Language Resources
Media distribution policies
The UF Language Learning Center houses or distributes audio and visual materials for most of the languages taught at the University, and a few that are not taught. Some materials have been recorded here at UF by instructors, and others were purchased or donated by departments or individuals who felt they would be of use to students.
Most of them, however, are created by textbook authors or companies to accompany language texts, who rely on the lab to reproduce the tapes and deliver them to students. With the permission of McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, and other textbook publishers, we offer online digitized audio to students in many U.F. language courses. These files are intended only for U.F. students registered in these classes who have purchased the textbook and whatever workbooks, lab manuals, and so on are required. The companies reserve their rights. Students should not attempt to copy the audio—they may just play it using free Realplayer software.
Faculty co-operation and support is important in maintaining these services. The Language Learning Center needs to be provided with copies of the ancillary materials and permission to distribute them to students. We also rely on faculty to make sure students understand how to access the media they need.
Creating audio or video and making them available to students
Lab personnel or instructors can work on editing video or audio materials they have created themselves..
The Language Learning Center has equipment for instructors to use to record audio materials for students or to make videorecordings.
Instructors may check out a Marantz mp3 recorder to make recordings which can easily be downloaded to a computer; the instructor should contact the director to reserve one. We also have Adobe Audition software which allows editing of digitized audio. If the instructor prefers to record in the lab, every student workstation has a recorder (Sanako Media Assistant).
The Language Learning Center also has three digital videocameras with tripods that can be borrowed by instructors. These record onto a mini tape. The digitizing stations in the lab can play these tapes back to create a digital file (this takes place in real time). This can be edited using Windows Moviemaker or Adobe Premiere in the lab.
Language materials created by UF instructors can be posted on a password-protected website or saved onto the shared Crossroads directory, which can be accessed only from Language Learning Center workstations.
Textbook media
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Obtaining media and permissions
Course directors: Please let the Language Learning Center know, either by telephone (392-2112) or by email jshoaf@clas.ufl.edu when a new textbook or a new edition of a textbook will be used in your course. It is helpful for us to know this as early as possible in order to start preparing the materials for the next term. If you do not expect to have the students access the media through the Language Learning Center (if they are buying a package that includes audio and/or video) it is still helpful for us to know this, so that we are not expecting students to use the older materials.
- Normally the publishers send the "ancillary" materials (audio, video) to the department. Please be sure that we get the physical items as early as possible. We will need to digitize them to an appropriate format in order to post them online.
- Some publishers provide permissions to copy tapes and/or digitize audio with the materials (e.g. McGraw-Hill often includes a blank license in the audioscript). Other publishers have forms available on their websites or require contacting a representative. For the permissions, if they are not immediately available, we may be able to help in obtaining them, but if the publishers are in a foreign country it may be necessary for the instructor to correspond with them.
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Distributing the media online to students
Students can get most lab audio from the web, via our online virtual language lab. The audio is arranged by textbook title, and for each title there is a userid and a password. The main way for students to find out these passwords is in class, from the instructor. Please call the lab, 392-2112, if you don't know the passwords for your textbook.
Plan to mention in class:
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Course software
Course software (such as CD-ROMs) which comes with the textbook can sometimes be networked for easy access in the Little Labs during classes, or on the 13 walk-in computers in Turlington 1317. This requires that we have permission from the publishers, and our staff needs a couple of months to test the software for compatibility with the Little build. a few copies may be placed in the Turlington lab for students to access on our computers on a walk-in basis.
the website, http://www.clas.ufl.edu/llc/audio.shtml;
the user ID and password;
the fact that students who want to access the audio from home will need Realplayer software; (This software is free to download. Students can also use the Language Learning Center, where we have good headsets and software for playing the audio.)
and the importance of starting each lab well ahead of time, in case technical problems occur.
Media duplication and playback
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Audiocassettes
We have the capability of duplicating (with permission) and playing audiocassettes. We still have 4 stations where students can play a prerecorded tape while speaking and listen to both tracks.
We can also use an audiocassette as the basis for a digital file which can be uploaded to the Language Lab website. Digitization requries permission from the rights holder. Legal copies of cassettes for which digitization permission cannot be obtained can be placed on reserve for students to listen to in the lab.
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CDs and DVDs
We have the ability to copy CDs or DVDs but we do not have the supplies to allow us to do this for students. If an instructor wants to duplicate materials for students in a particular class we need both the permission to do it and a supply of disks. Under no circumstances whatsoever will we duplicate a commercial (general public) disk.
We also have equipment for digitizing, editing, and burning CDs or DVDs. Again, we will not digtitize a commercial disk (or a homemade copy of one) without permission.
