User Guide
Symposium
Digital Language Lab System
With Software-Based Pairing
2006-07-21
User Guide_Symposium SW_ENG_2006-07-21
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page ii
User Guide Revision History
REVISION DATE CHANGES
2005-05-18 Initial Release
2005-07-06 Updated to reflect changes in version 1.1.0.0
- Software-based pairing update
- Sessions
- VR response recording and follow-up
- VR button updates
2005-11-03 Updated to reflect changes in version 1.2.0.0
- Support for SmartClass Audio Matrix
Modified information for:
- Importing a list of users
- Using library documents (mandatory broadcast)
2006-06-20 Original file lost. This version has been re-generated with some
minor edits to the 2005-11-03 text.
2006-07-21 Updated to reflect changes in version 1.4.1.0
- Guide split into two separate versions (software pairing and
audio matrix
- Support for audio conferencing
- Support for up to 8 microphones in Presentation mode
- Enhanced flexibility with Groups
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page iii
TRADEMARKS
All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their
respective owners.
Robotel, SmartClass, SmartClass Plug & Play, SmartClass Symposium, and the
Robotel logo are registered trademarks of Robotel, Inc.
DISCLAIMER
Robotel, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents of this
manual and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for
any particular purpose. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of
this manual, Robotel shall assume no liability to any person or entity with respect to any
liability, loss, damage or related expenses caused or alleged to be caused directly or
indirectly resulting from the use of this manual. All scenarios described herein are
fictional. Robotel reserves the right to revise this manual from time to time without
obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions.
COPYRIGHT
No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted or transcribed in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of Robotel, Inc.
CONTACT US
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support@robotel.ca
http://www.robotel.com
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page iv
Congratulations! Thank you for your interest in our SmartClass
Symposium Digital Language Lab System. We are confident that you will
be pleased with Symposium's capabilities and performance.
USER GUIDE STRUCTURE
This guide provides a complete description of how to use the
Symposium Controller application. For information regarding
Symposium installation, please refer to the Symposium Installation
Guide.
This introductory chapter, Getting Started, explains how to launch the
Symposium control application at the teacher's workstation.
The next four chapters provide an introduction to the Symposium software and
hardware components that you will be using for your teaching activities. These
chapters explain what all of the buttons do. It is suggested that you familiarize
yourself with this material, but you should rarely have to refer back to these
chapters.
* Chapter 2 provides an overview of the Symposium control screen
* Chapter 3 looks at the SmartClass Controller
* Chapter 4 looks at SmartClass Sound Modules
* Chapter 5 reviews Student Virtual Recorders
Chapter 6, titled Establishing a Session is the first in a series of chapters that
examine how teachers use Symposium to run different types of language lab
activities.
Chapter 7 is titled Making Presentations.
Using Symposium to support students is the topic of Chapter 8.
Chapter 9 explains how to run collaboration activities like pairing and
conferencing.
Media activities are the subject of Chapter 10.
Program and file management is addressed in Chapter 11.
Chapter 12 (which is more of an appendix) looks at configuration management
from a teacher's perspective, with a specific review of user-specific screen set-up
parameters, documents, programs, and short cuts.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page v
Contents
1. Getting Started
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
The Symposium Controller Application...................................................................... 1
Opening Symposium.................................................................................................. 2
The Symposium Splash Screen................................................................................. 3
Symposium License Information................................................................................ 4
User Sign-In............................................................................................................... 5
SmartClass Connection ............................................................................................. 5
The Symposium Control Screen ................................................................................ 6
Chapter Quiz Questions............................................................................................. 7
2. Becoming Familiar with the Symposium Control Screen
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 8
Workstation Layout Area............................................................................................ 9
Moving Station Icons ............................................................................................ 9
Icon Properties ................................................................................................... 10
Groups Bar .............................................................................................................. 13
Overview ............................................................................................................ 14
Assigning Groups ............................................................................................... 15
Configuration Bar..................................................................................................... 17
Control Module......................................................................................................... 18
Hot Keys............................................................................................................. 19
Power On/Off Buttons......................................................................................... 20
Teaching Mode Selection ................................................................................... 20
Mode Functions.................................................................................................. 21
Function Availability Indicator .................................................................. 21
Presentation Mode ............................................................................................. 22
Mode-Specific Functions.......................................................................... 22
Support Mode..................................................................................................... 23
Mode-Specific Functions.......................................................................... 23
Monitoring Functions................................................................................ 23
Scan Functions........................................................................................ 24
Collaboration Mode ............................................................................................ 25
Mode-Specific Functions.......................................................................... 25
Pairing........................................................................................... 25
Random Pairing.................................................................. 25
Ad Hoc Pairing ................................................................... 25
Programmed Pairing .......................................................... 26
Pairing Control Screen............................................................................. 27
Media Activities Mode......................................................................................... 28
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page vi
Mode-Specific Functions.......................................................................... 28
Media Source................................................................................ 28
Overview ............................................................................ 28
Library ................................................................................ 29
A/V Capture........................................................................ 30
Start Activity .................................................................................. 32
End Activity ................................................................................... 32
Network Tools Mode........................................................................................... 33
Mode-Specific Functions.......................................................................... 33
Run Program................................................................................. 33
Quit Program................................................................................. 33
Flex Mode........................................................................................................... 34
Mode Specific Functions.......................................................................... 34
Team Mode ........................................................................................................ 35
Chapter Quiz Questions ..................................................................................... 36
3. The SmartClass Controller
Overview.................................................................................................................. 37
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 38
4. SmartClass Sound Modules
Overview.................................................................................................................. 39
Indicators ................................................................................................................. 39
Buttons..................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 41
5. Student Virtual Recorders
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 42
The Virtual Recorder................................................................................................ 42
Content Viewing & Listening............................................................................... 43
Media File Navigation Controls........................................................................... 43
Activities................................................................................................................... 44
The Listening Activity.......................................................................................... 44
The Writing Activity............................................................................................. 45
The Simultaneous Recording Activity................................................................. 46
The Active/Comparative Recording Activity........................................................ 47
The Open Recording Activity.............................................................................. 48
Saving Responses................................................................................................... 49
Student Initiated Saving...................................................................................... 49
