--- Forwarded Message from "res04m4j" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>From: "res04m4j" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: RE: #5628.67Lab Experience (!)
>Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 06:19:53 -0700
>Importance: Normal
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
------------------
Linda,
I too am very interested in your design- I am very interested in the use of
various technologies to produce a transparent layer for which a teacher can
use. One of the major requirements of this technology layer is user
friendliness and portability of files. This is what I feel makes the
Tandberg solution so viable.
If we take a wholistic approach to lab design, then one of the pieces is of
course the lab itself and all of the ramifications this brings.
Additionally, and as an enhancement to the lab would be the implementation
of up to date authoring stations for faculty use as well as an area to
explore for media content. A database of searchable files that are in a
standard format for use in developing content for the lab as well as virtual
classes deliverable via the web.
This wholistic approach to language facilities is part of the Virtual
Language Lab Project that the California State University is exploring in
partnership with Teleste, Inc.
Thanks
Ronald Bergmann
Technical Services Manager
CSU Strategic Language Initiative
562-951-4748
562-833-1192 (mobile)
-----Original Message-----
From: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of LLTI-Editor
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2000 5:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: #5628.67Lab Experience (!)
--- Forwarded Message from "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> ---
>From: "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "'Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum'"
<[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: RE: #5628.6 Lab Experience (!)
>Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 15:58:18 -0400
------------------
We're a small program: about 150 students, max. We teach five levels of ESL.
Courses offered are oral communication, written communication,
reading/writing combo for upper levels, conversation, and content courses.
We have one, two, or three sections of each level, each course.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: LLTI-Editor [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 8:27 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: #5628.6 Lab Experience (!)
>
> --- Forwarded Message from Heather Colwell <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 01:15:04 -0400
> >From: Heather Colwell <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Re: #5628.3 Lab Experience (!)
> >To: [log in to unmask]
>
> It would be interesting to know how many students and how many classes
> this
> lab serves.
> Thanks
>
>
> On Wed, 19 Jul 2000 08:12:59 EDT, LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> >--- Forwarded Message from "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> ---
> >
> >>From: "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]>
> >>To: [log in to unmask]
> >>Subject: Lab description
> >>Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 13:04:20 -0400
> >
> >OK--here goes. In response to some requests from LLTI participants for a
> >description of our lab.
> >
> >University of Miami Intensive English Program Media Center
> >
> > We constructed our Media Center (MC) at the University of Miami
> >Intensive English Program in August 1999. Each workstation includes a PC
> and
> >a built-into-the-desk cassette deck. We have a seven-foot oval table and
> >chairs in the back of the room. In the corner of the room we have a small
> >office where the assistant director of the MC sits. That office was built
> >with two large square windows facing the entrance to the lab on one side
> of
> >the office and the front of the lab on the other side.
> > The oval table has worked out well as a study area. Students meet
> >there during independent hours. The office with the windows (no blinds on
> >the windows) invites students to use the assistant director as a resource
> >(an unanticipated dynamic, and something that took quite a bit of
> adjustment
> >by our assistant director). We also have student assistants to monitor
> the
> >MC.
> > We chose Dell 450 PCs and a Tandberg audio system. The Dells were
> >the recommendation of our IT department. We chose the Tandberg system for
> >several reasons: We didn't like the technical configuration of our former
> >system and we wanted a system whose features were somewhat intuitive (in
> >contrast to the incomprehensible interface and technical manual of our
> >previous system). After visiting a Tandberg lab, visiting a competitor's
> >lab, and watching a demonstration from a third manufacturer, we found
> >Tandberg's software and hardware to be the best. I posted questions to
> other
> >lab managers on the Web and got positive reviews of Tandberg performance
> and
> >a few complaints (one very serious) about the technology of one of
> >Tandberg's closest competitors.
> > We needed our lab built (total room renovation included), wired,
> and
> >ready to go in three weeks (during a semester break). Since we had this
> >tight timeframe, and since ergonomics were an important aspect of the
> lab,
> I
> >chose Synsor furniture, which has a sleek Scandinavian look, but a
> studious,
> >old-fashioned library look at the same time. Another motive for choosing
> >that furniture is that Tandberg is a distributor. That fact reduced the
> >chance that the technical equipment wouldn't fit the furniture, thus
> >minimizing the chances of the furniture being set up, and then finding
> that
> >things didn't fit, having to reorder and redesign, etc. The furniture
> worked
> >out perfectly. We have thirty carrels that are semi-enclosed by dividing
> >side panels that are lined to reduce noise, and a plexiglass, numbered
> front
> >panel.The PCs have MS applications, access to instructional software
> (from
> a
> >Dell server and a Meridian CD Net 14-bay CD server), Internet access, and
> a
> >stability device called Centurion. The Centurion has been critical to the
> >success of the lab. Essentially, it partitions a temporary drive for
> student
> >use. When the system is rebooted, the system refreshes itself. We are
> >currently testing another product, Fortres, which has one big advantage
> over
> >Centurion, i.e., we can stipulate one area on the hard drives of each
> system
> >that won't be refreshed when rebooted. We also have a Hewlett Packard
> >LaserJet 8000 N printer, which has proved to be perfectly adequate.
