2010

Class in U.S. Law benefits from integration of pictures with text

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Class in U.S. Law benefits from integration of pictures with text Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/02/2010 - 00:00

Learning becomes fun and comprehensible with the integration of pictures and photos with texts. Pictures help provide tangible aspect to learning which texts alone cannot provide. Anne W. Costain, Director of Women and Gender Studies and professor at CU �鶹ӰԺ, is also fully aware of the importance of pictures in learning and teaching. And so, she has integrated pictures into her teaching materials. She said, “Copying images is a very clear advantage because frequently the law has its language.” “A language that sometimes the US Supreme Court writes easily understood English but more often they integrate legal terms and it can be challenging particularly for undergrad students to understand the impact of particular decisions,” she continued.

Professor Costain is teaching Gender Sexuality and US law this term. She realises the advantage of being able to scan text and with the help of those texts, bring their critical aspects into the classroom. “Integrating texts and pictures into teaching sometimes indicates a huge change in the social implications of what the court has said,” Costain said. “And being able to put that onscreen, and do textual analysis, contributes to the impact of the decision and the meaning of the decision for sex discrimination and sexual orientation,” she continued.

Professor Costain also added that the United States Supreme Court doesn’t allow any videotaping or even any photographs within the chamber of the court. With the help from ASSETT, she hopes to combine pictures of Justices and attorney who are speaking on the court, along with the questions that they might be asking. “Showing the pictures and playing some of the discussion will help people have a sense of emotions that are raised even among the judges in hearing these kinds of issues,” she said. “You don’t get to see the argument and the decision making in the same way without the pictures. So trying to bring that into the classroom will give people a stronger sense of both how difficult and how important some of these decisions are,” she continued.

A picture may or maybe speak a thousand words in all cases but in classes like the US Law and Gender Sexuality, integration of pictures with texts is an integral part of the learning process.

Professor Costain recently received an ASSETT Development Awards. This award will allow Professor Costain to copy images and texts and integrate that into teaching with the help of a scanner.

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A Workshop Created to Empower Women's Voices

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:00:00 +0000

A Workshop Created to Empower Women's Voices Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/10/2010 - 00:00

Inuit Throat singing from parts of North America, particularly Alaska and Greenland, is not only fascinating, but a culture that empowers women by giving them voice to speak. A similar concept is also applied in the workshop created by Beth Osnes, a faculty member of the Dance and Theatre at CU �鶹ӰԺ. This particular workshop is a vocal empowerment workshop which helps women especially targeted mothers. “It’s a workshop that uses the tools from the theater, to help women for social justice issues.” said Prof. Osnes. “So it’s really to say that women of any level in life economically, socially or educationally will be able to strengthen their own voice and start to use their voice to speak up on what they care about.”

The workshop requires women to do many different vocal exercises used in theater to develop strong and expressive voices. Osnes believes that during the course of this exercise, women experience a profound sense of power. It works by picking a topic that is important to you. Then the workshop encourages you to bring this topic in your faith community. “People come up with different things. Some of them are big and some of them are little.” said Prof. Osnes. “Sometimes it’s just the conscience saying ‘I’m just going to educate myself’.” She continued.

After identifying what you want to do in the workshop, you use theater to rehearse your chosen topic. During the course of this, people work together and identify an obstacle and soon overcome it. “So it is women helping each other to find a way to use their voices effectively.” She said.

With the help of students, and with the help of an ASSETT Development Award, Osnes hopes to create a DVD for the workshop. She has done this workshop live but thinks it’s a good option to capture it in a DVD. “It is interesting to have it in a video form because then it can be accessible to more people.” She said. This DVD will be available in the College library under iTunes University. It can be downloaded through the University server for free by everyone.

According to Prof. Osnes, beyond just students, this DVD can be useful to a lot of people working in the development work. “One of the things that I am really committed to is getting women’s voice represented in development work. This DVD may prove be an insightful incentive to people involved in development works.” She said.

What Prof. Osnes really hopes to accomplish in the future is get this DVD out and use it to train the trainers. She said, “This video is meant to be a tool for disseminating methodology. It’s easy for people to facilitate.”