Teacher Initiated Saving..................................................................................... 49
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 50
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page vii
6. Establishing a Session
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 51
Beginning a Session ................................................................................................ 51
Teacher Station .................................................................................................. 51
Student Stations ................................................................................................. 53
Saving Student Responses...................................................................................... 54
Ending a Session..................................................................................................... 54
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 55
7. Making Presentations
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 56
Live Presentations ................................................................................................... 56
Teacher Presentations............................................................................................. 58
Model Student Presentations................................................................................... 59
Document Presentations.......................................................................................... 60
Broadcast Document Window ............................................................................ 61
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 62
8. Providing Student Support
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 63
Self-Study Activity.................................................................................................... 63
Group Those Students Requiring Close Monitoring ........................................... 63
Select Support Mode.......................................................................................... 63
Use the Scan Functions ..................................................................................... 64
Dealing with a Student Problem ......................................................................... 65
Explain ­ Option 1 ................................................................................... 65
Demonstrate ­ Option 2........................................................................... 65
Review Basics ­ Option 3........................................................................ 65
Reactive VS Proactive Support .......................................................................... 65
Class or Group Activity ............................................................................................ 66
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 67
9. Running Collaboration Activities
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 68
Random Audio Pairing............................................................................................. 68
Ad Hoc Audio Pairing............................................................................................... 69
Programmed Audio Pairing...................................................................................... 69
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 70
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page viii
10. Launching Media Activities
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 71
Selecting a Library Document.................................................................................. 71
Starting an Activity ................................................................................................... 73
Ending an Activity .................................................................................................... 73
Digitizing a New Document ­ A/V Capture .............................................................. 74
Importing Digital Files into the Document Library .................................................... 75
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 76
11. Program & File Management
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 77
Run Program ........................................................................................................... 77
Quit Program ........................................................................................................... 77
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 79
12. Configuration Management
Overview.................................................................................................................. 80
Parameters .............................................................................................................. 81
License Number ................................................................................................. 81
Program Language .................................................................................. 81
A/V Capture........................................................................................................ 82
Interface ............................................................................................................. 84
Menus................................................................................................................. 85
Pairing ................................................................................................................ 86
Teacher.................................................................................................................... 87
Users.................................................................................................................. 87
Classes............................................................................................................... 90
Documents ......................................................................................................... 91
Importing Digital Files into the Document Library .................................... 92
Programs............................................................................................................ 93
Importing New Programs into the Program Library.................................. 94
Follow-Up ........................................................................................................... 95
Local Follow-Up ....................................................................................... 96
Remote Follow-Up ................................................................................... 97
Shortcuts.................................................................................................................. 98
Documents Short Cut ......................................................................................... 98
Programs Short Cut............................................................................................ 98
Chapter Quiz Questions........................................................................................... 99
#####
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 1 of 99
Getting Started
Introduction
With the Symposium system, the teacher's workstation has two screens, the teacher screen, and
the control screen. Both screens may be connected to the same computer, or each to separate
computers.
The control screen is often equipped with a touch screen, which enables you to select commands
using your finger, but you can also use a more traditional computer mouse. Some activities on
the screen will also require the use of a keyboard.
The Symposium Controller Application
Symposium Controller is a software package that runs on the control screen at the teacher's
workstation. This application manages a hybrid switching systems that links all computers and
A/V equipment in the classroom. The software portion of the system uses the schooľs data
network for communicating with all computers, while the hardware portion of the system uses
the SmartClass Plug & Play screen-audio-keyboard-mouse switching system.
The SmartClass system must be powered-on to enable all Symposium functions.
Control Screen Teacher Screen
Dual-Screen Teacher Workstation
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 2 of 99
Opening Symposium
If the Symposium Controller application is not open, you must first open it. Ideally,
you will have a dedicated Symposium icon on your desktop (see image at left). If
so, just double click on this icon with your mouse or touch screen.
If there is no Symposium icon on your screen, you simply click on the Start button
in the Windows task bar, point to the Programs entry, navigate to the Symposium Controller
application, and click one on the Symposium Controller application with your mouse (or touch
screen) to begin (see image below).
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 3 of 99
The Symposium Splash Screen
When Symposium is first launched, the following splash screen will appear.
There is a text message overlaid on the upper part of this image. The test message will go
through the following steps:
Symposium starting
Symposium test......(1 through 10)
Symposium connecting
The current software version number will appear at the bottom of this window, (e.g. V1.1.0.0).
If a warning message appears at any time during this sequence, contact your
system administrator.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 4 of 99
Symposium License Information
If you are running a licensed version of Symposium, skip this section.
If your Symposium installation has only been completed within the last 30 days, your license key
information may not yet have been configured and you may be running a trial version of
Symposium. If so, you will see the license screen shown below.
Select Trial version if you wish to proceed without configuring a proper license at this time. (It
is strongly suggested that the configuration of a license key be done by authorized installation
personnel or by your system administrator.)
After selecting the Trial version, a small window will appear to advise you how many days are
remaining in the trial period.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 5 of 99
User Sign-In
To prevent unauthorized access to the Symposium system, you must sign in to the Symposium
Controller application. The sign-in screen is shown below.
Every authorized user has a name and password. Just choose your name from the drop down list
by clicking the small arrow at the right of the Sign-in field. Only teacher and administrator
names are listed in the sign-in field. Once your sign-in name is properly shown in this field,
enter your password in the Password field and then click on the check mark below this field.
If you cannot find your sign-in name in the list of names, or if Symposium is not accepting your
password, please contact your system administrator for assistance.
SmartClass Connection
After the sign-in process, Symposium will display a small window (see below) that indicates that
it has connected with the underlying SmartClass Plug & Play hardware layer.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 6 of 99
The Symposium Control Screen
The initial Symposium screen should appear similar to that shown below.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 7 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. What is the name of the program that is used to control the Symposium system?
