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Posts Tagged ‘audio’

Saba Centra on startup automatically selects the "microphone" as recording device…

2013/05/03 Leave a comment
  1. … But we in the language lab use the (dual function microphone/line-in) "rear input" for our headsets (for ergonomic, health&safety and security reasons). Workaround here.
  2. Apparently this startup behavior cannot be changed within Saba Centra:
    1. Any startup will bring up the “Audio Wizard” asking users, even in a controlled lab environment, to configure their audio devices,
    2. and if users do (and choose what they have: headset), make wrong assumptions which audio plug to enable (“Microphone” front panel, even if your headset is plugged into the rear panel dual “line-in/microphone”)
  3. The workaround according to  these easily Googled instructions is using the “Advanced” audio wizard options to override this “Audio Wizard” error, like so:
    1. “Re-open the Audio Wizard, go to the third screen and change your recording device in your “Recording Device” menu. Advance two slides and determine if you can hear your recorded voice. ”
      1. 1st screen: image
      2. 3rd screen: image
      3. note the instructions –  Click “Advanced”. But it is easier to just use from the start our Workaround here.
  4. The long-term solution is reconfigure your hardware and disable the front panel audio – but will Saba Centra  understand you? Stay tuned…
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, e-learning, Glitches&Errors, Listening-Stations, mental-notes, service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging, Speaking, Uncategorized Tags: ,

How to prevent squealing noise on the brown headphones AKA audio feedback

2013/03/13 Leave a comment
  1. Symptom:high-pitched squealing sound, usually when logged into the computers along the  wall (listening stations –other computers have different black headsets which are not as prone to this problem,) and not wearing the headset.
  2. Short answer: LRC Assistants will let the student who causes the squealing noise know:
    1. ”Turn the volume knob on the brown headset down!”
    2. “You can turn it back up once you have put the headset on”.
  3. Explanation:
    1. The brown (analog) headsets on the listening stations exhibit this squealing noise  when
      1. the students do not wear the headset
      2. AND the microphone is too close to the headphone speakers
      3. AND the headphone volumne knob is turned up to high.
    2. This phenomenon is called an (audio) feedback loop:
      1. The headphone speakers echo what is spoken into the microphone (this is called sidetone).
      2. This is an important language learning feature (helps you control your pronunciation).
      3. However, it spirals out of control when students do not wear the headset. They also need to “wear the headset!” (general recommendation in the language lab) to have the benefit of the sidetone (and then their head insulates between speakers and microphones).
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-temp-staff, audience-is-students, digital-audio-lab, Glitches&Errors, Listening-Stations Tags: , ,

LRC offers generating audio files from your foreign language texts

2013/03/01 2 comments
  1. Would you like to expose your student to L2 listening materials beyond the audio learning materials that come with your textbook?
    1. Materials customized to the learning needs of your classes? From current affairs maybe?
    2. Would you prefer no to send them to  internet audio that may be difficult and time consuming to integrate?
    3. Do you lack the time to record speaking cues, oral exam questions or reading models yourself?
    4. Do you need audio files that you and your students can rewind/fast forward/replay, edit and record into with voice insert?
    5. And would you prefer using audio in your classes that comes with aligned text, whether that audio that has been transcribed or vice versa, to create glossaries,  captions,  multimedia assignments?
  2. The LRC now offers generating audio files from your foreign language texts in many languages.
    1. The service is based on the quality voices of Google Translate text-to-speech (better (simpler) than its actual translation portion, let alone its naïve use).
    2. Unlike Google translate, the service persists longer than 100 character texts to audio files (mp3) that (and the underlying digital text) we can work with further, in your syllabus, the LMS and the digital audio lab.
    3. Technical background and samples.
    4. Languages that are available in good quality: See links under this post;  other languages: please test with me..
  3. To request an audio file generation for your class, send the following information to the LRC
    1. regular reading/listening materials: plain digital text should do;
    2. SANAKO oral exam cues: please enter the text in this MS-Word table and add information in the additional columns for exam customization.
Categories: announcements, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, English, French, German, Italian, Listening, service-is-learning-materials-creation, Spanish Tags: , , ,