--Written By: Manaslu Bista, CU’11, ASSETT Reporter

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French Again!: Review French at your own pace

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:00:00 +0000

French Again!: Review French at your own pace Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/08/2010 - 00:00

Learning French can require a lot of time and effort. For many students, proceeding to a higher level requires build on the knowledge that they have already acquired. Juliette Bourdier, a doctoral candidate at CU �鶹ӰԺ and Carmen Grace, a faculty member of French and Italian Department at CU, hope they can help solve this problem with the help of technology. Taking into consideration that some students need to learn in a combination of French and English, they have adopted the ‘French Again’ program, with the help of an ASSETT Development Grant. “The French Again program is an online tutor designed to help students review the materials they need to in English, taking as much time as they need,” they explained.

The tools that are being used in this program are Hot Potatoes, Jing, Ning and Voicethread. According to Bourdier and Grace, French Again is organized into modules with 4 segments. The first segment requires students to note the grammatical point being used in a natural context by native speakers. The second segment explains the grammar and the third segment shows the difference between written and spoken versions of the grammar. Finally, the fourth segment allows students to practice and help in understanding grammar.

They said, “We will use Jing to record the video presentations that illustrates and explain each grammar point. Our students like it, and it is very simple for students and instructors to use.”

They see Voicethread as flexible software that helps students develop their spoken French. Students record an activity, and instructors recorded individualized feedback for each student. Bourdier and Grace believe that doing this prevents classroom embarrassment that can take place while giving students their phonetic feedback in front of their classmates.

Hot potatoes, used for segment 4, can be used to create a variety of practice exercise and online quizzes necessary for students to review their progress. And they used Ning as the best course management tool for this project. [Editor's note: Ning is no longer available as a free service]

The goal of using French Again is to help students review when and where they prefer, “For some students, textbook presentation and the instructor’s explanations are not sufficient to help them grasp important concepts.” They continued, “This program will assist students who want to see where their knowledge breaks down in order to build a bridge to a better understanding of the concept in question.”

French Again seems to be an effective tool to apply in teaching French. Because the students can review grammar at their own pace, students may control the rhythm of their daily activities and prevent the pressure of answering on the spot in a classroom. French Again can help build a safety net for students based on a better understanding of how grammar works and lots of extra practice and feedback.

Written By: Manaslu Bista, CU’11, ASSETT Reporter

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Announcing Spring 2010 ASSETT Development Awards

Anonymous — Wed, 12 May 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Announcing Spring 2010 ASSETT Development Awards Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/12/2010 - 00:00

Congratulations to the members of A&S Departments and Programs who recently received ASSETT Development Awards to support their use of technology in teaching and learning. Look here over the coming semester to learn more about each of these proposals!

Anne Costain, Professor, Political Science & Women and Gender Studies, “Bringing More Recent Women and Gender Studies Materials into the Classroom’
Lori Emerson, Assistant Professor, English, “Request for Laptop and Software”
John Flynt, Lecturer, Applied Mathematics, "Summer Digital Explorations: Teaching Using Technology and Participatory Labs”
Nan Goodman, Associate Professor, English, “Projector, Laptop, Wheeled case, and Cart”
Carmen Grace, Senior Instructor & Juliette Bourdier, GPTI, French & Italian, “Encore! Online practice to review and strengthen your French”
Pui Fong Kan, Assistant Professor & Amy Thrasher, Clinical Assistant Professor, Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, “Telepractice: A learning module for implementing language assessments for children”
Elena Kostoglodova, Senior Instructor, Germanic & Slavic Lang & Lit, “CU Around the Globe Pilot Program”
Carole McGranahan, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, “Anthropology 2.0: Creating Course Websites, Wikis, and Blogs”
Beth Osnes, Assistant Professor, Theatre & Dance, “Empowering Women's Voices for Change DVD”
Ed Rivers, Professor, English, “Keeping Students on the Cutting Edge: Teaching Technology and Teaching With Technology”
Rebecca Safran, Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, “Enhancing Sound Quality in Video Production”
Deborah Whitehead, Assistant Professor, Religious Studies, “Multimedia Case Studies for Exploring Religious Diversity in the U.S”

Calls for ASSETT Development Awards are posted twice a year. Members of A&S units are eligible to apply. Proposals were reviewed by a committee of chairs from each division in Arts &Sciences. The call for proposals for the next round of Development Awards will be posted at the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester.