2. After Symposium is first installed, shat period of grace do you have for running the
software before a valid license key must be configured?
3. When the sign-in screen appears, how do you select your sign-in name (user
identification)?
4. If you cannot remember your sign-in name or password, whom do you contact?
#####
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 8 of 99
Becoming Familiar with the
Symposium Control Screen
Introduction
If you are a first-time Symposium user, take a few minutes to read this and the next three
chapters thoroughly, as the information provided herein is very useful for understanding the
basics of how to use Symposium, and for configuring your screen to suit your teaching needs.
If you are an experienced Symposium user, you will likely want to skip ahead to one of the later
chapters that explain how to perform specific types of classroom activities.
The Symposium screen should appear similar to the image shown below, although the number of
workstations in your classroom, and some of the parameter setting decisions made at installation
time, will likely mean that there are some slight differences. As shown in the diagram, the
screen can be partitioned into 4 main areas: the Workstation layout area, the Control module,
the Groups bar, and the Configuration bar.
Groups Bar Control Module
Configuration Bar
Workstation
Layout Area
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 9 of 99
Workstation Layout Area
This portion of the control screen provides a separate icon for the teacher's station, for each
student station, and for any auxiliary stations (like a document camera).
Each user has his own view of the workstation layout area, and can position station icons to meet
his requirements. Normally, icons are positioned to model the actual layout of workstations in
the classroom, so that icon characteristics on the control screen can be intuitively linked to realworld
events at the corresponding workstation.
The left-hand image shown below depicts a classroom in which student workstations are
organized into rows, while the right-hand image shows a classroom where workstations are
deployed around the perimeter of the room.
Moving Station Icons
If you would like to modify the layout of your workstation icons, just position your
cursor over the rightmost icon, (the Layout icon), on the Configuration bar at the
bottom of the screen, and click once.
This will open a pop-up menu as shown at left. Select the
`Allow positioning' option. You can now drag-and-drop the
station icons anywhere in the workstation layout area using
your mouse (or your finger on touch screen equipped control
panels). When you have finished organizing the workstation
icons, again select the Layout icon, and this time select the
`Disable positioning' option to freeze the icons in place.
Remember that each user can create his own workstation layout view, so the layout you have just
designed is entirely your own.
Traditional row-based layout Perimeter layout
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 10 of 99
Icon Properties
Station icons provide real time feedback regarding the status of students and their work. Icons
provide information on the following topics:
* Student calls for assistance
* Student activities (virtual recorder, other applications)
* Student participation (listening, watching, talking, presenting)
* Group membership
* Station ID (address)
* Workstation connectivity
* Workstation remote control
A combination of colors and symbols is used to identify different workstation states. Each icon
has 5 distinct areas, each of which is used to convey different status information. See the
diagram below.
Station ID
(Address) Group ID
Video
Switching
and
Student
Activities
Audio
Switching
Keyboard/Mouse
Switching
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 11 of 99
Icon Switching Status Description
Default
When Symposium is first opened, workstation icons
will normally appear in their default state. The group
ID shows a self-study icon.
Station
Connected
Teacher and all student stations should normally
remain connected to the control station over the data
network at all times. The white outline indicates a
connection.
Station
Disconnected
Stations without a network attached computer, (e.g.
projector, document camera), will normally be shown
as disconnected. The black outline and black
background on the Station ID field indicates no
connection.
Student Call
When a student presses his call button, the raised hand
icon is superimposed on the station icon.
Viewing Student
Screen
When the station is displaying the screen of another
student, the color is blue and the icon is that of a
student.
Viewing Teacher
Screen
When the station is displaying the screen of the teacher,
the color is blue and the icon is that of a teacher.
Sending Student
Screen
When a student station's screen is being sent to one or
more other stations, the screen background color is red
and the icon is that of a student. The station ID
background is also red.
Sending Teacher
Screen
When the teacher station's screen is being sent to one
or more other stations, the background color is red and
the icon is that of a teacher.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 12 of 99
Virtual Recorder
Open
When the VR is open, an icon with two curved lines is
superimposed on the station icon.
Application
Open
When the teacher has remotely opened an application
on the student station, a window icon is superimposed
on the station icon.
Audio
Listening
When the user is listening to an external audio source,
the audio icon is shown in a darker blue color.
Audio
Sending (A)
When the user is sending his audio to one or more
other stations, the audio icon is shown in red. The
letter A indicates channel A. The station ID field
background is set to red to indicate an audio
transmitter.
Audio
Sending (B)
When the user is sending his audio to one or more
other stations, the audio icon is shown in red. The
letter B indicates channel B. The station ID field
background is set to red to indicate an audio
transmitter.
Keyboard/Mouse
Remotely controlled
When the local computer is being remotely controlled
by an external keyboard/mouse, the keyboard/mouse
icon is shown in blue. (Note that to be remotely
controlled, the station must be sending its screen to the
controlling station.)
Keyboard/Mouse
Controlling
When the local keyboard/mouse is remotely controlling
an external computer, the keyboard/mouse icon is
shown in red. (Note that to remotely control another
station, the station must be receiving the screen from
the controlled station.)
Station
Selected
When the teacher selects a station, the station's icon is
outlined with a thick blue line.
Assigned to
Group
When the teacher assigns a station to a group, the
station's Group ID changes to reflect the color of the
group.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 13 of 99
Audio Pair
Selected
When a station pair is selected, a collaboration ID
(white on a light blue background) is superimposed on
the audio portion of the station icon. All stations
having the same collaboration ID are members of the
same pair.
Audio Pairing
Enabled
When pairing is enabled, the collaboration ID turns
from white to yellow.
Logged in for a
session
When students login for a session, a login icon is
superimposed on the workstation icon screen, and the
student name is shown immediately below the
workstation icon.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 14 of 99
Groups Bar
Overview
The Groups Bar provides teachers with a way of partitioning the class into multiple groups, so
that different activities can be launched within each group. Up to six concurrent color groups,
(Red, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, and Brown), can be created, and those students not assigned
to a color group can pursue self-study activities.
