[etni] Re: Sharon Tzur's thoughtful post on media change for LD
- From: judih haggai <gudweinh@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:37:33 +0000
Re: Sharon Tzur's thoughtful post on media change for LD
Sharon said:
Sharon has covered so many of the bases, along with voicing much of what I've
been doing,
that I simply have to say that her considerations appear to me to be logical.
(I'll quote her letter at the
end of my comments for a quick mind-refresh)
1. In terms of practicality of keeping our exams 'secret', the school must keep
ownership of
MP3s for student use, and the Ministry needs to keep the Bagrut MP3s for their
own reuse.
2. On the subject of cost: I like the idea of students paying for a year-long
use of an MP3. They and their parents
would be pleased to get the accomodation guaranteed for each test without the
usual array of last-minute obstacles (forgetting their device/cable/
batteries, inoperative earphones, etc). Along with cost is the aspect of better
control: We'd keep the device, cable, and the test,itself).
3. Text-to-speech software is excellent for home-use and for those schools
with computer voice cards and sufficient space/equipment to provide suitable
working conditions.
For schools without, it is not an answer. Also, the student would be given a
copy of the test, copyable and able to be
transmitted to others, which is not in our interest.
4. Test bank. Lit bank. If we had a simple site to store our uploaded voice
files (recorded in paragraphs with
questions recorded in chunks of about 3 or 4 per track), then in very short
time, we'd all have a fantastic
resource.
5.Quality, adaptability. In my case, I've been converting my audacity recorded
files to MP3 and via iTunes, I've been able to play them
on my iPod, as well. I don't have the ability right now to convert to MP4, but
perhaps there are add-ons that I've yet
to add on. One more thing: for me, recording digital has been far easier than
finding a cassette recorder of any quality.
There's no comparison. How I used to cringe to hear the static that my LDs had
to endure along with their English texts.
In short, I'd ask all teachers to consider the solutions that Sharon has
proposed. I think they're right on target.
Judih Weinstein Haggai
Ma'ale/Nofei Habsor
(our school is unifying in September with Habsor school under our new name)
----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sharon Tzur" <sharontzu5@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: media change for LD
>
>
> First, I was wondering where everyone has been getting the information about
> a changeover from tapes to CDs. I didn't see any official posting.
>
> If that is indeed an option being considered, I'd like to give some input.
>
> CDs are definitely NOT a good option. Kids don't have the players, and they
> are expensive to buy- about twice as much as a walkman - and twice as much
> as the cheapest MP3 devices. Furthermore, it's a wasteful media - imagine
> having to make a new CD for every student for every exam. (I've never had
> much luck with multi-recordable).
>
> The option of text-to-speech software is problematic because there is no way
> to place every student in front of a computer for tests - not during the
> school year yet alone on the day of the Bagrut. There is also no way to
> prevent the student from accessing software that would help him/her in the
> exam - for example, the translation and definition options built in to Word.
>
> Really, the only way to go is MPs. However, you can't simply have students
> bring in their MP3 devices - for various reasons. First, with MP3 being
> built into phones, fewer and fewer kids will have a "purely" MP3 device and
> the device must also be ONLY an MP3 device - no radio, no internet
> connection, no phone. Second, we must assure that the exam is the only file
> on the device. We can't just "trust the kids" as some teachers have
> suggested - not to have other files which might help them. Furthermore, I
> have found that different devices work differently in terms of file transfer
> - some force you to use certain programs - like Windows Media player, or
> I-Tunes. It's a nightmare for the teacher. (and some teachers have already
> pointed out that the kids sometimes forget the connecting wire). The
> solution to the above problems is to have the students or the schools buy
> one, simple, standard MP3 device - a device that plugs straight into the UPB
> drive - a device that will be used only for HaKraat Sheilon.
>
> My suggestion is this: A quick search in the internet and I found that one
> can get VERY simple MP3 devices - the kind that plug straight into the USB
> drive, for about $12. I also found sites in China from which you can order
> directly. I think that the Ministry of Education should organize the mass
> purchase of such a device (or find a company that will do so). The device
> would be the simple USB type - the kind that plugs directly into the USB
> drive - it would need minimal memory - and it should be a device that
> requires no special program for file transfer. (Teachers should be able to
> simply copy from the computer to the USB drive.) The device would have to
> allow students to choose which file to play (not just random play) - and the
> bagrut should be divided into several files to allow for easier navigation.
> Schools would be able to order the device for its students. Students could
> be asked to pay a fee for using the device all year - in which case, within
> about three years, the cost of the devices would be covered and owned by the
> school.
>
> Because the devices would be cheap (and perhaps owned by the school),
> teachers could take them home the night before an exam to transfer files.
> There are free programs for recording MP3 files (such as Audacity) but it is
> a bit time consuming - especially if you divide your recording into several
> parts to make it easier for the kids to navigate. (I generally do each
> paragraph separately and divide the questions into 3 groups). It would also
> be helpful for the Ministry to allow us to upload files we've recorded so
> that we can share them with other teachers. This can be done with past
> Bagrut exams (those that are assessable on the internet anyway) as well as
> other materials we've prepared (like recordings of short stories). Within a
> year or two, we'd have a nice "bank" - so that we could sometimes just
> download files instead of recording them.
>
> On the day of the Bagrut, the files can be sent on a disk-on-key which would
> be included in the envelopes along with the exams - one disk-on-key (and one
> spare) for each of the three testing times - six disk-on-keys in all. These
> would be returned to the Ministry (possibly by means of the tachanot klita)
> - so that they can be reused each moed. The files would be transferred to
> the students' devices. I think this is the only method which would ensure
> security on the day of the exam.
>
> The Ministry can continue to use the technology for quite a long time - as
> long as the devices are around - and owned by the school - they could remain
> in use even if other technologies come in. The device chosen should have an
> option for battery replacement.
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