We would like to announce that the updated version of Dickinson College's Mixxer website (www.language-exchanges.org) has been released.  The site allows language instructors to find partners for their students for exchanges either outside or during class hours.  The new version includes communication via live-chatting or email notification, peer-corrected writing, and a badge/thank you system between users.  Learners interested in a more structured approach can use the lessons integrating open content resources from COERLL at the University of Texas for French and German, the Cervantes Institute for Spanish, and Voice of America and British Council for English.

Instructors interested in connecting their students can either have students find partners on their own, search for other teachers interested in doing a class-to-class exchange, or use the event feature.  The event function is for those interested in students having a language exchange during a computer lab hour. The instructor can send out an invitation to a sign-up page on the Mixxer website asking users matching a certain language profile if they are interested in having a language exchange with their students via Skype at a given day and time.  At the time of the exchange, the instructor then assigns the registered native speakers to each of their students, who then call their assigned partner on Skype. 

For researchers interested in tandem learning or computer mediated communication, I am also happy to share anonymized data and/or provide a mechanism for surveying users of the site about their language learning.

If you have questions about the site, feel free to contact me at [log in to unmask]

Todd Bryant
Dickinson College
Academic Technology, Foreign Languages
717-254-8941
Fax: 717-245-1456
[log in to unmask]
Skype: bryantt
www.language-exchanges.org
https://www.language-exchanges.org/blogs/bryantt