If a teacher is always going to work with the entire class, and does not require multiple group
capability, he can delete the Group Bar from the control panel (via the set-up parameters). Each
teacher can independently choose to work with Groups or not.
The Groups Bar is shown below:
Each Group button comprises three distinct areas as shown below:
Note that there are 6 color group buttons in the middle of Group bar. To the right of the group
buttons, there is a black Self-study Group button representing self-study stations not assigned to a
color group. Instead of a paintbrush, this button includes an eraser, which allows you to remove
stations from color groups and return them to self-study status.
To the immediate left of the 6 group buttons is an All-group button, which enables you to work
with all groups at the same time. This is useful if some activities are intended for the entire
class, while other activities are assigned to individual color groups.
At the far left is a Group-configuration button. This button is used to create, save, modify,
delete, and/or recall different group configurations. The name of the currently selected Groupconfiguration
is superimposed over the editing button. When a new user first uses Symposium,
there is a single default group configuration called default configuration.
Group Select
Station count
Station select paintbrush
Color Group Buttons (6)
Self-study Group
Button
All-groups
Button
Group-configuration
Button
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 15 of 99
Assigning groups
To create a new group configuration, first click on the
Group-configuration button. A drop down menu will
appear as shown at right. Choose the New configuration
option to begin creating a new group. A small window
will open and you will be prompted to enter a Groupconfiguration
name.
In the example below right, the configuration is called
Right-Left, as this particular configuration will be used to
partition the class into two groups, one on the right side
and the other on the left side. This new group name is
superimposed over the Group-configuration button.
You are now ready to assign workstations to the
first group. Begin by clicking on the station select
paintbrush for any group (e.g. Orange). Your
curser is now displayed as a paintbrush in the group
color.
Position your cursor over any station that you wish
to assign to this group and click once. The small
Group ID square over the workstation icon will
change color to match the group assignment.
Repeat this same process for every station that you wish to assign to the group. The Station
count will increment as new stations are added.
Now, click on the paintbrush for the next group you wish to assign, (e.g. Purple). Just as
described above, clicking on station icons assigns those stations to the Purple group.
When all groups have been completed, again click on the Group-configuration button, and select
the Save configuration option. Your Right-Left group configuration has now been saved, and
can be recalled as needed at the click of a button.
Group configurations are unique to every user. You have just created your first group
configuration, which is shown overleaf.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 16 of 99
The six stations on the right are now assigned to the Purple group. You can see this by the status
of their Group ID icons. The five stations on the left are now assigned to the Orange group. You
can see this by the status of their Group ID icons.
The sixth station on the left, whose Station ID is "M", is the teacher station. The teacher cannot
be assigned directly to a group. The teacher will become a member of any group that he selects
(as shown below). When the teacher selects a group, all stations external to that group are
grayed-out as shown below.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 17 of 99
Configuration Bar
The Configuration bar, shown below, is located at the bottom of the main Symposium control
screen. This bar provides access to a number of set-up parameters and teaching resources.
Icon Name Description
Controller
Connection
There are two small indicators in this status display; a red
indicator and a blue indicator. When the blue indicator is
continuously illuminated, the Symposium controller
application has a solid connection with the SmartClass
hardware layer.
If the red indicator is flashing periodically, there is a
problem with the SmartClass connection. You may need
to reset the SmartClass hardware. Alternately, you may
need to re-synchronize the Symposium Controller
application with the hardware: To do this, just select
either the Teacher of Parameters buttons, acknowledge the
warning message, and return to the main Symposium
page.
Layout
Button
The layout button is used to modify the position of
workstation icons in the workstation layout area. See the
section about the Workstation Layout Area in this chapter
for more details.
Parameters
Button
The Parameters button provides access to a number of
different Symposium set-up options. See the chapter on
Configuration Management later in this document for
more details.
Teacher
Resources
Button
The Teacher button provides access to a number of
different teacher resources stored within the Symposium
system. See the chapter on Configuration Management
later in this document for more details.
Shortcut
Buttons
Depending on the particular teaching mode in which the
teacher is working, shortcut buttons, (Groups, Programs,
Documents), will appear on the Parameters bar. See the
Configuration Management chapter later in this document
for more details.
Parameters
Button
Teacher Resources
Button
Layout
Button
Controller
ConnectionShortcut Buttons
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 18 of 99
Control Module
Introduction
The Symposium control module resembles a typical TV remote control. The functions are
organized as shown below in the diagram.
Hot Keys
Mode-specific
functions
Teaching Mode
Select button
Quit/ Power Off
Button
Power On
Button
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 19 of 99
Hot Keys
Hot keys are provided for functions that are used
frequently by all teachers. The Hot key functions are
shown at right and are described below:
Icon Function Name Description
New Session
The New Session hot key is used to create a new
"session" in which student VR-based responses (oral and
text) to media activities will be captured into the
Symposium database for evaluation purposes. Students
are required to login, and student names are then
displayed immediately below their respective station
icons. A session is terminated when the teacher accesses
either the Parameters button or the Teacher button (on the
configuration bar).
Broadcast
The Broadcast button triggers an instant presentation from
the teacher station to all other stations in the class (or
currently selected group). The teacher's screen is
displayed on all student monitors, and the teacher's audio
signal (microphone plus local audio sources) is sent to all
student headsets.
Blank Screens
The Blank screens function is used to turn all student
screens black and lock all student keyboards and mice.
This function is typically used when making a live
presentation, to ensure that student attention is focused on
the speaker and not on their local computer screens.
Reset
The Reset function is used to reset any active switching
operation involving screens, audio, and/or
keyboard/mouse control. For example, after using the
Broadcast or Blank Screens functions to facilitate a
presentation, the reset button is used to cancel all
switching and return all workstations to a neutral state.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 20 of 99
Power On/Off Buttons
At the bottom of the control module, there are buttons for Power On (blue) and Quit/Power Off
(red). With suitably equipped computers in the classroom, these buttons can be used to remotely
power-up and/or power-down all computers in the classroom. The Quit/Power Off button also
provides a mechanism for closing the Symposium application.
