--- Forwarded Message from Susan Cefola <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 13:18:11 -0400 >From: Susan Cefola <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: #8846 Online language lab solutions >To: [log in to unmask] >cc: Susan Cefola <[log in to unmask]> We're using OWL Testing Software throughout the Pittsburgh Public School system and have been very happy with it for years. We assess thousands of students online every year with it, and it does everything you seem to be asking for and more. What the heck is Perl? No one has to know any programming language at all to use OWL. I can't even begin to imagine teachers having to spend time learning some kind of programming language - or having to put pile on one more system responsibility on our already-over tasked IT department. The entire OWL Testing Software application is web-based. It's accessed by teachers and students using just their browser. No client apps to mess with and no programming classes just to learn how to use it. The training with OWL Testing Software is literally a half-day session and they come to your school to do it. OWL also allows us to quickly and easily build media-rich classroom quizzes, practice activities, and high stakes tests using mostly drop downs and mouse clicks. What we put online for our kids covers both the machine-scored activities for reading and listening skills, as well as teacher-assessed tests for writing and speaking skills. We've built our own rubrics for the oral proficiency tests based upon ACTFL's ratings and are very proud to say that our teacher assessments have an 82% validity rate when compared to certified SOPI and OPI ratings. When it comes to data, what we get from OWL Testing Software is way beyond click counts and simple timers. Sure, it will tell us how long each student spent on each activity but the information we get from OWL is also how we have been able to quantify longitudinal student, program and school proficiency improvements with hard data - and win over $3million in FLAP grants. A lot of it is because of the teaching, learning, and testing process improvements coupled with real data management that we get from using OWL Testing Software. I'd be happy to share some more insights if anyone wants to email me. You can check out OWL Testing Software at www.owlts.com. *********************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning Technology (http://iallt.org/), and The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (http://www.languageconsortium.org/). Join IALLT at http://iallt.org. Otmar Foelsche, LLTI-Editor ([log in to unmask]) ***********************************************