cue, here is a demo screencast, based on the teacher.pot powerpoint template collection: powerpoint-timer-slide.wmv.

Quia Audio Files in Internet Explorer

Quia.com contains “Play audio” links to mp3 audio.

You may experience this, when you first try to access the audio with Internet Explorer.

If you cannot read the instruction in the information bar, resize the window so that you can, like here:

After clicking “trust Microsoft” and  “Run ActiveX” in the following dialog, the “Internet Explorer cannot display this webpage” may appear. Ignore this, close the window and reopen it by clicking again on the “Play” link  in the parent window.

This time you will (hopefully) see this:

You need to do this only once  – per PC? per user? Let me know in the comments.

Presentation on Time-stretched Audio and Personalized Provision in Instructor-led Digital Audio Labs @ Nerallt/Neallt 2009, Yale University, New Haven, CT

The pervasiveness of networked digital media – new delivery forms for digital TV and radio by the traditional media industry, as well as new content providers using pod- and tube-casts -, owing to an ever more powerful, robust and – partially as an overhang of the bubble – abundant technical hard- and software infrastructure, has also revitalized – and poured substantial new resources into the modernization of – the older concept of the language lab. Computerized classrooms with network and multimedia facilities, basic classroom management systems and centralized databases, with some interfacing to serve as learning material repositories or portfolios demonstrating learning outcomes, have become a common underlying fabric for many of the constituents’ learning environments. The recent freezing up of the resource flow can serve as a wakeup call to remind us both of the critical “What is the benefit, or return on investment?” and of the original promise of e-learning: increased efficiency. On the one hand, scaling through crowd-sourced or automated sourcing and reuse of materials has become a pressing need in rapidly expanding second language programs like English and Spanish that new technologies can help meet. On the other hand, widely differing learner proficiency is increasingly a problem when trying to form classes in the shrinking programs of other languages, and personalization of learning provision is increasingly expected in an environment shaped by “long tail”-economies. This paper will evaluate common practices in SLA that have served as workaround, recapitulate a number of different time-stretching algorithms, summarize existing software solutions and introduce a new option which is based on MS-Windows Media Encoder’s time-stretching and pause detection capabilities. Finally, the presentation will exemplify instructor-led utilization of this simplified and/or automated time-stretching of authentic materials, with more teacher-control and a more realistic output than that built into current media players, as a – not exclusive, but valuable – step towards more comprehensible input of level “i+1” in a more personalized language learning provision.

Slide Deck: plagwitz_timestretching_audio_nerallt09.pdf

Sanako Lab 300: Pairing and some basics

In the spirit of ‘Better improvised instruction and information distribution than failing classes in the lab”, I recorded a 1-on-1 instruction on how to pair students, including some other basic Lab300 features into a 5-minute screencast with voice over  (open with Windows Media Player): sanako-lab300_pairing-and-basics.wmv

For an overview, see the following table of contents (when reviewing the video before starting your class in the Lab, search your webmail for the link to this instruction.)

  1. Not shown: teach students once and for all: always log in first;
  2. Grouping setup pane (all into L, then into A, excluding unused seats);
  3. Pair discussion setup pane (button: select for manual pair select mode);
  4. Not shown: teacher should use button: duo launch to facilitate student control of audio;
  5. Within group A pane , teacher uses button:transfer, changes program source to audio cassette:
    Pair discussion setup pane : “re-pair”, using button:cancel all, button:random to have Lab 300 software choose pairs;
  6. Within group A pane , teacher uses button:headphone for talking to group (not shown: remember to undo when finished!)
  7. From classroom layout: teachers clicks student icon to bring up student pane;
  8. From student pane, teacher views student screen, listens to student (or pair), uses student button:intercom for talking to student (or pair);
  9. From top menu: Other / thumbnail view of group: teacher brings up Mosaic window, to monitor (“police”) entire group screens; translates what you see to individual student, and uses button:lock (keyboard, screen or both) to prevent students from not staying on task [Demo this in first lab class to your students, using the screen projector , and hopefully they will hopefully stay on task];
  10. From menu: Other/ thumbnail view of group, teacher brings up Mosaic window and double clicks student screen to control individual student computer (e.g. to close a web browser – another way to police, less effective, but possible; better used for collaboration) . [Better policing options can be set up in the using the Lab300 web browser).

How Teachers grade Student recordings from the Sanako Lab 300

  1. Teacher on their office PC (MAC users talk to OTS at loyola.edu) can press  windows-key+e, and in the window, that opens,
  2. browse to the student mp3 recordings in the “studentcollect” folder or in “their” folder on S:\[put teacher name here] (no S: drive on office PC? read the “Shortcuts” section on http://plagwitz1.spaces.live.com, right hand side, under my portrait),
  3. open the student recording file, either by doubleclicking to, presumably, open it in  Windows Media Player, or, preferably, by selecting multiple files, right-clicking and chosing “Open with” to open them for comparative grading in Audacity).

How students make audio recordings using Sanako Lab300 Media Assistant

  1. Open Sanako Media Assistant
  2. Click Button:Record
  3. Say what you have to say, into headset mic
  4. Click Button:Stop
  5. Menu: File / Save As
  6. Browse to your teacher’s folder
  7. Per your teacher’s instructions, name the file
  8. Leave the default  format as is (mp3) and click button:save
  9. Allow the assistant to finish saving
  10. Click Button: Play to review your recording, using the headset
  11. If you need to redo the recording, click menu: File / New
  12. Start over.