Icon Name Description
Power-On
This button is used to open all computers (student and
teacher) if they are in a power-off state.
Quit/Power-Off
This button provides access to a pop-up menu having
options for:
* Quitting the Symposium application
* Logging off the current Windows users at all student
stations
* Powering off all student stations
* Powering off all stations (students and teacher)
Teaching Mode Select
The Teaching mode select button shows the currently selected
teaching mode. By default, this is Presentation mode.
When you click on this button, a pop-up menu shows you the
list of available teaching modes (as shown at right).
Just click on the desired teaching mode from this list to show
the available functions for this mode on the control module.
Note that in the set-up parameters, each teacher can
customize the list of available teaching modes to remove
options that he is not likely to use. This simplifies day-to-day
operation for novice Symposium users. More details on
selecting parameters are presented in the chapter titled
Configuration Management.
It is recommended that Team mode and Flex mode be
permanently disabled for all users, as these modes are not yet
implemented.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 21 of 99
Function Availability
Indicator
Mode Functions
When any teaching mode has been selected, the list of
available functions for that mode is displayed immediately
below the Teaching mode select button (as shown in the
example at right).
The details of these functions for each teaching mode are
explained over the next set of chapters in this document.
Function Availability Indicator
In all teaching modes, there is a certain protocol for how the
mode-specific buttons are used. Note that the small Function
availability indicator at the right hand side of each button
needs to be displaying a Green light before the function can
be used.
In teaching modes (such as presentation mode) that implicate
more than two users, many functions require preselection of a
specific workstation in the workstation layout area, before the
function becomes available.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 22 of 99
Presentation Mode
The Presentation mode menu is shown at right.
All functions are grouped into a single Mode-specific cluster.
Mode-Specific Functions
Looking at the Presentation mode menu (right), all functions
are initially unavailable. Once a station, (e.g. the teacher
station), has been selected, (confirmed by a dark blue border),
then the first three functions become available.
Send Video ­ Clicking on the Send Video button invokes a
visual presentation (selected station's screen) from the
selected station to all stations in the class (or in the currently selected group).
Send Audio (A) ­ Clicking on the Send Audio (A) button invokes an audio presentation
(selected station's mixed audio; (microphone and computer sound)) from the selected station to
all stations in the class (or in the currently selected group).
Send Audio (B) ­ Note that the Send Audio (B) button can be used in a similar fashion,
however, the B button is normally reserved for enabling an oral presentation from a second
source station.
In Presentation mode, the two audio channels are typically used to enable two audio presentation
sources at the same time. Imagine for example, that the teacher is giving a presentation and a
student presses his call button to ask a question. Without canceling his own audio presentation
function (channel A), the teacher can configure a second audio presentation from the student
asking the question. The entire class (or selected group) listens to both the teacher and student at
the same time.
Give control ­ In order to make the Give control function available, some form of visual
presentation, (visual or audio-visual), must first be established, and then another station selected.
Clicking on the Give control button then gives keyboard/mouse control over the presentation
station to the selected station.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 23 of 99
Support Mode
The Support mode functions menu is shown at right.
In this mode, the functions are grouped into three distinct
sets: Mode-specific, Monitoring, and Scan.
Mode-Specific Functions
Toggle video ­ When the teacher is already observing a
student station, the Toggle video function reverses the video
receiver and transmitter so that the teacher's screen is being
sent to the studenťs monitor. Clicking on this button a
second time toggles the video switching, so that the teacher
is again observing the student.
Monitoring Functions
The monitoring functions comprise Listen, Talk, Observe,
and Take Control. Each of these functions can be activated
by clicking on the associated click-on/click-off button.
Whenever any single station in the workstation layout area is
selected, the main functions will collectively be applied to
the selected station, with the teacher station acting as the
observer.
For example, if Observe and Listen are activated, once the
teacher chooses student station 4, he will be viewing the screen of station 4 on his own monitor
(Observe) and listening to the audio signal of station 4 in his headset (Listen).
Listen ­ The teacher listens to the mixed audio signal from the selected station (using channel
(A)).
Talk ­ The teacher talks to the selected station (using channel (B)).
Observe ­ The teacher views the screen of the selected station on his own monitor.
Take Control ­ The teacher takes keyboard/mouse control of the selected station from his own
keyboard and mouse. (Observation is a prerequisite for taking control.)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 24 of 99
Scan Functions
The Scan function buttons are shown in detail below.
An initial student station must first be selected before the scan function becomes available.
Once an initial station has been selected, (Station ID loaded into the Station ID field), clicking on
the Scan start button ( ), will begin a timer (value based on the Scan Duration field).
The Countdown indicator will move from left to right to visually identify how much time
remains for scanning the current station. The indicator resets to the left as the scan of the next
station in sequence begins.
When the Scan Duration counts down to zero, the next station in sequence (based on address)
will be selected, and the preset main functions will be applied to the new station. This process
continues indefinitely with all stations in the class (or currently selected group) being
sequentially scanned.
You terminate the scan function by clicking on the Scan stop button ( ).
Scan
Duration
Duration
Decrement
(5 sec)
Duration
Increment
(5 sec)
Station ID
(Address)
Station
Address
Decrement
(By 1)
Station
Address
Increment
(By 1)
Scan
Start/Stop
Countdown
Timer
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 25 of 99
Collaboration Mode
The Collaboration mode functions menu is shown at right.
In this mode, the functions are grouped into three distinct
sets: Mode-Specific, Monitoring, and Scan.
For a description of Monitoring and Scan functions refer to
the previous section under Support mode.
Mode-Specific Functions
Pairing ­ when Collaboration mode is first opened, there is a
single mode-specific button called Pairing. When you click
on this button, a pop-up menu showing the available options
is displayed (as seen below).
