--- Forwarded Message from Browne <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 13:34:02 -0600
>From: Browne <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #7821.5 Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time? (!)
>In-reply-to: <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
<[log in to unmask]>
>References: <[log in to unmask]>

With the demise of cassettes and inclusion of computers, my facility
has taken a different track from some of the others responding in this
thread.  This year, I opened the facility to all students for any use.
  Next year I will have the only "official" public computing lab for the
building.

I have found some advantages to this change.  I get much better support
from the computing people than I did before   I can usually get  help
immediately for any problems I have.  My computer replacement cycle has
gone from four years to three.  I will have more equipment in the "lab"
than I have had in the past without any tedious justification process.
I don't worry about an administrator walking by and seeing a lightly
used facility so I don't worry about about the space being taken over
for offices or classrooms.

I still spend most of my time working with the language faculty, staff,
and students making FL materials available to them and there is still
some software only available here.  I like to think of my situation as
unique, reporting to Computing but working for the languages, but I
suspect this is not really the case.  I believe that our facilities
and, perhaps, job descriptions will change but our mission to provide
support for the language teachers and learners should not.

Tom Browne


On Mar 3, 2005, at 10:43 AM, LLTI-Editor wrote:

> --- Forwarded Message from "Mariana Stone" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
>> Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 08:22:32 -0500
>> From: "Mariana Stone" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: #7821 Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time?
>
> THe thoughts you just expressed crossed my mind so I have looked for
> alternatives about what students can do in our lab and this are the
> current things that we have going for them:
> 1.  Each FL faculty assigns pair work recording as a homework for which
> the lab tech is required.  Instead of just asking written homework from
> their students and lab manuals in which they only listen now faculty
> are
> assigning oral production homeworks.  We developed a feedback system to
> help faculty respond to the student's recordings.
> 2.  Enhanced our video library (about 300 movies for Spanish for
> example).  Videos have become a major source of entertainment for them
> and therefore learning.  THey are expected to watch at least 4 movies a
> semester and prepare mini reports on them. Beginning level students can
> write the mini report in English but they received the whole input of
> the movie in the target language.
> 3.  Alternative software.  We have been purchasing slowly software that
> helps them with grammar, pronunciation at different levels of their
> language learning path.
> 4.  Songs: we have put our upper level / Spanish Ed majors to work
> developing activities based on particular grammar structures covered at
> the lower levels.
>
> In a way having the whole lab manual and more online has helped
> students increase the contact hours with the language.  We encourage
> them to complete their lab assignments online from home and have them
> come to the lab for more resources, which amounts as I said to more
> contact hours.  I heard from many that "so what if it all becomes
> virtual/cyber, maybe labs will become obsolete....for the better".  BUt
> I guess I enjoy what we do here so much that I can't see it happening.
>
> Sayonara,
>
> Mariana
>
> Mariana Stone
> Language Lab Director
> Language and Literature
> North Georgia College and State University
> Dahlonega, GA 30597
> (706) 864-1682
>
>
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_____________________________
Thomas Goodrich Browne
Humanities Resource Center
Macalester College
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