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One-on-one virtual language tutoring using Wimba Classroom

2011/01/14 Leave a comment

The most useful tools in Wimba Classroom for synchronous one-on-one online tutoring, apart from the basic text instant messaging, may be not the videoconferencing, but the audio tools combined with screen-sharing or application-sharing AKA desktop sharing (remote user can control the application – especially for reviewing online learning materials with automated feedback which the student may need additional help with.

A two-way audio connection is obviously useful for language learning, and incurs no phone costs. Videoconferencing is only available on the most advanced phones. And more than video even,
we thought that especially the application screen sharing in wimba would be useful, e.g. if tutor and student go through some of the online exercises together live and the tutor can answer additional questions of the student that the automated online correction has not answered).

To start application sharing, click in tab:content button:share, set the desired sharing options and click “begin sharing”

Recommended learning path:

  1. Both Wimba.com on their Wimba Classroom page and the CTL on their Wimba entry page have a wealth of learning resources on (notice that I Red heart loop inductions, learning by doing):
  2. First watch an archived session held using Wimba classroom: Both the vendor (TBA) and the CTL have archived sessions, including introductory sessions on the use of Wimba Classroom and components.
  3. Then take the student perspective:  You can anticipate student issues and learn from/with the teacher without full responsibility for the session, if you participate in a live session using Wimba Classroom., like the ones the CTL regularly offers (the next one:  http://teaching.uncc.edu/how-do-i-moodle-more-course-web-site-30-min-webinar). 
  4. Read the FAQ, to learn from colleagues with a similar background/context: Intricacies of the talk button (keep it pressed, or set the options so that you do not ; video/audio/text  out of sync may indicate slow internet connection, consider dropping video, the biggest bandwidth hog.
  5. Practice makes perfect: Once equipped with a computer, I plan to test out the Wimba Classroom instructor room, by using it for intra- and inter-office communications. There are competing platforms that I like, e.g. MS-Communicator with its strong presence and escalation features. But Wimba rooms which span students, teachers and staff – any staff member has one by default, any student can enter a room -, have the strongest network effect).
  6. Do one-on-one student support, like in tutoring or online office hours. This can serve you as a gentle introduction to doing more ambitious Wimba classroom projects:
  7. Meeting online with small student groups, e.g. when planning or reviewing student groups projects.
  8. Teaching large online classes.
  9. Before you do this and for your specialized features, you may want to review in–depth multimedia documentation: Wimba Classroom has in depth print manual for presenters and students. Screencast videos (Using Audio, Web Page Display, Application Sharing) are instructional, 1-page “cheat sheets” (Web Page Display, Application Sharing)  are perfect for putting up at your computer during your first session.
  10. Once you are experts, don’t forget that your studentsmay not have used Wimba classroom.

We can support such online tutoring

    1. in the LRC when open (not on weekends unfortunately);
  • Or in your office, with spare parts from the LRC hardware resources (headsets and webcams) which we can set up for you;
  1. Or – to gain maximum benefit from the flexibility synchronous online affords – from home: This however hinges on teachers’ (and students!) whether you are comfortable independently supporting this and if your setup can handle the requirements – – soundcard, headset  with microphone (fewer audio problems than with a microphone/speakers built-in/connected to your webcam/laptop), (webcam is possible, but not necessarily the most useful language learning feature , and but maybe contenting with more instructional screen-sharing or  application-sharing, capability of running the Java plugin in your browser, sufficiently fast computer  and internet connection

All participants must run the Wimba wizard well ahead of session, to be able to address any technical problems before entering a classroom. You can watch the Wizard at work in this  screencast video.

Categories: Distance-education-format-is-Synchronous, e-languages, e-learning Tags: , ,

eRepository: How to manage multimedia learning materials? Maybe with ShareStream

2010/11/04 Leave a comment

Target language audio and video materials – as well as other textual, multimedia and/or interactive materials – are crucial assets (and should become “reusable learning objects”) in learning centers – how best to manage them?

