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Sanakoaudioconfigonthefly software utilities updated for Vista/Windows7
- (Shortcut to download – now fixed) The reason why a colleague’s signature reads: “Worrying about a large institution, especially when it has computers, is like worrying about a large gorilla, especially when it’s on fire" (Bruce Sterling) might just be that a multimedia-capable fully computerized classroom – think 30 PCs and 30 students trying not only to listen to, but record responses to exam audio – is a notoriously difficult beast to control, and all too easily spins out of the same (a classroom humming in an endless audio feedback loop is neither a pleasant nor an unfamiliar sight).
- The Sanako Study 1200 is a digital audio lab software that facilitates the use of personal computers in face-to-face class settings. However, while the Sanako Study 1200 features many ways for the teacher to control and manage the student PCs, the students’ audio settings cannot be controlled on the fly.
- Enter these little sanakoaudioconfigonthefly utilities (written in AutoIt) for Windows 7 and Vista (old Windows PX version still available here) that extend the Sanako Study 1200.
- We now use (as it is completely adequate and actually superior to to the seemingly more applicable PC control / Launch programs features which is requires the program executable to reside under the same path on student and tutor computer) Playlist / copy and launch (folder icon) and the Sanako grouping feature to send a program with your choice of action to the student PCs of your choice. In this example,
- click playlist,
- and in the window that opens, click (1) to send to “all”, then click (2) to select which program to send:
![image_thumb[3]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/image_thumb3_thumb.png?w=341&h=244 "image_thumb[3]")
- Files included in this release (each for 64-bit, and as source code, so that you can compile your own if you are still on MS-Vista/MS-Windows-732-bit platform):
- Change student recording levels (microphone sensitivity).
- Toggle student sidetone ( in Sanako = “listen” to this device in Windows)
- Control student playback level (headphone volume).
- Likely these programs can be adapted beyond Sanako Study 1200, but I do not remember (helpful comments appreciated)
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- whether other digital audio lab platforms (Sony Virtuoso, Robotel SmartClass) allow for changing the student audio config on the fly
- and what mechanism (if any – but likely) they (and Sanako Lab300) provide to launch programs on the students’ computers
- Prerequisites:
- None other than your digital audio lab software and the utilities you can download below. In particular, it is not required to install AutoIt on teacher or student computers.
- However, there should be only 1 microphone/speaker per student computer in the digital audio lab. If you have more, you likely have bigger problems to solve first, but you also need to alter the source code (included) to select the microphone you want to work with (should be easy; note however, that I have not tested this scenario, for: “There should be only 1 microphone/speaker per student computer in the digital audio lab”
- Request here to download these utilities.
![image_thumb[3]](https://plagwitz.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/image_thumb31.png "image_thumb[3]")
A template for Digital audio lab model-imitation/question-response oral exams
Sony Virtuoso Apprentice and Brevi Options Dialogues and Diagnostics
When working on improvements for the room booking and equipment checkout in the LRC, I was recently reminded by the MS-Exchange 2010 room mailbox settings :
,
how nice it is to have, like a giant tool belt, a reasonably evolved software application with all kinds of knobs and handles (all you can set here can help you, solve a problem for you, relieve you of manual troubleshooting/clerical work).
The Sony Virtuoso Apprentice language lab software and the corresponding Sony Soloist Brevi Student Recorder application did not make the cut here for other reasons. But I sure felt intrigued and put in control by its options and settings dialogues:
Virtuoso Dialogues:
Soloist Dialogues and Diagnostics:
How to design a classroom layout in Sony Virtuoso, and reflect it in the Sony Soloist
Teachers using a fully computerized classroom – as well as the installed language learning software itself (which, once set up, will help further by displaying the names of the students logged in on the student computers), – need to have an easy way to identify and address individual student computers.
Sony Virtuoso/Soloist, like the Sanako Lab 300, use an identification scheme which based on manual numberin of te student computers.
This requires the administrator to manually make a configuration change on each student computer when the software is first installed (and whenever the classroom is reimaged with upgrades).
Newer classroom mangement and langauge learning systems like NetOp SChool or Sanako Study can autonumber and –identify connected student computers.
To set up the student computers, start the Soloist from the desktop icon.
Press ctrl – shift –f10 to access the configuration dialogues. On tab: teacher control, 
in the text input field Seat number highlighted red above, put the number that corresponds to the attached seating map below.
NOTE: the seats in the center bottom forming a dent in the layout are intentionally left blank for he presenter computer and PC32.
The square in the upper right are the leftmost (teacher perspective) computers in our main lab – they would not fit better into the lab layout grid of the Sony Virtuoso Apprentice (higher versions have more flexible layout grids, I hear).
Interpreting Lab Vendors at BETT 2009
artec_main_bett2009.AVI (big, and you can find help here on How to play videos) is a quick-and-dirty video I shot during my visit to the ARTEC/TELEVIC booth at the British Educational Technology Tradeshow (BETT) 2009 in London 16/01/2009.
ARTEC demonstrated certain lab features (they had a live setup of a teacher and a number of student computers) for face-to-face teaching.
They also tried to show off a web-based add-on for self-access interpreting practice which you better try out yourself here, then browse to Demo edumatic online / demo online / audio/video comparative / comparative recording : an online dual band recorder.
If I have time, I will post an outline of this video here. In the meantime, you can add points you find notable to the comments below.
I also visited the booth of CONNECTED (SONY VIRTUOSO – they have their own WMV Demo Video ) and SANAKO (I put the CD-Rom in a SkyDrive folder sanako for the Interpreting-Group).
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Other ways to find help
If you cannot find it here, look there: 5,500 Language-Learning Links and Programs for learning or teaching 150 languages
Shortcuts:Our Lists, Our Maps, LRC Staff Moodle Site,LRC Project Moodle Site, 49erexpress, UNCC Moodle, Student Recordings: s:claslcslrcsanakostudent
Learning usage samples: Sanako oral exam, Kaltura webcam presentation, Dictation with speech recognition, Sanako written exam, Chinese and Japanese interactive stroke-order practice
Test the Sanako Installer, Webbrowser Popup Konfigurator for XP, or Windows7, faster LRC TeacherPC Log-in Let MS facilitate diacritics writing by installing for you US-International keyboard layout
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