> > Our teachers bring classes into the Media Center as a regular
> part
> >of the curriculum. The Tandberg system is controlled from the teacher's
> PC,
> >as any traditional language lab. In other words, the tape decks are
> stopped,
> >started, etc., by the teacher using the Tandberg interface. It can also
> be
> >set in library mode so that students can individually control their own
> tape
> >decks. It has all the features that our teachers requested, and more
> (e.g.,
> >pairing students randomly or by selection, group conferencing,
> telephoning,
> >distributing a tape that's in the teacher's console to all or a group of
> >students in the lab; testing with the teacher's voice as the program
> source
> >and students recording from their carrel's cassette desks; testing with
> >tapes as the program source, etc.). Students are also free to come into
> the
> >Media Center to study independently. We keep the lab open three to four
> >hours after classes and an hour before classes. For independent study, we
> >added a Tandberg product called the Divace (soon to be updated to the
> >Tandberg "Duo" we hope), which we purchased experimentally and installed
> in
> >one row of our lab. The Divace (that's a Tandberg acronym) easily
> digitizes
> >analog tapes, compresses them with the same interface, and puts them on a
> >server. (I no longer have to worry about one tape out of the set of six
> >that's missing since the digitized "data" is duplicated on the server).
> >Another feature is that it has two tracks. In other words, a student can
> >independently come into the lab, sit at a system with a Divace, open the
> >interface, select a "tape" (now in digitized form) or digitized video,
> >listen, record his or her own voice (which would destroy an analog tape
> on
> >another system) and listen to his/her own voice. The Divace is
> >user-friendly, as are all the Tandberg interfaces. Our server is very
> small,
> >only about 10 gb, but we plan to add another 10 gb. It's runs Novelle.
> >When the teachers came back from their break to face a new system, they
> >panicked. After looking at other manufacturers' interfaces, I think it
> >probably would have been worse. After the first semester of Tandberg use,
> >the teachers felt comfortable, and they are using most of its features.
> >Students congregate here because the workstations are well
> >designed--conducive to whatever they want to do (study alone, collaborate
> >with the person next to them, use the PC and/or cassettes, watch a
> video).
> >They study independently more than ever, often using our Divaces.
> > We have four TV monitors attached to the ceiling from which we
> >project the videos (controlled at the teacher's workstation through the
> same
> >Tandberg interfaces). We also have a "Vizcam," essentially a camera that
> >projects but doesn't record. It's great to use not only as you would use
> an
> >overhead projector (better because it projects on the TV monitors and you
> >can project any image--your hand, a page from a book, rather than having
> to
> >use transparencies) but also because students can do presentations and
> >appear on "TV," which seems to inspire them.
> > The equipment almost never fails (teachers will claim technical
> >malfunction occasionally, but it is almost always pilot error). Things we
> >plan to add: a cable connection to run CNN at lunch time and lots of
> >web-based, teacher-authored material.
> >
> >Linda Cahill, PhD
> >Assistant Director for Learning Resources
> >University of Miami
> >Intensive English Program
> >[log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: john w harris [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> >> Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 9:42 AM
> >> To: Cahill, Linda E.
> >> Cc: Ursula Williams
> >> Subject: Re: #5628.2 Language Lab experience (!)
> >>
> >>
> >> On Tue, 18 Jul 2000 08:01:56 EDT LLTI-Editor
> <[log in to unmask]>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> > --- Forwarded Message from Ursula Williams <[log in to unmask]> ---
> >> >
> >> > >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >> > >References: <[log in to unmask]>
> >> > >Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 14:13:42 -0500
> >> > >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
> >>
> >> > <[log in to unmask]> >From: Ursula Williams
> <[log in to unmask]>
> >> > >Subject: Re: #5628.1 Language Lab experience (!)
> >> >
> >> > ------------------
> >> > >--- Forwarded Message from "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]>
> ---
> >>
> >>
> >> Linda,
> >>
> >> I second Ursula's interest in your program and want to know your answer
> to
> >> her
> >> question, "What's your secret?"
> >>
> >> John
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> > >
> >> > > >From: "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]>
> >> > > >To: "'Language Learning and Technology International Information
> >> > >Forum'" <[log in to unmask]>
> >> > > >Subject: RE: #5628 Language Lab experience
> >> > > >Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 16:17:10 -0400
> >> > >
> >> > >------------------
> >> > >Our lab is the most popular aspect of our program. Would you like a
> >> detailed
> >> > >description of the lab/program? Would that help?
> >> > >
> >> >
> >> > I for one would love to hear more about this, Linda. We have an
> >> > active lab at Notre Dame, but not as active as I would like to see,
> >> > given the large number of students completing foreign language
> >> > courses. There are always methods and strategies to promote the use
> >> > of the lab, and to make it more effective. Indeed I have a list of
> >> > benefits that I routinely quote when asked (and sometimes when not!)
> >> > But we are a long way from "most popular." What's your secret? Maybe
> >> > you could share with the list?
> >> >
> >> > Ursula
> >> >
> >> > --
> >> >
> >> > Ursula Williams http://www.nd.edu/~uwilliam
> >> > Director
> >> > Language Resource Center http://www.nd.edu/~lrc
> >> > 201 O'Shaughnessy Hall
> >> > University of Notre Dame
> >> > [log in to unmask]
> >> > Notre Dame, IN 46556-5639
> >> > 219.631.5881
> >>
> >> ----------------------
> >> John Harris
> >> Orlean Bullard Beeson Professor of Education
> >> & Associate Provost for Quality Assessment
> >> Samford University
> >> Birmingham, AL 35229-7020
> >> (205) 726-2674
> >> (205) 726-2908 FAX
> >> [log in to unmask]
|
