Schedule: 2009-09-12 (12:45 - 13:30)
Parallel Session 1 (Room A-30)

Title: No- and Low-Cost Language Labs in a Tough Economy
Authors: Thomas Plagwitz
Abstract: The pervasiveness of networked digital media - new delivery forms for digital TV and radio by the traditional media industry, as well as new content providers using pod- and tube-casts -, owing to an ever more powerful, robust and – partially as an overhang of the bubble – abundant technical hard- and software infrastructure, has also revitalized – and poured substantial new resources into the modernization of – the older concept of the language lab. Computerized classrooms with network and multimedia facilities, basic classroom management systems and centralized databases, with some interfacing to serve as learning material repositories or portfolios demonstrating learning outcomes, have become a common underlying fabric for many of the constituents’ learning environments. Now the freezing up of the resource flow can serve as a wakeup call to remind us both of the critical “What is the benefit, or return on investment?” and of the original promise of e-learning: increased efficiency. On the one hand, scaling through crowd-sourced or automated sourcing and reuse of materials has become a pressing need in rapidly expanding ESL programs that new technologies can help meet. On the other hand, widely differing learner proficiency is increasingly a problem when trying to form classes in the shrinking programs of other languages, and personalization of learning provision is increasingly the expectation in an environment shaped by "long tail"-economies. To facilitate the use, in concert, of the prior investment in a wide range of media and technologies to their fullest potential for increased instructional effectiveness, this paper will demonstrate a number of programs, based on the free Microsoft Windows Media SDK, that address typical language lab needs - automated time-stretching of authentic materials with more teacher-control and more realistic output than built into many media players, centrally administered dual band recording of student response output, video capture for teaching material e-repositories and learner e-portfolios – and how they can be applied in language learning and interpreting practice at minimal additional cost.
Keywords: Audio-lingual,DSP,Personalization,Time-stretching,Windows Media Encoder,Windows Media SDK

Main topic: Curriculum development for CALL.

Biodata: Thomas Plagwitz (Ph.D. (Heidelberg, Germany), M.A. (Halifax, NS, Canada) has taught German since 1988 and managed computer language and interpreting labs for 9 years. He regularly presents at Computer-Assisted Language Learning Conferences. His current interests revolve around data-driven ICALL and blended learning in SLA, automation of learning material provision and digital media.
Type of presentation Paper presentation

Paper category Research & Development

Target educational sector Higher education

Language of delivery English

EU-funded project No

Schedule:	2009-09-12 (12:45 - 13:30) Parallel Session 1 (Room A-30)
Title:	No- and Low-Cost Language Labs in a Tough Economy
Authors:	Thomas Plagwitz
Abstract:	The pervasiveness of networked digital media - new delivery forms for digital TV and radio by the traditional media industry, as well as new content providers using pod- and tube-casts -, owing to an ever more powerful, robust and – partially as an overhang of the bubble – abundant technical hard- and software infrastructure, has also revitalized – and poured substantial new resources into the modernization of – the older concept of the language lab. Computerized classrooms with network and multimedia facilities, basic classroom management systems and centralized databases, with some interfacing to serve as learning material repositories or portfolios demonstrating learning outcomes, have become a common underlying fabric for many of the constituents’ learning environments. Now the freezing up of the resource flow can serve as a wakeup call to remind us both of the critical “What is the benefit, or return on investment?” and of the original promise of e-learning: increased efficiency. On the one hand, scaling through crowd-sourced or automated sourcing and reuse of materials has become a pressing need in rapidly expanding ESL programs that new technologies can help meet. On the other hand, widely differing learner proficiency is increasingly a problem when trying to form classes in the shrinking programs of other languages, and personalization of learning provision is increasingly the expectation in an environment shaped by "long tail"-economies. To facilitate the use, in concert, of the prior investment in a wide range of media and technologies to their fullest potential for increased instructional effectiveness, this paper will demonstrate a number of programs, based on the free Microsoft Windows Media SDK, that address typical language lab needs - automated time-stretching of authentic materials with more teacher-control and more realistic output than built into many media players, centrally administered dual band recording of student response output, video capture for teaching material e-repositories and learner e-portfolios – and how they can be applied in language learning and interpreting practice at minimal additional cost.
Keywords:	Audio-lingual,DSP,Personalization,Time-stretching,Windows Media Encoder,Windows Media SDK
Main topic:	Curriculum development for CALL.
Biodata:	Thomas Plagwitz (Ph.D. (Heidelberg, Germany), M.A. (Halifax, NS, Canada) has taught German since 1988 and managed computer language and interpreting labs for 9 years. He regularly presents at Computer-Assisted Language Learning Conferences. His current interests revolve around data-driven ICALL and blended learning in SLA, automation of learning material provision and digital media.
Type of presentation	Paper presentation
Paper category	Research & Development
Target educational sector	Higher education
Language of delivery	English
EU-funded project	No