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>Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 09:46:08 +0300
>Subject: Teleste Educational October Newsletter
TELESTE EDUCATIONAL NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER, 1999
I : Spotlight: www.divace.com
II: Feedback: Imperata for Organizing Course Materials
III: Possibilities: The Classroom Space
A word of thanks to all of you who have sent us notes=
of
encouragement, and to those of you who have given us insight into where=
you
are taking your knowledge and experience of ICT, and of Teleste Educati=
onal
software, within the ever-changing realm of education. Some of you =
have
even alluded to tendencies beyond the walls of academia and acad=
emic
institutions, and into areas of both business and personal interests. =
It=92s
good to know that some of our products are helping people make their=
own
advances within their own individual areas of interest and expertise.
I: SPOTLIGHT: WWW.DIVACE.COM
A website especially for and specifically devoted to Divace has =
been
established. It=92s not just an informational website where you can fi=
nd out
more about Divace=92s unique capabilities. It is set up for users a=
nd for
use, meaning that anyone can now try using this digital recorder and pl=
ayer
- the player can be downloaded for free for a 30-day evaluation period.=
There is, of course, information. There is a page describing Divace=92=
s two
=91full feature=92 versions, Solo and Duo, both of which are digital r=
ecorders
designed for schools, language labs and other learning institutions. =
Duo
is meant for platforms where there is some teacher-control, and Sol=
o is
meant for =91stand-alone=92 stations where individuals can use Divace f=
or their
own recording, use and storing of files. A separate page has been se=
t up
to describe the Divace Player version, which is the version that ca=
n be
downloaded. With the Divace Player, you will be able to listen to a=
udio
files, run a specific file on end, and bookmark any material you would =
like
to return to. There is a =91How To Use Divace=92 page as well, whi=
ch gives
some examples of what Divace players and recorders can be used fo=
r in
classes, and some specific applications. There are also three =91samp=
les of
learning activities=92 - lesson plans of ready-made exercises that y=
ou can
try with Divace.
And last but not least, there is a =91Contact Us=92 page, where=
you can
write to us about your thoughts, and ask questions about Divace.
II: FEEDBACK: IMPERATA FOR ORGANIZING COURSE MATERIALS
Imperata, which is also now available for a free 30-day trial download =
from
our website, has been presented as a new software application and acti=
vity
control package specifically designed for managing a modern, fast teac=
hing
environment.
One teacher suggested that Imperata didn=92t have to be used so mu=
ch for
=92classroom control=92 as merely for the organization of materials =
at hand.
It was mentioned that Imperata=92s =94portfolio=94 feature could be=
used as a
teacher=92s =94manila folder=94 for class materials, information and e=
ven course
structure. You can create, save and open portfolios containing your=
own
pre-selected documents, programs, and even notes for future teac=
hing
sessions.
A teacher=92s portfolio can be more than just a selection of documen=
ts and
programs for each course or class. It can also include a favourite la=
yout
of student workstations, a set-up of student groups or, as mentioned ab=
ove,
notes gathered together to use for planning. These will save any tea=
cher
valuable time in the computer lab. And a portfolio can be modified=
and
changed according to teaching needs, student skill-levels or co=
urse
profile.
Imagine that you are teaching computer literacy to classes of var=
ying
skill-levels. For each level, you can set up a seperate portfoli=
o in
advance. The only thing you would then need to do during every lesson w=
ould
be to select the appropriate portfolio from the menu - your entire c=
lass
set-up is there, ready to use.
For example, say that you may want to present word processing skill=
s to
beginning-level students. You expect to be working with two group=
s of
students. Rather than dividing your students into two groups every ti=
me a
lesson begins, and then taking time to search for all of the appropr=
iate
programs, you can pre-define a complete portfolio before the cours=
e or
lesson, and then start it during the teaching session. In this case, =
your
portfolio, saved as "Word Processor Beginners", might include:
- student groups already established and arranged
- a workstation style chosen- e.g. Royal Frogs
- the Programs and Applications bar set up with Microsoft Word, Note=
pad,
Write Pad, Word Perfect, so that you can illustrate product differences=
- Lock Operation function made ready, in case you want to lock stude=
nt
PCs at any time
- Student Screen Monitor function set, so that you can check the
progress of activities
- the Document bar set up with Word Elegant Letter template, Word
Contemporary Resume template, a few ClipArt .wmf images etc.
With your whole working environment set up in advance, you will have sa=
ved
yourself a lot of precious time, and lessons can be much more productiv=
e.
And all of the content of the portfolio will be saved within =
your
portfolios, ready to be used for other courses and classes.
III: POSSIBILITIES: THE CLASSROOM SPACE
One thing that we at Teleste Educational are interested in hea=
ring
about, and possibly developing an ongoing dialogue about, are your thou=
ghts
concerning "student-centered" styles of learning as opposed to lear=
ning
within a more teacher-dominant classroom or language lab space. Wit=
h an
increased use of computers in your classrooms, are you finding that t=
here
are changes which you are making in your own way of presenting, and us=
ing,
your teaching material? Are you discovering that you are handing =
more
control over to your students? In what ways? How do you see=
the
differences, or similarities, in classroom dynamics? It would be nic=
e to
read some candid thoughts.
Please continue to send us any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, insi=
ghts
and questions you may have about Teleste Educational, our products or t=
heir
use. And feel free to pass any suggestions you may have about wha=
t we
might include in future issues of this newsletter, or how to let it be=
tter
serve your specific purposes.
Thanks again for joining us here. Keep in touch!
Teleste Educational
http://edu.teleste.fi http://www.divace.com
Propose another receiver for this newsletter and you will get Partner T=
ools
software package for FREE ! Remember to include your postal address.
=
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