Random pairing ­ When random pairing is selected,
Symposium will automatically determine which stations are
members of the same pairs. The assigned collaboration
number will be superimposed on the audio portion of the
station icon, (white on light blue background). The button
menu will also change and you will see buttons named Random pairing, Start pairing, and Stop
pairing. Pairing will only be enabled when you click on Start pairing.
When pairing is enabled, a ring tone will sound at student stations, and a graphic showing the
configuration ID will be displayed on all student screens. On the control panel, the configuration
number will turn from white to yellow.
Pairing can be terminated by clicking on the Stop pairing button, (the system still displays the
pair selection), or on the Reset hot-key, (pairs are disabled and pair selection is reset). You can
click on the Random pairing button to re-access the pairing option menu.
Ad Hoc Pairing ­ When Ad Hoc pairing is selected, the teacher must manually select which
students are members of each pair. Upon selection of the Ad Hoc option, you will see three new
buttons named Ad Hoc Pairing, Add Pairing, and Start Pairing.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 26 of 99
To select student pairs, the teacher selects the first station, holds down the Ctrl key on the
keyboard, and then selects the second station. He then clicks on the Add Pairing button. The
first pair is assigned a collaboration ID of "1". This selection process is repeated for each pair.
Note that the Add Pairing button becomes the Delete Pairing button if the selected station is part
of an assigned pair. The assigned collaboration number will be superimposed on the audio
portion of the station icon, (white on light blue background).
When all pairs have been selected, the teacher clicks on the Start pairing button. When pairing
is enabled, a ring tone will sound at student stations, and a graphic showing the configuration ID
will be displayed on all student screens. On the control panel, the configuration number will turn
from white to yellow.
Note that the Start pairing button becomes the Stop pairing button once pairing has been started.
Pairing can be terminated by clicking on the Stop pairing button, (the system still displays the
pair selection), or on the Reset hot-key, (pairs are disabled and pair selection is reset). You can
click on the Ad Hoc pairing button to re-access the pairing option menu.
Programmed Pairing ­ Programmed pairing is a form of student audio pairing that enables preprogrammed
pairs of students to communicate with each other. Using the set-up parameters
(described in the chapter on Configuration Management), it is possible to configure several
different templates that pair students in different ways. The templates are entirely unrestricted in
nature, meaning that any student can be paired with any other student.
Note that Programmed pairing is a system-wide function, and cannot be implemented within a
single group. Only stations included in the programmed pairing template are implicated in the
programmed pairing function.
When a programmed pairing template (e.g. Horizontal) is selected, Symposium will assign the
predetermined pairs. The assigned collaboration number will be superimposed on the audio
portion of the station icon, (white on light blue background). The button menu will also change
and you will see buttons named Programmed pairing, Start pairing, and Stop pairing. Pairing
will only be enabled when you click on Start pairing.
When pairing is enabled, a ring tone will sound at student stations, and a graphic showing the
configuration ID will be displayed on all student screens. On the control panel, the configuration
number will turn from white to yellow.
Pairing can be terminated by clicking on the Stop pairing button, (the system still displays the
pair selection), or on the Reset hot-key, (pairs are disabled and pair selection is reset). You can
click on the Programmed pairing button to re-access the pairing option menu
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 27 of 99
Pairing Control Screen
The screen image below reflects that a pairing operation is in effect. Note that the icons reflect
the collaboration ID of each pair, (e.g. stations that are members of the first collaboration set are
both shown with a ¨1¨. In this example, there is only one student pair, (stations 8 and 9).
Effective with Symposium version 1.4, note that the Groups bar is now available in Pairing
mode.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 28 of 99
Media Activities Mode
The Media Activities mode functions menu is shown at right.
In this mode, the functions are grouped into three distinct
sets: Mode-Specific, Monitoring, and Scan.
For a description of Monitoring and Scan functions refer to
the previous section under Support mode.
Mode-Specific Functions
Media Source
Overview
When any media activity is to be run, the first step is to
select the media source. This process is initiated by clicking
on the Media source button. A small pop-up Media sources
menu will appear next to this button (as shown below).
There are three different types of media source documents represented here:
* Digital documents that are currently available in an existing media library (Library)
* An A/V Capture function that digitizes an existing analog medium to create a new digital
document
* Digital documents that have been recently played (1 through 5 are specific document
names)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 29 of 99
Library
Every user has a unique library (or set of libraries). By default, when you choose the library
option, you will be shown the document content in your library. However, every user is also
able to view shared content in other libraries by selecting other author names. The Library
window is shown below:
Library Selection/Identification ­ The three fields at the top of the screen are used for library
selection and identification.
Document List ­ The large area to the left contains the list of digital documents available in the
currently selected library. To choose a particular document, just highlight it by clicking on the
document name with your mouse (or touch screen).
Library Selection/Identification
Document Broadcast DocumentDocument List
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 30 of 99
Document Preview ­ After you have selected a document, you can preview it in the Document
Preview panel. If playing audio/visual content, the video is shown in the small rectangular area
at the top of this panel. Sound is played from the local sound card, which may be connected to
the teacher's headset via the SmartClass system or may drive a set of local PC speakers.
Document Broadcast ­ If you are ready to begin a media activity, the selected media document
can broadcast to the class (or selected group) by clicking on the Document Broadcast button. (In
fact this action opens another window, but this is discussed in greater detail in the Launching
Media Activities chapter.)
Click on the checkmark at the bottom of this screen to exit from the library and return to the
Symposium main screen.
A/V Capture
Selecting the A/V Capture option opens the Create new document window (shown below). Note
that there are six distinct areas in this window.
A/V Source Select
Video Source
Characteristics
Digitizing
Controls
Broadcast
Image Size
Elapsed
Time
C
Document
Name Field
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 31 of 99
A/V Source Select ­ This field at the top of the window contains icons for each A/V source that
has been configured through the set-up parameters for Symposium. Choose the device that will
be used to play your A/V media: (e.g. DVD Player for a DVD, or VCR for a videotape, or
audiocassette player for an audiocassette tape). (See the Configuration Management chapter for
more details.)
