--- Forwarded Message from "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> --- >From: "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> >To: "'Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum'" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: RE: #5628.6 Lab Experience (!) >Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 15:58:18 -0400 ------------------ We're a small program: about 150 students, max. We teach five levels of ESL. Courses offered are oral communication, written communication, reading/writing combo for upper levels, conversation, and content courses. We have one, two, or three sections of each level, each course. > -----Original Message----- > From: LLTI-Editor [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 8:27 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: #5628.6 Lab Experience (!) > > --- Forwarded Message from Heather Colwell <[log in to unmask]> --- > > >Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 01:15:04 -0400 > >From: Heather Colwell <[log in to unmask]> > >Subject: Re: #5628.3 Lab Experience (!) > >To: [log in to unmask] > > It would be interesting to know how many students and how many classes > this > lab serves. > Thanks > > > On Wed, 19 Jul 2000 08:12:59 EDT, LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > >--- Forwarded Message from "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> --- > > > >>From: "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> > >>To: [log in to unmask] > >>Subject: Lab description > >>Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 13:04:20 -0400 > > > >OK--here goes. In response to some requests from LLTI participants for a > >description of our lab. > > > >University of Miami Intensive English Program Media Center > > > > We constructed our Media Center (MC) at the University of Miami > >Intensive English Program in August 1999. Each workstation includes a PC > and > >a built-into-the-desk cassette deck. We have a seven-foot oval table and > >chairs in the back of the room. In the corner of the room we have a small > >office where the assistant director of the MC sits. That office was built > >with two large square windows facing the entrance to the lab on one side > of > >the office and the front of the lab on the other side. > > The oval table has worked out well as a study area. Students meet > >there during independent hours. The office with the windows (no blinds on > >the windows) invites students to use the assistant director as a resource > >(an unanticipated dynamic, and something that took quite a bit of > adjustment > >by our assistant director). We also have student assistants to monitor > the > >MC. > > We chose Dell 450 PCs and a Tandberg audio system. The Dells were > >the recommendation of our IT department. We chose the Tandberg system for > >several reasons: We didn't like the technical configuration of our former > >system and we wanted a system whose features were somewhat intuitive (in > >contrast to the incomprehensible interface and technical manual of our > >previous system). After visiting a Tandberg lab, visiting a competitor's > >lab, and watching a demonstration from a third manufacturer, we found > >Tandberg's software and hardware to be the best. I posted questions to > other > >lab managers on the Web and got positive reviews of Tandberg performance > and > >a few complaints (one very serious) about the technology of one of > >Tandberg's closest competitors. > > We needed our lab built (total room renovation included), wired, > and > >ready to go in three weeks (during a semester break). Since we had this > >tight timeframe, and since ergonomics were an important aspect of the > lab, > I > >chose Synsor furniture, which has a sleek Scandinavian look, but a > studious, > >old-fashioned library look at the same time. Another motive for choosing > >that furniture is that Tandberg is a distributor. That fact reduced the > >chance that the technical equipment wouldn't fit the furniture, thus > >minimizing the chances of the furniture being set up, and then finding > that > >things didn't fit, having to reorder and redesign, etc. The furniture > worked > >out perfectly. We have thirty carrels that are semi-enclosed by dividing > >side panels that are lined to reduce noise, and a plexiglass, numbered > front > >panel.The PCs have MS applications, access to instructional software > (from > a > >Dell server and a Meridian CD Net 14-bay CD server), Internet access, and > a > >stability device called Centurion. The Centurion has been critical to the > >success of the lab. Essentially, it partitions a temporary drive for > student > >use. When the system is rebooted, the system refreshes itself. We are > >currently testing another product, Fortres, which has one big advantage > over > >Centurion, i.e., we can stipulate one area on the hard drives of each > system > >that won't be refreshed when rebooted. We also have a Hewlett Packard > >LaserJet 8000 N printer, which has proved to be perfectly adequate. > > Our teachers bring classes into the Media Center as a regular > part > >of the curriculum. The Tandberg system is controlled from the teacher's > PC, > >as any traditional language lab. In other words, the tape decks are > stopped, > >started, etc., by the teacher using the Tandberg interface. It can also > be > >set in library mode so that students can individually control their own > tape > >decks. It has all the features that our teachers requested, and more > (e.g., > >pairing students randomly or by selection, group conferencing, > telephoning, > >distributing a tape that's in the teacher's console to all or a group of > >students in the lab; testing with the teacher's voice as