I have worked for a number of HE institutions, up to the very recent past, that charge their students between $30.000 and $40.000 per year, while their learning materials handling in the learning center consisted of what DVDs and VCR tapes fit into a shoe carton, for a lab assistant to frantically browse through when faced with a learner or teacher request for materials. Not to mention teachers spending inordinate amounts of time scanning stacks of make-believe VCR and DVD “libraries” in the learning center.

I have blogged here before about various solutions that attempt to remedy this: from home-baked stop-gap measures to the introduction of eRepository offerings for digital asset management.

link
Learning materials management: Links (1998-2004)
Learning materials management: Textbook exercises (2000-2008)
Learning materials management: Online_resources.xls I: Intranet (2003-2009)
Learning materials management: Online_resources.xls II: E-repository (2006-7)
Learning materials management: Offline resources (2005-2006)
Language Lab Techniques for Producing Audio Learning Materials
How to distribute learning materials using the Blackboard Content System
How to distribute learning materials using the Blackboard Content System
Managing learning materials: How to use an inventory spreadsheet

If you are familiar with these issues, you will understand that I am eagerly looking for better help with managing multimedia learning materials. ShareStream claims to provide a turnkey solution addressing these needs. Its architecture – according to the Tulane pilot – consists of a ShareStream server which serves as eRepository and metadata catalogue, a streaming server, and an encoding server (for lecture-capture: YAT (“yet another tag”)). ShareStream also integrates with the Blackboard LMS.

Have a look at the demo of the pilot at Georgetown University which they gave during MAALLT 2010 and which they now also offer workshops on. One interesting thing I figured out during the question period is that they avoid breaking the Digital Millennium Act when digitizing copy-protected DVD materials by capturing to digital only the analog AV output of a DVD – a reminder that a reform of copyright is sorely needed.

Categories: e-learning, erepository, lms, service-is-learning-materials-creation Tags: , ,

Virtual Whiteboard in Computerized Classrooms

2010/10/22 Leave a comment

To virtualize/digitize your classroom scripts/textbooks/etc. – with all the obvious benefits (single familiar, control interface for multimedia, audio and video) and hidden benefits, like being able to link to offline (e.g. MS–Proofing Tools, MS-Text-to-Speech API) and online language learning tool (e.g. dictionaries, image libraries), use the already installed and supported hardware and software tools in computerized classrooms.

Hardware:

  1. Teacher Computer
  2. LCD Projector
  3. LCD Projector Screen
  4. Classroom Speakers
  5. Wireless keyboard/mouse

Software/Content:

  1. Textbook Scans as images – common nuisance: as ingle exercise (or a rule explanation and its practice exercise) gets spread over 2 pages that won’t fit on document camera –> right-click, open with, “Paint”, use rectangle selection, edit/cut, file/new, edit/paste to combine).
  2. my template Teacher.Dot (and additional downloaded or saved files, copyright permitting) with lookup menu:
  3. MS-Remote desktop: default enabled on all office PCs; on classroom teacher computer, click “start”-button, type “mstsc”, click “OK”, type the IP address of your office computer once, if logged in a yourself on the teacher computer, it will remember it, (you only need to access the advanced options of MSTSC if you encounter compatibility problems, like with screen resolution
  4. MS-ZoomIt:  on file server, allows you to zoom, draw + type on frozen images of your screen (access advanced options if you want to change the font settings and behavior of the mouse  scroll wheel)
  5. Blackboard: Content System <—Web folder <—> Email

Time saving benefits:

  1. Class time: prep in office; slow writing on blackboard, handling of document camera (switching, drawing), internet access
  2. Teacher time: separate steps to & handling email (<—> close file with class and be done)
  3. Student: slow note-taking (not all is mnemonic), handling email (still need to access Blackboard)
  4. More benefits could be had if students had hardware/software to share the screen. If a fully computerized classroom freaks you out, consider MS multi mouse, especially designed for resource challenged educational environments (India originally)
Categories: e-learning, Projectors

Plagwitz – eLearning Papers presented

2010/09/23 Leave a comment

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Categories: conferences, Documents, e-learning, Personal, Screencasts Tags:

Plagwitz eLearning Trainings taken

2010/08/26 Leave a comment

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Categories: Documents, e-learning, Personal Tags:

Blackboard: Content System: Ancillary digital textbook material reuse (publish to course participants, roll-over between terms)

2010/04/25 Leave a comment

If you have a well administered language program, your admin should have uploaded all digital (text, audio, textbook and table of contents) materials that come with your textbook for convenient reuse between sections and terms into the Blackboard content system.