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Digital notation for music appreciation

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Digital notation for music appreciation Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/13/2010 - 00:00

The programming software that professor Daniel Jones used for his honor’s music courses was a little outdated—the program was stored on floppy disks. With his students in mind, he decided to change his music notation software to Sibelius. Now, his students will benefit from a music tool with 21^st century teaching in mind.

“This is the current stuff,” Dr. Jones said about Sibelius. “[It’s] cutting edge…designed for working on present computers that interface with other software.”

Sibelius allows program users to produce and view musical compositions with music notation and is used by professional and amateur musicians alike. Music notation refers to the visual representation of music notes. It works as the universal standard for trained musicians.

How can you use notation software in teaching and learning?

Dr. Jones hopes this technology will keep his students interested and help them understand the material. He said using the software enhances his ability to teach. “I used to use overhead transparencies for lyrics, for songs, for music notation, for other visual aids, and all that stuff now I just do it on laptop. So if we want to be looking at a particular piece of sheet music or a video of a performance, or whatever it is, I can just do it easily now…Part of my job in teaching is to not offer incredibly complex notated examples, but to make them really simple…that is one of the reasons…I wanted to get this notation software,” he said.

The program will not completely replace his arsenal of teaching tools. He will still rely on traditional methods, leaving the software to function as an additional tool, “Being a music teacher, one of the visual aids for teaching that I use all the time is notation of melodies, and so on, notation of music. Using software is just so much more effective."

How will students benefit?

Dr. Jones said some students find the notation too technical. The program allows him to present musical pieces to his class with a computer, allowing students a simpler view of the material. “I’m a firm believer that if you can present a topic in multiple conceptual and physical forms, you’ll have a better chance of getting it across to the majority of the students. [Sibelius is] a visual aid among several approaches for teaching,” he said.

Although most students won’t be directly working with Sibelius, they probably won’t need to. The software will demonstrate the functions behind music, from melody to bass line, and keep students informed while entertained in class.

With help from his ASSETT Development Award, Dr. Jones plans to purchase the software and a multi-feature electronic keyboard called a workstation. He said he will use the workstation in conjunction with Sibelius. He plans to use this technology for his Appreciation of Music, Music in American Culture, World Musics, and Music of the Rock Era courses at CU.

Written by Esteban L. Hernandez, CU 12’, ASSETT Reporter

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Video Conferencing Connects Students from CU, Ireland and Australia

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Video Conferencing Connects Students from CU, Ireland and Australia Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/12/2010 - 00:00

Students from Ireland and Australia can now interact in a classroom with students from CU �鶹ӰԺ. What is so intriguing about this you ask? It is the fact that these students are living in different spheres of the world while still interacting “face to face” with one another in the classroom. To accomplish this, Dr. Michael Grant, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies at the University of Colorado at �鶹ӰԺ, is using technology that supports the interaction between the U.S and international students. Dr Grant explained, “As corporations, education, NGO’s, etc. are becoming more and more global and international, we want our students to think globally as well.”

What is the Internationalism Program?

Michael Grant received the prestigious ACE award for his innovative use of technology for his Internationalism program. Through this program, students from different parts of the world meet by video conferencing using the technology of Internet video conferencing. He said, “There are fancy cameras where we can see them and they can see us.” At the moment, the University of Colorado at �鶹ӰԺ, the University of Wollongong, in Australia and the Dublin City University in Ireland are involved with this program. A part of the program also requires its’ students to spend a semester or two in either one of these three different countries. Classes under this program are scheduled to work with the time differences in the three countries. For instance, 6 p.m. classes on Tuesday in �鶹ӰԺ will be 10 a.m. classes on Wednesday in Wollongong.

What classes are in this program?

Classes like Bioethical Dilemmas, Global Climate Change and special topics in science are applying this program to their courses. Students from different countries are encouraged to think critically and share their diverse perspectives on ethical issues. Currently, the students from CU and Dublin are sharing contrasting opinions on genetic screening and related ethical issues.

How can students benefit from this program?

This course is designed to generate interaction amongst the students. Dr Grant explained, “One of the fundamental ideas is for students from these three different regions of the world to give very different perspectives.” Though conversations tend to be a little bit different than normal classroom conversations, students are really very enthusiastic about it. Dr Grant adds, “Students find it very interesting and challenging and sometimes surprising how people from other countries have such different perspectives.”

What are the program's challenges?