Video Source Characteristics ­ If the source that you have selected includes a video
component, the preset video capture characteristics are shown in this window. If the set-up has
been done properly, you should not have to modify these settings. The video source will be
displayed in a separate window on the teacher's screen, and the Symposium system will
automatically be configured to broadcast the teacher's screen and audio to the entire class (or the
selected group).
Broadcast Image Size ­ Even if there is no video signal to broadcast, a graphic image will be
used in conjunction with an audio only source. The Broadcast image size button enables you
select ¨full screen¨ or ¨window¨ options for the broadcast image. The window option includes an
on-screen volume control for adjusting the sound level.
Digitizing Controls ­ These controls are used to manage the A/V capture operation. If working
with a pre-recorded A/V source (like an audiocassette), you must concurrently manage both the
device controls, (play, pause, etc.), and the A/V capture controls.
Cue up your media player and begin playback of your source, and then immediately click on the
Start button to begin digitizing. The source will be digitized as an WMA or WMV document in
the current user's library. If you make a mistake while digitizing and wish to start over, just
click on the Restart button. This will stop the digitizing process and will then enable your
second digitizing effort to erase the bad content.
When you have finished digitizing the source material, click on the End button. A pop-up
window will remind you to stop or pause your media player.
Elapsed Time Counter ­ As you are digitizing, the elapsed time counter will read out the
current length of the document in HH:MM:SS format.
Document Name Field ­ A generic name and time stamp will automatically be created in the
Document Name field. You can override this name by typing in a new name from your
keyboard. (Intelligent naming of documents is critical for maintaining a library in which
documents can be easily identified without the need for previewing.)
To save your new document, click on the check mark at the bottom of this screen. Your analog
source material is then saved as a digital document in your library, and you are returned to the
main Symposium screen.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 32 of 99
Start Activity
Currently, there are five different student activities that can be launched:
* Listening
* Writing
* Recording ­ Simultaneous
* Recording ­ Audio Active Comparative (AAC)
* Recording ­ Open
Each of these activities opens a different version of the Symposium Virtual Recorder on selected
student stations. For additional details, consult the chapter titled Student Virtual Recorders later
in this guide.
End Activity
When an activity has been completed, click on the End Activity button to close student virtual
recorders.
Note that if no session had been initiated prior to running an activity, then student oral and text
responses would be discarded. If a session had previously been initiated, then upon ending the
activity, a pop-up window would ask the teacher if student responses should be saved in the
Symposium database.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 33 of 99
Network Tools Mode
The Media Activities mode functions menu is shown at
right.
In this mode, the functions are grouped into three distinct
sets: Mode-Specific, Monitoring, and Scan.
For a description of Monitoring and Scan functions refer to
the previous section under Support mode.
Mode-Specific Functions
Run Program
The Run program function is used to open a software
program (e.g. Microsoft Word) on student computer
stations.
Before this function can be used, you must first select one or
more student stations from the workstation layout area.
(Your selection is confirmed by the presence of a blue
border around selected stations.)
When you click on the Run program button, a pop-up list of
available programs will appear. Just click on the program
that you want from this list.
Note that a Programs shortcut button will also appear in the
Parameters bar at the bottom of the screen. This button behaves identically to the Run program
button.
When the application is launched on the selected student stations, a special window icon will be
superimposed on the the icons of all stations running the program.
Quit Program
The Quit program function is used to close the program (e.g. Microsoft Word) that you have
most recently opened on student computer stations.
Before this function can be used, you must first select one or more student stations from the
workstation layout area. (Your selection is confirmed by the presence of a blue bordeer around
the selected stations.)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 34 of 99
Flex Mode
The Flex mode functions menu is shown at right.
In this mode, there is a single set of Mode-specific functions.
Mode-Specific Functions
Flex is used to enable the ad hoc selection of two or more
stations, where the first station selected is the source, and any
additional stations selected are the destination.
When selecting stations from the workstation layout area, the
first station selected will be shown with a Red border, while
any subsequent stations will be shown with a Blue border.
Once you have completed the station selection, click on the desired function button.
Send Video ­ This button sends the screen from the source station to the monitors of all the
destination stations.
Send Audio (A) ­ This button sends the mixed audio signal (microphone + sound card) from the
source station to the destination stations.
Send Audio (B) ­ This button is typically used to enable a second audio source. Note that you
must reset your previous station selection (by clicking anywhere on the gray background of the
workstation layout area) and then select a new source station and destination stations before
selecting the Send audio (B) function.
Give Control ­ This button is used to give keyboard/mouse control of the video source station to
another station. You must reset your previous station selection (by clicking anywhere on the
gray background of the workstation layout area) and then select a new source before selecting
the Give control button.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 35 of 99
Team Mode
The menu for team mode is shown at right. Note that this
mode is not currently operating.
Team functions will likely be integrated into the Collaboration
mode in a future Symposium release.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 36 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. What is the procedure for moving workstation icons in the Workstation Layout
area?
2. If a station icon appears as shown in the examples below, what is the station's
status? (Remember that status includes video switching, audio switching,
keyboard/mouse switching, station ID, Group ID, and any special applications.)
a) b) c)
3. Including the self-study group, how many groups can be configured? (Hint, if said
6, you are incorrect.)
4. What set of functions is shown at right?
5. In which mode(s), can the Blank Screens function be found? Explain your answer.
6. After selecting a media file from the Library, is it necessary to broadcast this file to
your students before launching a media activity?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 37 of 99
SmartClass Controller
Overview
The Symposium system includes a hardware-switching layer called SmartClass Plug & Play.
The ¨brains¨ of the SmartClass system is the controller module, (SC2500 CR), which is normally
located at the teacher workstation, just underneath the desktop.
The controller has no user controls other than a simple power on-off switch. The controller is
shown below.