How a teacher can use Sanako voice insert to easily add spoken comments to students’ Sanako oral proficiency exams- step–by step

2012/11/19 Leave a comment
  1. Requirements:
    1. you need access to the network share to open/save student recordings (this works in your office; I do not know whether there is technology supported on campus that this makes this work in your home office also,
    2. you need to have the free Sanako student recorder Lite installed, here is how: Just “Run” the above link.
    3. Recommended: in the student recorder, from menu: TBA, set your “default save directory” to the current folder with the student recordings – otherwise you have to change the save as dialogue back to this destination for each file you save.
    4. you UPDATE: DO NOT ANYMORE need to disable the voice graph (not compatible with voice-insert recording; you can, however show the voice graph again when done recording and reviewing the file)
    5. you need to save the student recording, updated with your comments, in the same folder with the same file name as the source (when “saving as” and choosing the name, preferably do not type it, but rather select or copy/paste it. The original file will still be preserved since your version will be saved in a a different format and therefore have a different file extension)
  2. TBA:you can rewind to listen, and re-record to overwrite comments that you want to revise
  3. More training:
    1.  the voice insert step-by-step training video we made for students.
    2. How a teacher can give students aural feedback on oral exams using the Sanako Study 1200 Lite Recorder
Categories: audience-is-teachers, e-languages, grading, multimedia-recording, step-by-step-guides Tags: , , , ,

How to play Windows media on the MAC OS platform

2012/11/12 Leave a comment

LRC-provided Windows Media encoded audio and video learning materials files can easily also be played on the MAC, since Microsoft supports Windows Media also on the Mac-platform.

Mac users can download wmv/wma support for the Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later, QuickTime version 7.0 or later) from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx for free. In this download from Microsoft, Windows Media® Components for QuickTime are  now “new & improved”.

Categories: learning-materials, software Tags: , , , , ,

How to mix SANAKO- recorded individual students’ audio tracks together

2012/11/05 Leave a comment
  1. If the students’ audio tracks are not already time-aligned, first use audacity: "time shift tool" to align individual tracks  image (with this tool selected, you can move individual tracks back and forth, to the left or right).
  2. If/ When they are time-aligned, use audacity/ menu: tracks/"stereo track to mono".
Categories: audience-is-teachers, Back office, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, multimedia-recording, recording-software, service-is-applying-learning-tools, Speaking, Student-Computers Tags: ,

MS Windows Media Encoder, your free audio and video encoding utility

2012/11/02 Leave a comment
  1. Benefits
    1. Free
    2. Can cut and convert
      1. video
        1. Makes screencasts also.
        2. can capture video
      2. audio
        1. including pause removal.
    3. can stream
  2. Limitation: Outputs only to MS media formats (WMA, WMV) (
  3. Download here. There is also a 64-bit version.
    1. Officially supported on
    2. Windows 2000 and XP. I use it on Vista and Windows 7 (both 64-bit) also (for audio; no guarantees).
    3. f I remember correctly, Windows Media Encoder has a built-in limit to support only up to 4 CPU cores, you may have to limit CPU usage if you run on more advanced hardware platforms).
  4. a bit of config:
    1. For good quality video and audio, put a  prx file like this in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Components".
    2. Put a wme file like this anywhere and start by double clicking the file, then press green “Record” button.
Categories: Media, service-is-evaluating-learning-tools, service-is-learning-materials-creation, software Tags: , ,

Digitizing audio tapes in 2012…

2012/09/26 Leave a comment

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…comes now at least with “China  price”. e-learning is not about digitizing, but in tape, you can get entangled. : –)

Categories: service-is-learning-materials-creation Tags: