--- Forwarded Message from "Samuels, Jeff" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Subject: RE: #7821 Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time?
>Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 11:50:58 -0500
>Thread-Topic: #7821 Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time?
>Thread-Index: AcUg2lcSYkQ1t4crTUG/gjShljImPw==
>From: "Samuels, Jeff" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "LLTI-Editor" <[log in to unmask]>
David,
WOW! What a flurry of replies!
As Read Gilgen pointed out, there are some presentations at IALLT that
will address this issue (mine included). Not to belabor that point, I
do wish to address the point you made that the textbook publishers are
putting more and more online and hosting materials themselves. This is
true, but we're not out of the woods yet!
As Digital Exchange Coordinator for IALLT, I am particularly anxious to
see this trend continue, but I have to say that we are far from the
point where we can rely on the publishers to provide this service in a
way that is dependable and consistent for our members. To wit, we still
have to take into account: differences in file formats; permissions and
restriction/authentication of users; usability and meta-data (What good
is it to students when there is no list of exercises by title and page
number, and instead they have to match up a file entitled "track 34"
with their assigmnment?); and of course, bandwidth and speed concerns.
We can address every one of these when publishers allow us to host
materials on our own servers and networks, and to make index pages that
guide the students to the materials they need.
So, my sense is that the language lab / learning center / resource
center as we know it is an evolving animal; yet there are certain
services that many of us perform that we will continue to engage in
until connectivity, security, ease of access, support, dedicated space
needs, and other factors undergo a significant transformation. Let me
close by seconding the many previous responders who have pointed out the
increasing depth and complexity of our services to our students and
colleagues.
Best, your neighbor,
Jeff Samuels
Goucher College
P.s. IALLT's Digital Exchange can be found at
http://ibsen.dartmouth.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: LLTI-Editor [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 4:35 PM
Subject: #7821 Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time?
--- Forwarded Message from "David Flores" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 16:28:47 -0500
>From: "David Flores" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time?
Our principal Spanish textbook is going to its 6th edition this Summer,
and following a trend I've noticed with many FL textbooks lately: the
workbook and much of the audio/video content that was traditionally
housed in Language Learning Centers is being placed on the web.
If this trend continues, much of our raison d'etre simply vanishes into
cyberspace. Sure we still schedule and show foreign language films in
our in-house theatre. Sure we still provide video production and editing
facilities for classes that might have a short film project as an
assignemnt. Sure we are open for instructors to run headset-based,
interactive class sessions. But most of the use our lab sees... let's
face it... is due to students completing their lab manual assignments
and listening to the audio-tracks that are stored locally on our server.
So how many of you guys are worried about your labs disappearing in 5 or
so years? And have you any thoughts on how to keep the lab relevant even
if textbook manufacturers move most of their audio/video content online?
David Flores
Director: Language Learning Center
Loyola College in Maryland
4501 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21210
Ph: (410) 617-5230
Fax: (410) 617 2859
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