The Internationalism program is currently affiliated with programs in three different countries. In the future, it might try to affiliate with Asian counties. Some of the examples of the chosen countries are Singapore, Shanghai and India. However, one of the challenges it faces in affiliating with these countries is the absence of compatible languages. Grant said, “One of the challenges of affiliating with such countries is to be sure we have a compatible language because we want to be able to communicate at a fairly high and nuanced level.”

Future Goals

The University of Wollongong in Australia has already graduated two students with an International Bachelor’s degree. Over the next few months, Dr. Grant hopes to get in place this new bachelor’s degree program where CU students can earn an International Bachelors degree as well. Also, he hopes for the students to think more globally. He said, “We want students to be aware and think in a much more expansive fashion than just thinking within the Unites States.”

Dr Grant further explained, “What we do here affects people over there and what they do there affects us.” By pointing out the fact that we are globally interconnected, he also sheds light on the important role of different perspectives in an educational institution. In order to nurture and give room for different perspectives to flourish, Dr. Grant’s Internationalism program is a stepping stone towards more progressive and innovative learning.

Written by: Manaslu Bista, CU ‘11, ASSETT Reporter

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Suite of Tools Transforms Intercultural Communication Class

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Suite of Tools Transforms Intercultural Communication Class Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/08/2010 - 00:00

How likely are you to hear “Alright students, take out your cell phones, we are going to mClk now!”? Chances are unlikely in most college classrooms. But, in Dr. Melinda Cain’s IAFS 4500 Intercultural Communication class, this is a common request. In her classes, Dr. Cain hopes to provide foundations to students in global health practices and inequalities. She also hopes for the students to focus in-depth on intercultural communication with diverse cultural populations within the United States. In order to do so, Dr. Cain, along with Mr. Dave Underwood, Academic Media Services, ATLAS and Rebecca Woulfe, developer of the mClk system, use mClk, iVisit and Vimeo as tools for innovative learning in her classroom. Students in Dr. Cain’s class are encouraged to explore the use these three tools to assist them in class participation and for their final project—a video illustrating best-practices in intercultural communication in a health care. Dr. Cain explained, “These tools will provide the integration of technology and interaction between people which will provide a very unique learning experience for students.”

What are mClk, iVisit and Vimeo?

According to Dr. Cain, mClk is a classroom response tool that gives the students the opportunity to use their cell phones. The teacher posts questions and the students respond to those questions using their cell phones. The responses are then tallied in charts or just listed on the classroom projector. Dr. Cain said, “It is advantageous to use the cell phones, because mClk uses text messaging. Students and instructors can go beyond simple multiple choice questions and incorporate considerably more lengthy responses.”

The iVisit system is a web conferencing tool that lets the students interact with health professionals through the web. Students can choose either their computer or their cell phones to interact in the conference.

Finally, Vimeo is a more educational and professional form of YouTube. It can be used to distribute the final product and for sharing clips during the production cycle. The students’ final product will be posted on Vimeo for broader distribution.

Using another aspect of technology, multi-media, Dr. Cain is also using People Productions, a video production house in �鶹ӰԺ. They will provide video editing, production, and filming expertise in order to provide students with a professional environment for creating the final project.

The nature of Dr. Cain’s class requires that students present a final project which consists of video and PowerPoint presentations. The product is directed towards improving intercultural communication between volunteers and diverse cultural groups in a US hospital setting. The “clients” for this semester are St. Anthony’s Hosptial and National Jewish Hospital. With the help of these three tools and Peoples Productions’ assistance, Dr. Cain hopes that students will produce a superior final project that will help orient volunteers towards more successful interaction with their multicultural patients and families. She adds, “The challenge is going to be capturing the final project information in a very short video, 15-20 minutes, as well as delivering follow up information in their PowerPoint presentations.”

What do the students have to say?

Ryan Fouss, a current student from Dr Cain’s class stated, “I truly believe that with this project we are working for global health. It not only adds “reason” to the class but it also creates a situation where we as students have to work together to accomplish a project. This is a great learning experience that we will be able to use in our professional careers.”

Another former student from her class, Maxwell Barrett stated, “The addition of the technology aspect only added to the final outcome of the project. It was definitely an added incentive to have “reason” for pushing the project to a new level. The technological aspect to the project also gave students a modern way of looking at health. With growing populations and health concerns around the world, cutting edge technology is the only way to progress health care systems around the world. This project and the technology grant are ways in which students can learn the value of technology in education and health care systems.”

