--- Forwarded Message from Ann Cook <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 13:39:13 -0800
>From: Ann Cook <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>Organization: American Accent Training, Inc.
>User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X; en-US; rv:1.0.1) Gecko/20020823 Netscape/7.0
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: From Information to Implementation
>References: <[log in to unmask]>
As a thank you to this list for the myriad questions and solutions
posted on testing and recording, I'd like to show how this has all been
implemented into an online bit of "courseware," and give you free access
to the test, which we call the WhizBang Accent Exam. You need to use
Explorer (system requirements listed below). Here's the back door
entrance, which will be accessible for two weeks:
1. Go to: http://americanaccent.blackstone.ca/vm/aat/listserv_signup.html
2. Choose Click here if you have not previously registered for the
WhizBang Accent Exam.
3. Fill in the Register info and click the Register button
4. Close the Register window
5. Click Take the Exam
If you want to get back in later, go to
http://americanaccent.blackstone.ca/vm/aat/signup.asp, and choose
Registered Users and you'll be able to pick up where you left off.
You'll also be able to revisit the scored page of the tests already
taken. Feel free to share this with colleagues, and if you have any
suggestions, I'd be most appreciative.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows
Internet Explorer version 5.0 (or greater) with a plugin capable of
playing .mp3 sounds (such as Quicktime or Windows Media Player.
Macintosh
Internet Explorer version 5.0 (or greater) or Safari. To play .mp3
sound, Quicktime is needed. Since all Macintoshes come with Quicktime
pre-installed, chances are you already have it.
I am a die-hard Mac user, on a G4 laptop, so I was first interested in
getting the audio in. I had a nice digital mic from Sony, and nowhere to
plug it, so I bought the recommended iMic
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/index.html. The audio was
OK, but far from studio quality. At first, to get around the baseline
hum, I would record onto a Sony minidisc, and then import it in through
Peak (http://www.bias-inc.com). This was a clunky, time consuming
solution, but then I somehow figured out that if I took my minidisc
player and hooked it between the mic and the iMic, the sound quality
improved dramatically (a standard cable connects the minidisc line out
and the iMic mic input; the iMic usb connects to the computer. The
microphone plugs into the minidisc. Very Rube Goldberg). You don't even
actually have to record ... you can set it to record and hit pause and
the audio is pretty good. But not good enough. Unfortunately, I should
have gotten the audio cleaner before we installed the audio, but for
next time, I will use Bias' SoundSoap ($99) which gets rid of hisses,
hums, pops, lipsmacks, etc. I also use a pop filter
(http://www.musiciansfriend.com $19.99) which makes things much nicer
for the listener. For those of us without sound studios, I did a low
tech replication by putting cuphooks in the ceiling and an equal number
of safety pins around the edge of a large piece of fleece. I then hook
the fleece up so that it looks like a voting booth (ceiling to floor),
with me recording inside. This deadens the sound and greatly improves
the audio quality. And you can fold it up when you're done recording.
Next, I had to decide how to put the test up. I tried CAN8, which has a
lot of features, but is counter-intuitive to the nth degree and quite
difficult to install. I also like the Divace Solo, but I wasn't able to
program it at that time. I learned some cgi scripting with MasterQuiz
$99 www.willmaster.com/master/quiz/index.shtml to go along with my
semi-OK html skills, but it made me realize that I needed something
already scripted. I like Pronunciation Power, and they referred me to
http://www.blackstone.ca, a great bunch of programmers in Canada. They
have a template (ViaMedia) from which you can make perfectly acceptable
self-authored tests, with audio, stills, video, multiple choice, cloze,
matching and other test types. Our goals were ease of navigation and
freedom of choice. If I had been planning to use this test in-house, I
would have gone with the templates. Since it will be available to the
public, we needed a "look" of our own.
Because the WhizBang is a hearing skills test, we went with multiple
choice for the test type. Each test takes about 3-4 minutes. We use a
menu (the jukebox), so test takers always knows how many tests there
are, and which ones have been completed. On each test page, they can see
that they are on page X of X. The tests are computer scored, and test
takers are able to see their percentage score, and the corrected test
itself. On the corrected tests, they can listen to the audio from the
test, and the audio from all the answers. After all ten tests have been
completed, an average appears in the middle of the jukebox. There is
also a fair amount of text added to the results page, so that test
takers can read about each topic.
In terms of administration, the instructor can immediately track student
work in the database, including test scores, scored test pages, and
audio (though this particular test has no student audio).
As it's not freeware, (except to you, right now) we had to decide how to
make it payable. We decided to go with iBill, though they take a hefty
15% of each transaction. They take care of everything, though, so as an
author who normally gets 10% of net, I'm happy enough with 85% of list.
We also chose iBill over something like NetBilling (1.5% per
transaction) because iBill has an affiliate program, whereas NetBilling
has something linked to something, but it's more complicated.
Before I started this venture, I already had most of the content, and
was administering and scoring it manually. All in all, the conversion to
digital took, on and off, from November until now.
I hope this is helpful. Although I'm clearly not a tech-whiz, feel free
to ask about any aspect of online testing, and where I can't answer,
I'll find you a resource.
Enjoy!
Ann Cook
|