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Archive for the ‘e-languages’ Category

How to record your screen with MS-Community Clips

2013/11/06 Leave a comment
  1. During presentations, when creating demonstrations etc., it can be useful to record your screen (and your voice, if you speak into the headphone microphone). In the LRC, we have MS Community Clips pre-installed for this purpose. To start recording: image
  2. To stop recording, follow the same steps, but in step 3 choose “stop”.
  3. Or forget about the menus and remember the keyboard shortcuts: WIN+ALT+R or T.
  4. The video will play automatically. Click stop, menu: Save, Save your recording where you need it (e.g. Desktop). image
  5. If your teacher wants you to submit your recording, in the LRC you can drop it into the Sanako Homework window and “send” it: image
Categories: assessments, audience-is-students, digital-audio-lab, documentation, e-languages, multimedia-recording, presentations, Student-Computers Tags: ,

Can we get rid of Windows Media Player first run experience?

2013/11/05 Leave a comment
  1. It costs a lot of time in a language lab where computers are frozen (user cannot change settings between sessions – unless this is a roaming user setting on the server which it does not appear to be) and audio files are frequently played for which Windows Media Player has is set to be the default player to go through this set of dialogues whenever trying to listen to a file. We had this bypassed in Windows XP/Symantec Ghost. CAM03834
  2. Even better, make the Sanako Recorder the default player for audio files in the language lab. The Sanako student settings I recommend here are meant for the teacher office computers where we do not have to control and try and optimize the experience as tightly as in a face-to-face class teaching lab and therefore can tread lightly during install of the Sanako. In the Student Recorder Settings, "associate media files" option should be checked.
Categories: digital-audio-lab, e-languages Tags: , , ,

Dead key behavior could be more intuitive in MS US-International keyboard layout…

2013/11/04 Leave a comment

…from a good source on writing international characters on the MS platform. After having to explain around dead key behavior hundreds of times, I’d definitely sign the proposed petition to make it more intuitive (= temporarily revive the dead, show something!). The suggestion in the comments to move more languages to full-blown IME’s seems also interesting.

Categories: e-languages, Writing Tags: ,

A few thoughts on headphones for the language lab

2013/10/28 Leave a comment
  1. Analog (3.5mm connector): the traditional way; still cheaper.
  2. Digital (USB connector): comes with its own soundcard – potentially better compatibility, especially with software form the same vendor (digital audio labs)
    1. Sanako SLH-07 has long connectors that stick out too much for our purposes. Students have broken them open inadvertently with their backrests of their chairs. But you can defuse this risk with a simple male-female USB extension cord (disadvantages: extra cost, extra layer of items to be managed and extra connection that can break…)
      1. Sometimes there is (intermittent or permanent) static on startup – must be some driver loading error. Restart the computer.
    2. Sans SHS-100 (for the Sony Virtuoso) have short connectors. I have only briefly tested a Sony headset, seemed fine.
    3. For any USB headset, I recommend having the built-in analog audio card that comes with the computer disabled (normally done in the BIOS). Again: more options means here more failure points and more confusion and distraction from language learning.
  3. For either analog or digital:
    1. Less is more. Volume control and mute are available through software. duplicate that, and you multiply potential for error, confusion and troubleshooting. Also, what is not there, cannot break.
    2. Light headsets may be fashionable, but, in a shared “lab”environment, what about
      1. sound insulation in a , now that the cubicles are long gone (outside of professional interpreter facilities)?
      2. ruggedness? I recommend buying headsets that have as few movable parts as possible, especially not the microphone boom: short circuits will ensue in no time (case in point: Sanako and Sony have zero moving parts)
    3. connect your headsets on the rear – out of the way and out of reach (and secured, cable-tied: to avert theft, but also “troubleshooting” by troublemakers).
Categories: e-languages, hardware, headphones

How a teacher can use NanoGong’s plugin for the HTML editor to easily send their own audio to students