How do these tools contribute towards enhancing communication?

Dr. Cain believes that the cell phone is, in many cases, a powerful computer that is available in the pocket of every student. She said, “The mClk tool enables students to express and share comments and opinions easily through their phones. When interviewing and working with health care professionals and discussing the role culture plays in their health-related communication, the mobile aspect makes it much more convenient for all involved. With video web conferencing, facial expressions and body language become a part of the conversation.” In addition, Ms. Woulfe points to the fact that because the cell phone device can be used anywhere within the United States, anyone from anywhere can participate in the discussion. This offers larger and wider grounds for communication.

Future Goals

Dr. Cain, Mr. Underwood and Ms. Woulfe see a day when cell phones are used for two way communication through video conferencing. Dr. Cain adds, “Two-way communication between faculty and students is one such possibility as well as social networking applications and more robust tools for creating documents, data, and presentations.”

Dr. Cain, Mr. Underwood and Ms. Woulfe are certainly trying to offer revolutionary and progressive ways of teaching and learning. Through the use of computers and cell phones, normally discouraged in a lecture room, they see the potential of technology and what it has to offer if it is used wisely and thoughtfully. Dr. Cain said, “Technology is a tool and it is how you use it that makes it effective or not. It really is up to the professors to create a learning experience that engages various learning styles.” Dr. Cain surely seems to live by her principles by incorporating these innovative learning tools in her classes.

Dr Cain recently received an ASSETT development Award. This award allowed Dr Cain to incorporate three of these educational tools into her classroom.

Written By: Manaslu Bista, CU ’11, ASSETT Reporter

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A Microscopic Problem With a Technological Solution

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

A Microscopic Problem With a Technological Solution Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/06/2010 - 00:00

One step into the biology classroom of senior EBIO instructor Stephanie Mayer and you will find posters of magnified cells and plants lining the white walls. Taken by students with digital cameras attached to microscopes, Mayer says the process of capturing an image with only a small LCD instructor as a guide can be tedious.

“You just have a static situation, so what I have been trying to do for years is figure out a way to get a live-image capture, which I think would just be wonderful for teaching,” she said. “With [a] static [image]you have a picture, and you can’t really do anything with it. It’s just a snapshot in time, and you can’t manipulate it at all.”

Researching the company who supplies her current microscope fleet, Mayer found a digital camera capable of producing live imaging she plans to use for her upper-level biology courses. Called the Zeiss Axiocam, it houses a still camera capable of live-image capture in addition to still-image capture.

“I think it will be a great teaching tool; I think it will enhance what we have,” said Professor Mayer.

Professor Mayer found her opportunity to acquire one of these state-of-the-art cameras with the help of the ASSETT Developmental Award. Presently, her classroom houses 20 microscopes, all of which she one day aspires to install with Axiocams.

“So my hope is that if we really like this Zeiss camera, that we are trying out through ASSETT, that we can slowly accumulate a classroom full of them, but it’s going to take a while.”

Although the Axiocam does not record video, its capability of real-time image capture draws Professor Mayer’s attention as a tool for her biology classes.

“I think it will make it easier to talk about to students and demonstrate to one student or even a group of students some issue or some question, some structure they are trying to look at…,” Mayer explained.

Professor Mayer also believes the tool will lead to increased interactions between students and TA’s. This type of relationship between students and TA’s helps foster a social but educational learning environment. While students enjoy the excitement of using a sophisticated piece of equipment, TA’s also gain a practical teaching experience.

Mayer repeatedly stressed how the Axiocam allows for a heightened sense of visual connection between the students and the object they view. Students may find this very visually satisfying.

“I think it’ll be so much more of a dynamic tool for teaching,” she explained. “I mean we get along just fine with static tools, but I really think it’ll add another dimension to students appreciation and understand of what they are looking at under the microscope.”

Apart from helping her students gain a valuable resource for their learning, Professor Mayer believes the addition of the Axiocam could change the nature of pedagogy in her discipline.

“If we have live image capture,” she said, “we may be able to come up with some innovative ways of approaching the subject material.”

