--- Forwarded Message from Gavin Ng <[log in to unmask]> --- Dear LLTI Community, We are very pleased to send to you the press release launch of WebSwami 1.0, a new online language and communications training system that integrates with existing LMS's. WebSwami is the first language teaching system of its kind to integrate direct webcam recording for course development, online activities and instructor feedback. It$E2s also the first online system to include a pitch measuring spectrograph (rhythm & stress included too), to greatly improve pronunciation of any language. Other features include many easy-to-create interactive activities, including video matching and real-time conversation simulations. Our website can be found at: http://www.webswami.com Should you wish to contact us for more information please email [log in to unmask] or call us on +852 2893 0777. Thank you for your time and attention. Kind regards Gavin Ng Lead Developer & Designer WebSwami Suite 12A, 211 Johnston Road Wanchai Hong Kong Tel: +852 2893 0777 Fax: +852 2856 0735 [log in to unmask] www.webswami.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Breaking the Barriers in Language and Distance Learning $F6 Armstrong-Hilton Launches WebSwami 1.0 Hong Kong - Oct. 16, 2008 - Armstrong-Hilton Limited, the language and communications training company, today announced the launch of WebSwami 1.0. WebSwami is an innovative online language and communications training system, combining compelling interactive activities, personalized video feedback, rapid course development tools, and a powerful student tracking interface. The system offers the best of both worlds: new innovations in e-learning with the personalization and intimacy of the traditional teacher-student classroom relationship. Built on Adobe$E2s Flash Technology, WebSwami incorporates enhanced popular e-learning activities as well as a number of unique features: $F0 Straight-to-Server WebCam Video Recording - Both instructor and learner benefit from unique video recording capabilities, used for creating activities and giving performance feedback, and practicing realistic real-time simulations respectively. $F0 Voice Graph - WebSwami includes a spectrograph which highlights changes in voice intonation as well as the more traditional stress fluctuations, resulting in more accurate pronunciation, effective subtle expression and increased fluency. $F0 Centralized Student Tracking - Instructors access unmarked exercises from all assigned lessons and courses in one centralized list, ordered by submission time $F6 saving time and ensuring prompt review/feedback. $F0 Personalized Feedback - Video, audio and text feedback messages, from all courses and instructors, are delivered to the learner as soon as they log-in through a centralized message in-box to help maintain motivation and promote language self-awareness. Also, for the first time, enabling instructors to incorporate gestures and physical demonstrations, making e-learning as natural as classroom teaching. $F0 Easy Course Creation - All instructors are empowered to create material quickly and easily by using the straight-to-server webcam recording capability, 1-click activity generation and a centralized course management system. WebSwami's lead developer and designer, Gavin Ng said, "By using Flash Multimedia & video recording, we've taken the next leap forward in language and communications training. So far other systems have avoided integrating video recording, perhaps due to technical difficulty or believing video is inappropriate for learning spoken language. In contrast, we believe video is the missing ingredient in making online training more effective, more personal, and most importantly - more motivating; especially when you take into account how poor completion and retention rates generally are in e-learning.$E4 According to Managing Director, Peter Day, "With the release of WebSwami, not only are we making our mark on the training industry, we are enabling educators to make a greater impact on learners with cutting edge video and multimedia technology, 24/7 online course and audio/video support (without needing instructors on standby) and by making any classroom practice benefits available even to distance learners, thus increasing revenue and reach." "Organizations also benefit from a much lower cost of entry. The web is much larger in scale than traditional language labs, so we$E2re offering the freedom of affordable perpetual licenses for hundreds to even infinite concurrent users; freeing institutions from annual renewal headaches and backward restrictions. With Flash being ubiquitous on every web browser, learners can really OElearn-on-the-go$E2 with zero hardware investment.$E4 When pressed for expectations about this launch, Mr Day replied $E3In early demos our customers have been stunned by the interactivity and ease of the system; so much so that that they$E2ve even seen applications beyond our initial designs, such as communications, sales and product training, and even dramatic arts and sign language learning. So the next few months will be very exciting, as we roll out even more features for WebSwami.$E4 To learn more about WebSwami and to arrange a demonstration please visit www.webswami.com or contact Mr Gavin Ng at [log in to unmask] or on (+852) 2893-0777. About Armstrong-Hilton Limited For over a decade Armstrong-Hilton has trained and developed in-house training applications for its clients which include universities, governments, public bodies and multinational corporations from the Asia-Pacific region. *********************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning (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]) ***********************************************