The Teacher Interface
The DL-100+ teacher position uses a single PC to control any number of SD-110 or SD-110M student panels – all without the need of student computers. This reduces the instructor’s reliance on operational student computers to a minimum, allowing them to spend their time on teaching, rather than student computer maintenance.
The teacher station is operated via a mouse/monitor combination connected to a PC running Windows™ XP Pro. One or two monitors can be connected to the teacher PC showing.
The primary teacher monitor offers GUI or Graphical User Interface operation of the lab.
The mouse-driven GUI allows the teacher to operate the lab whose switches are interactive and confirm the teacher’s input by changing color. The monitor shows all class activities and eliminates the old style button panels.
The second monitor can display the Onic Help website or any other Internet site.
Teachers can store their lessons digitally and replay them to the students with the click of a mouse. They can still use their favorite cassette lessons and the audio soundtracks from a CD-ROM, DVD or VHS cassette should they wish. Teachers can record all the student responses for Advanced Placement tests and burn the test results to a CD-R disk.
Teachers can manage multiple groups of students who can accomplish different tasks or interact with programs, which are in different languages or alternate levels of the same language. The DL-100 excels in its abilities to connect students orally. Teachers can Pair students in Fixed, or randomly set patterns to practice role-playing and Group students in several fixed or teacher-set patterns for group conversational activities.
Teachers can also Monitor and Intercom with more than one student at a time and allow a Group of students who are conversing to become a Model Group allowing all of the other students to hear their conversation. Teachers can choose any of the following administrative functions or class activities to enhance their student’s communicative skills:
- Monitor: Listening to a student as they practice recording.
- Intercom: Talk to a student to correct, comment or offer advice.
- Intercom (multiple): Talk to several students at the same time to correct, comment or offer advice.
- Random Pair: The teacher computer assigns student Pairs for conversational practice.
- Fixed Pairs: The teacher computer assigns student “Pairs” in 2’s, 3’s, and quads for conversational practice
- Monitor Pairs: Listening to two students as they talk to each other
- Model Voice: The teacher assigns a student as Model Voice for all the other students to hear.
- Model Voice (Pair): The teacher assigns a pair of student’s as Model Voice for all the other students to hear.
- Model Voice (Group): The teacher assigns a group of student’s (8 max.) as the Model Voice.
- Group Conference: The teacher assigns group(s) to talk to each other. Groups can include 2-8 students.
- Simultaneous Interpretation: The teacher can assign up to 12 students to perform live translations of any of the available teacher programs (tape, CD, microphone etc.) program. The students who are translating can be recorded and the other class members can listen to any of them as they translate.
- Voice Recording / Testing and Archiving: The teacher can perform language drill testing (such as Advanced Placement, GEPT tests etc.,) or the lab can be used to record a class of students reading. The teacher can evaluate each student at their convenience and digitally archive the class results to a CD-R. Images from video player/recorders, as well as Internet sites can be easily displayed via a classroom LCD projector providing a complete environment of language and culture immersion