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About
OLE provides technological support for instruction in second language acquisition and language research. We provide access to the OLE Board, which has been developed here at the University of Arizona as an asynchronous communication tool, and to Adobe/Macromedia Breeze for synchronous communication. Support is also provided in the form of pedagogical strategies for using these tools for language teaching, and for research.
OLE Board
The Online Language Environments (OLE) Board is a web based threaded discussion instructional tool that utilizes voice, video and text to replicate the functions of a language lab. OLE is used for, but not restricted to, oral practice, listening comprehension, speaking practice and reading and writing practice. The OLE Board can be used to supplement instruction in face-to-face classes as homework assignments, and can be used in entirely distance classes.
CERCLL support provides assistance to improve the technological capabilities and establish the pedagogical strategies of the OLE Board, which has been successfully piloted in French, Arabic, various Indigenous languages and ESL. Specific deliverables for the OLE Board project include templates and pedagogical strategies with examples for Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese and Portuguese; online and print user and instructor documentation; lesson plans and use case scenarios; usability studies for further desired improvement; piloting of multi-institutional usage. We also provide for the protocols necessary to integrate the OLE Board for use with course management systems. The OLE Board is being developed as an open-source product that will be available to the wider language instruction community.
BREEZE
Macromedia Breeze (Adobe Connect Professional) provides the ability to do live web conferencing with multiple people at different locations. These sessions can also be recorded for review at a later time. Beginning in the fall of 2007 we will be piloting the use of this technology to support language instruction. Check back here for updates on the progress of the pilot, we will be providing information on the strategies that work best for using this technology.
Publications
Forger, G & Penfield, S. (2007). Electronic resources for language instruction. AACE World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications: Vancouver, BC Canada.
Forger, G. (2006). The Online Language Environments Tool: Technology Support for Language Instruction. Learning Solutions EMagazine, June 6, 2006.
Forger, G., Penfield, S. & Lyddon, P. (2005). Internet Literacy for Diverse Language Learning Environments. In P. Kommers & G. Richards (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2005 (pp. 466-473). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. (PDF)
Forger, G., Reynaert, J. & Penfield, S. (2003). An Online Language Lab: Reaching and Teaching at a Distance. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2003 (pp. 472-473). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.