-Written by Esteban L. Hernandez, CU' 12, ASSETT Reporter

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AMESS: A Custom Course Management Software in Applied Mathematics

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0000

AMESS: A Custom Course Management Software in Applied Mathematics Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/31/2010 - 00:00

Classes like Calculus 3 and Differential Equations at CU �鶹ӰԺ have about 350 to 400 students each semester. Dr. Anne Dougherty, an Associate Chair and senior instructor in the Applied Mathematics Department, has experienced firsthand the challenges of managing students’ assignments in large classes. To solve this problem, she has envisioned ‘The Applied Math Electronic Submission System (AMESS)’, a program which will enable students to submit their lab assignments electronically and create a space for professors and students to interact.

The AMESS system was originally developed about five years ago. However, it is no longer functional because of changing computer programs and operating systems. The AMESS system will be redesigned and enhanced over the coming semester.

Dr. Dougherty explained that one of the main aims of the Calculus 3 and Differential Equation classes is that they encourage students to use technology. Students are assigned with three computer projects each, in which they are required to take the theory they have learned from the class and try to enhance it with a real life application using technology. However, in classes with 350 to 400 students, a major part of this learning goal involves managing interactions with students and providing timely feedback. Considering the nature of the assignments, Dr. Dougherty believes that professors should be able to track the progress of students during the semester.

Dr. Dougherty hopes that AMESS will help faculty in Applied Math retain their pedagogical goals for the large classes while also streamlining the assignment management process. With this program, professors may be able to track down the student’s progress and give more time to each students work individually. She explained, “With this project, we hope to get electronic submission system that can handle a large volume of projects, deal with many student groups, check for possible plagiarism, read and grade projects online.”

A number of students will be recruited to be involved in developing the program. The new recruiters are expected to analyze different software, design code and works toward integrating AMESS with ITS systems. The students are recruited primarily from the computer science department with a strong background in programming and databases. This job may prove to be challenging for some students but at the same time, Dr. Dougherty also states, “This will be a great experience that will work for the benefit of the students who are programming this software.”

The AMESS program will hopefully be applied in the Calculus 3 and Differential Equation classes soon. Not only because it can handle volumes of assignments and projects, but it can also check for student progress, possible plagiarism, and generally provide a space for professors and students to progressively interact over the semester.

Dr. Dougherty recently received an ASSETT Development Award. This award will allow Dr. Dougherty to fund the team of students during Spring 2010 and work toward developing the AMESS program.

Written by: Manaslu Bista, CU ’11, ASSETT Reporter

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Using Audacity for Teaching Advanced Chinese

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Using Audacity for Teaching Advanced Chinese Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/30/2010 - 00:00

Learning a new language is no easy task. And Jin Chen, an instructor in the Department of Asian Languages, is more than familiar with what it takes. First and foremost, talking in a language class is really important. Learning to speak Chinese requires certain logic in order to demonstrate coherence. Jin explains that she tests her students frequently to make sure they are on the right track.

Recently, she began using Audacity, a voice recording software program, to give her students speaking assignments through CULearn. Every other Friday she uploads four recordings that she has made, along with an associated set of questions that the students are required to answer. In addition, she gives a speaking assignment that requires students to record their own speaking based on patterns she gives them to follow. Students upload their voice recordings on CULearn where Jin then listens to them to provide students with feedback. This takes students about 50 minutes to complete.

Before using Audacity, Jin gave one-on-one tests in person. However, without a teaching assistant, this is quite time consuming. Jin explained that Audacity has allowed her to continue testing at the frequency she wants. And so far, most students have delivered very good speeches in their recordings. She has found that many students enjoy being able to talk on their own time. Jin recalled that in face-to-face testing some students would get intimidated, impacting the quality of their speaking.

Though Jin is pleased with the use of Audacity, there are potential technical problems she has avoided with a few tips and tricks. First, file size is an issue to consider. Student’s can post a file to CULearn that is up to 10 minutes long. However, it is important to convert the Audacity file to MP3 before you upload, which significantly reduces the file size.

To get started off on the right foot, Jin recommends instructors spend the first class day showing students how to download the software and upload a file. It took her about 20 minutes to show her students all of the steps in class. This will help to reduce the number of problems later in the semester. Jin also ensures things go smoothly by giving her students specific instructions of what they should do in case of technical problems.

Tools like Audacity are simple to use and can help language instructors “scale up” their class by providing more opportunities for practice outside of class. If you are interested in examples of language exercises, see the ALTEC website for a list of exercises available in eleven different languages.

--Written by Amanda Porter, ASSETT Assistant Director

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