As a Blackboard course administrator, you can easily give all course participants access in 1 step (as course administrator, you can also access the audio materials during classes from the Blackboard content system directly).

Here is a video recording of a real-world walkthrough of this process – voice-over is in German, but Blackboard interface is in English:  blackboard-content-system-finding-adding-existing-content-item-to-course-access-play.wmv

Start Time

Topic

0,0

overview of teaching and learning procedure

0,1

course add item / content collection link

1,30

how to search for content. Remember: Search is your friend, if you have a consistent metadata system for your content (start with meaningful file names):

3,15

hot to add permissions for other users

5,3

add to course for for students

5,4

listen to an example audio from course

Once you have given course participants access to the audio materials, and you teach the course again next term, it is even easier to roll over the access: Just use the Copy link in the Blackboard Control Panel.

Categories: audience-is-teachers, e-learning, erepository, learning-materials, lms, service-is-library Tags: , , ,

Face-to-face and beyond: Smart-board with digitized textbooks and classroom protocols, using MS_Remote Desktop, MS_Zoomit, wireless keyboard, network shares and the Blackboard: Content System

2010/04/08 Leave a comment
  1. This post strings together some already supported or freely available technologies for an effortless way to integrate technology into teaching and learning.
  2.  I had lab assistants scan my textbook. I stored the scans on the teacher-only network share.
  3. In the classroom, I connect to my office computer with mstsc.
    1. you may have to change screen resolution in mstsc. You can save your connection settings on the teacher network share.
  4. To save precious class contact time, on my office computer, I have already opened and prepared the class outline and relevant textbook scan pages with the default windows viewer.
  5. Using zoomit, I can mark on the textbook scan pages for my students, and save the resulting pages, later easily (drag and drop all pages at once) store them in the content system or my students to review my notes.
    1. you may want to adjust the font size in zoomit options.
  6. this technique may also help with fading out document cameras which may, among other things, help with finding enough space to put.

 

Categories: e-learning, Face-to-Face, lms Tags: , , , , ,

A better way to do student homework audio recordings in the Sanako LAB 300, using Blackboard:Assignment

2010/03/08 Leave a comment
  1. More robust than the more common way using the default network shares of a Sanako Lab 300 – to my knowledge, up to this day Sanako Labs lack any integration with the LMS/VLE regarding the upload of student output – is using the assignment tool of the VLE which provides integration with the Student Information System and an entire infrastructure for assessment purposes (gradebook and beyond).
  2. I know that some teachers use Blackboard email with attachments for assignments, others the blackboard drop-box. Some, including me, use the assignment tool which, since it appears to be far superior to the older tools, this post would like to advertise.  
    1. The assignment tool automatically creates a grade center column. 
    2. You can batch download student file submission (papers or recordings) and blackboard assignment tool puts the assignment name and the username in the file name for easier management,
    3. and you can upload a graded version to return assignments to the student and include comments. 
    4. You can also create comments for the instructors only to view. 
    5. Faculty can also use track changes and insert more fine-grained comments and corrections within MS-Word.
  3. Here are the parts of this series:
    1. How the teacher creates a Blackboard model imitation audio recording assignments
    2. How the student submits a Blackboard model imitation audio recording assignments
    3. How the teacher grades a Blackboard audio recording assignments
    4. How the student reviews a grade Blackboard audio recording assignments: TBA.
Categories: assignments, digital-audio-lab, e-learning, lms, multimedia-recording Tags: , ,