2013/10/17 Leave a comment
  1. The rich HTML editor recorder plug-in is supposed to make it easier for the teacher (than other recorders that require the teacher to save to file and upload the file to a Moodle activity). Here is how it can work:
  2. Add an activity which includes the rich HTML editor plugin, e.g. a page. 
  3. Click on the loudspeaker icon denotes NanoGong among the editor tools.
  4. image
  5. A window will open that includes the recorder JAVA applet (you may have to bypass Java warnings): image
  6. Click the red record button and speak.
  7. When done, click insert.
  8. Result: image
  9. Note, however,  that so far I have run into issues actually displaying this teacher-added NanoGong recorder content.
Categories: audience-is-teachers, documentation, e-languages, Listening, lms, multimedia-recording, recording-software Tags: , ,

JAVA warning dialogues to bypass during NanoGong activities

2013/10/17 Leave a comment
  1. You may be prompted to update JAVA – likely a not a bad idea: java outdated warning_thumb[1]
  2. Click “RUN”: image_thumb[8]_thumb[1]
  3. Check (1) “Accept”and Click (2) “Run”: CAM03105_thumb
  4. Click “Don’t Block”: CAM03106_thumb[1]
  5. Even more annoying when warning dialogues do not come to the foreground, and your computer/web browser simply seems to be stuck. Check your task bar/dock for blinking/jumping JAVA notifications, like here: CAM03112_thumb.
  6. You have to bypass these dialogues only once – per session (lab) or possibly per computer. Choose the right answer, for university assignments, it is safe to “Allow! Allow! Allow! (“run”, “don’t block:”, update”, what ever – use common sense).
  7. Remember, thinks could be worse,  – like if you try to use NanoGong in a Firefox that has not been explicitly configured to allow JAVA applets – read more on our troubleshooting NanoGong page. 
Categories: assignments, audience-is-students, audience-is-teachers, e-languages, Glitches&Errors, lms, multimedia-recording, recording-software, service-is-documenting, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging, Speaking Tags: , ,

How a teacher can easily assign an audio recording in Moodle, using the new NanoGong plugin

2013/10/17 Leave a comment
  1. We are back in business with easy audio recording assignments in the LMS, thanks to NanoGong – the free recorder I recommended when first starting here – now being available in MOODLE (presumably with the Upgrade to Moodle 2, I almost missed that….)
  2. To assign, click “turn editing on”, “Add activity or resource”, select “NanoGong voice activity”, as pictured below: image
  3. There are a few interesting options:
    1. you can limit the duration
    2. you can limit the number of recordings (attempts?) allowed  (0 is unlimited)
    3. You can let students listen to each other recordings. (Is there a rating feature that can be combined with this?) image
    4. And this is what
      1. you will see (TBA:read on for how to listen to student submissions, give feedback and grade.)image
    5. your students will see…
Categories: Arabic, assignments, audience-is-teachers, e-languages, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek (modern), Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, lms, Mandarin, multimedia-recording, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Speaking, Swahili, Yoruba Tags: ,

Teacher cannot remote control student computers in Sanako Study 1200 Autoscan

2013/10/15 Leave a comment
  1. Problem:
      1. The 1st video shows me unable to remote control a student PC from the Sanako  Tutor/ Screensharing / Autoscan window, despite (audibly) clicking the mouse and typing on the keyboard.
      2. The 2nd  video demonstrates another strange behavior: Not only can I not remote control the student PC – the Autoscan window keeps showing the same screen even after switching to the next student – although students all work on different texts, as is further evidenced by the thumbnail view of the whole classroom on the left.
      3. This photo was supposed to demonstrate another oddity: the teacher’s typing (instead of going to the student) flashing up in the upper left of the Autoscan window, between the “Monitor” button and the “Word” window frame – but I missed the right moment. Besides, it may be an additional complication due to the Office 2010 Japanese IME chosen here on both teacher and student. Or it may be the root of the problems (but including mouse? screen not updating)
      4. image
  2. Additional Info: For what it is worth: here are the Sanako log files from
    1. the teacher (unfrozen, all times):
    2. a couple of students
  3. Debugging:
    1. Can this be replicated with an IME other than Office 2010 Japanese (or any non-Western IM), on teacher and/or student?  An actual student should be logged in (<- permissions issue?), preferably many (<- performance issue?). Update: No, could not be replicated yet using another keyboard than an East-Asian IME is involved – bug?
Categories: digital-audio-lab, e-languages, Glitches&Errors Tags: , , ,