the program > source > >and students recording from their carrel's cassette desks; testing with > >tapes as the program source, etc.). Students are also free to come into > the > >Media Center to study independently. We keep the lab open three to four > >hours after classes and an hour before classes. For independent study, we > >added a Tandberg product called the Divace (soon to be updated to the > >Tandberg "Duo" we hope), which we purchased experimentally and installed > in > >one row of our lab. The Divace (that's a Tandberg acronym) easily > digitizes > >analog tapes, compresses them with the same interface, and puts them on a > >server. (I no longer have to worry about one tape out of the set of six > >that's missing since the digitized "data" is duplicated on the server). > >Another feature is that it has two tracks. In other words, a student can > >independently come into the lab, sit at a system with a Divace, open the > >interface, select a "tape" (now in digitized form) or digitized video, > >listen, record his or her own voice (which would destroy an analog tape > on > >another system) and listen to his/her own voice. The Divace is > >user-friendly, as are all the Tandberg interfaces. Our server is very > small, > >only about 10 gb, but we plan to add another 10 gb. It's runs Novelle. > >When the teachers came back from their break to face a new system, they > >panicked. After looking at other manufacturers' interfaces, I think it > >probably would have been worse. After the first semester of Tandberg use, > >the teachers felt comfortable, and they are using most of its features. > >Students congregate here because the workstations are well > >designed--conducive to whatever they want to do (study alone, collaborate > >with the person next to them, use the PC and/or cassettes, watch a > video). > >They study independently more than ever, often using our Divaces. > > We have four TV monitors attached to the ceiling from which we > >project the videos (controlled at the teacher's workstation through the > same > >Tandberg interfaces). We also have a "Vizcam," essentially a camera that > >projects but doesn't record. It's great to use not only as you would use > an > >overhead projector (better because it projects on the TV monitors and you > >can project any image--your hand, a page from a book, rather than having > to > >use transparencies) but also because students can do presentations and > >appear on "TV," which seems to inspire them. > > The equipment almost never fails (teachers will claim technical > >malfunction occasionally, but it is almost always pilot error). Things we > >plan to add: a cable connection to run CNN at lunch time and lots of > >web-based, teacher-authored material. > > > >Linda Cahill, PhD > >Assistant Director for Learning Resources > >University of Miami > >Intensive English Program > >[log in to unmask] > > > > > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: john w harris [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > >> Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 9:42 AM > >> To: Cahill, Linda E. > >> Cc: Ursula Williams > >> Subject: Re: #5628.2 Language Lab experience (!) > >> > >> > >> On Tue, 18 Jul 2000 08:01:56 EDT LLTI-Editor > <[log in to unmask]> > >> wrote: > >> > >> > --- Forwarded Message from Ursula Williams <[log in to unmask]> --- > >> > > >> > >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]> > >> > >References: <[log in to unmask]> > >> > >Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 14:13:42 -0500 > >> > >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum > >> > >> > <[log in to unmask]> >From: Ursula Williams > <[log in to unmask]> > >> > >Subject: Re: #5628.1 Language Lab experience (!) > >> > > >> > ------------------ > >> > >--- Forwarded Message from "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> > --- > >> > >> > >> Linda, > >> > >> I second Ursula's interest in your program and want to know your answer > to > >> her > >> question, "What's your secret?" > >> > >> John > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > >> > > >From: "Cahill, Linda E." <[log in to unmask]> > >> > > >To: "'Language Learning and Technology International Information > >> > >Forum'" <[log in to unmask]> > >> > > >Subject: RE: #5628 Language Lab experience > >> > > >Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 16:17:10 -0400 > >> > > > >> > >------------------ > >> > >Our lab is the most popular aspect of our program. Would you like a > >> detailed > >> > >description of the lab/program? Would that help? > >> > > > >> > > >> > I for one would love to hear more about this, Linda. We have an > >> > active lab at Notre Dame, but not as active as I would like to see, > >> > given the large number of students completing foreign language > >> > courses. There are always methods and strategies to promote the use > >> > of the lab, and to make it more effective. Indeed I have a list of > >> > benefits that I routinely quote when asked (and sometimes when not!) > >> > But we are a long way from "most popular." What's your secret? Maybe > >> > you could share with the list? > >> > > >> > Ursula > >> > > >> > -- > >> > > >> > Ursula Williams http://www.nd.edu/~uwilliam > >> > Director > >> > Language Resource Center http://www.nd.edu/~lrc > >> > 201 O'Shaughnessy Hall > >> > University of Notre Dame > >> > [log in to unmask] > >> > Notre Dame, IN 46556-5639 > >> > 219.631.5881 > >> > >> ---------------------- > >> John Harris > >> Orlean Bullard Beeson Professor of Education > >> & Associate Provost for Quality Assessment > >> Samford University > >> Birmingham, AL 35229-7020 > >> (205) 726-2674 > >> (205) 726-2908 FAX > >> [log in to unmask]