--- Forwarded Message from Trip Kirkpatrick <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:47:16 -0400 >From: Trip Kirkpatrick <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: #8984 Inquiry: Creating a Conversation Exchange Partner Site >To: [log in to unmask] >>Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:31:33 -0700 >>From: "Barbara Baraff" <[log in to unmask]> >>Subject: Inquiry: Creating a Conversation Exchange Partner Site > >A newcomer to the Language Center and Dreamweaver CS3, I would like to >create an interactive, password-protected site to make it easier for >language students to locate a conversation exchange partner and to bring >together the ESL Department, Foreign Language Department, and >International Program student communities. Barbara: We've got a conversation partner application that I would be happy to talk to you about, though it is not at this point a redistributable thing. (We built it without distribution in mind, so it would be nontrivial to take out our identity.) However, you may be able to get better information out of Jennifer Reckler at MIT, with whom I discussed our system recently. She was wanting to build or acquire something at a very low cost, and I'm guessing your funding for this project is not substantial, so you may have something on which to collaborate. I can address one implication of your message, though, by suggesting that with only an introductory knowledge of markup and styling, you may be better off acquiring a 3rd party product rather than getting in over your head trying to build one. A good conversation partner website would need to gather, store, and make easily accessible enough data so that you could measure the effectiveness of the program, make improvements based on your data, and present a case to your funder(s) for more resources for the program. That's not a small task. Best, Trip -- Trip Kirkpatrick Interim Manager, Technology and Project Development Center for Language Study e: [log in to unmask] w: http://www.cls.yale.edu/ skype/twitter: tripst3r Any opinions expressed here are mine alone. If Yale wanted my opinion, they'd tell me what it was. *********************************************** 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]) ***********************************************