Normally the power switch on the controller should always remain in the ON position. If for any
reason it is necessary to reset the hardware, this can be done by momentarily turning the
controller's power switch to the OFF position (for a few seconds), and then returning the switch
to the ON position.
After a hardware reset, the controller will go through a boot-up procedure that takes about 30
seconds. The green indicator on the power switch will flash during this procedure. Wait for the
indicator to stabilize before using the system.
To resynchronize the Symposium software with the Symposium hardware, click on either the
Teacher or the Parameter button, and then click on the check mark at the bottom of this window.
As the Symposium main screen is resumed, the software resynchronizes with the hardware.
Note that at the bottom of the Symposium control screen, the Controller Connection icon will
show a steady blue indicator when communication with the SmartClass hardware layer has been
established. This indicator will periodically flash red if there is a problem with the
communication link.
Power Switch
Controller Connection Icon
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 38 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. Where can you find the Controller Connection icon?
2. If this icon is flashing red, what must you do?
3. Where are you most likely to find the SmartClass controller?
4. If you have just powered up the SmartClass controller, should communications with
Symposium be instantly restored?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 39 of 99
SmartClass Sound Modules
Introduction
The Symposium system includes hardware-switching capability for audio signals. At every
workstation, users are equipped with a sound module. This module, (shown below), provides
audio mixing for a local headset, for the local computer, and for the SmartClass intercom system.
Normally, the sound module will be fixed just under the front edge of the desk, but it can also be
located on the desktop.
Status Indicators
Power On Indicator ­ The Power-On indicator (green) is illuminated when power is supplied.
If this indicator is not on, check the Power-On switch on the SmartClass controller.
Microphone Muted Indicator ­ The Microphone Muted indicator (red) is illuminated if the
local microphone has been muted.
Microphone Active Indicator ­ The Microphone Active indicator (yellow) is illuminated if the
local microphone is "active", meaning that it is connected to the intercom system. (There is
provision to disable this indicator in situations where stealth monitoring of students is desired.)
Open Call Indicator ­ The Open Call indicator is illuminated (flashing red), if the user has
pressed his call button and has an open call, (corresponds to a raised hand icon at the teacher's
control screen.
Power-On
Indicator
Microphone Muted
Indicator
Open Call
Indicator
Microphone Active
Indicator
Volume Increase
Button
Volume Decrease
Button
Microphone Mute
Button
Call
Button
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 40 of 99
Buttons
Volume Increase Button ­ This button (part of the local digital volume control) is used to
increase the level of the audio signal being presented to the local headset. Pressing this button a
single time increments the volume by one level. You need to press the button several times to
make a major change in volume level.
Volume Decrease Button ­ This button (part of the local digital volume control) is used to
decrease the level of the audio signal being presented to the local headset. Pressing this button a
single time decrements the volume by one level. You need to press the button several times to
make a major change in volume level.
Microphone Mute Button ­ Press this button once to mute the local microphone, (the red
Microphone Muted Indicator will illuminate when muted), and press a second time to un-mute
the local microphone. (Muting is sometimes used when broadcasting an audio-visual file from
the teacher's workstation.)
Call Button ­ Students will normally use the call button to alert the teacher that they have a
question or a problem. When this button is pressed, a raised hand icon is superimposed on the
student station icon on the teacher's control panel. You can press the call button a second time
to cancel the call: Alternately, the call will be automatically cancelled when the teacher monitors
the studenťs station, (e.g. takes the question).
Note that the teacher's sound module also includes a call button, but this is normally not used.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 41 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. Which users are equipped with a sound module?
2. How can you know if your microphone has been muted?
3. If a student has pressed his call button, what are the two different ways in which his
call can be cleared?
4. If you hold your Volume Increase button down, will the sound level continually
increase until it reaches a maximum value?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 42 of 99
Student Virtual Recorders
Introduction
In a language lab environment, many exercises are based on having students watch and/or listen
to multimedia content and then record a response (oral or written) to this material. Some
examples of different exercises are:
Grammar drills Listening Comprehension
Vocabulary drills Translation
Pronunciation practice Transcription
The Virtual Recorder
To facilitate such exercises, all workstations are equipped with the Symposium Virtual Recorder
application. This is a software-based multimedia program that replaces the audiocassette
recorders often found in older language labs.
Like the old audio recorders, the Symposium Virtual Recorder is a two-track system, comprising
the program track (media files and the student track (oral response). Users can play one audio
track or the other track, or both tracks at the same time. Additionally, there is a separate student
text response capability. Users also have the ability to bookmark the program content.
Content
Viewing &
Listening
Media File
Navigation
Controls
Activity-
Specific
Controls
Master
Volume
Control
Save
Response
Button
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 43 of 99
Content Viewing & Listening
Media File Navigation Controls
Icon Name Description
Home Positions the cursor to the beginning of the file
Rewind Moves the cursor quickly toward the beginning of the file
Fast Forward Moves the cursor quickly toward the end of the file
Recap Cursor jumps back 2 seconds (to review the last word)
Previous Bookmark Cursor jumps back to previous bookmark
Next Bookmark Cursor jumps forward to next bookmark
Add Bookmark Creates a new bookmark at the present cursor position
Delete Bookmark Deletes the bookmark at or before the current cursor position
Loop Loops playback between previous and next bookmark
Microphone
Record Level
Listening Balance
(Program track VS
Response Track)
100%
Program
Track
100%
Response
Track
50%/50%
Program/
Response
File Length
(HH:MM:SS)
Current Position
(HH:MM:SS)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 44 of 99
Activities
Symposium provides teachers with the capability of running several different types of virtual
recorder based activities. These include:
* Listening
* Writing
* Recording (Simultaneous)
* Recording (Active Comparative)
* Recording (Open)
The Symposium Virtual Recorder, (Symposium VR-LL), will assume one of several slightly
different looks depending on the type of activity that the teacher is launching.
The Listening Activity
For this type of activity, students are able to play the selected media file and listen to and/or
watch the content.
Play/Pause
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 45 of 99
The Writing Activity
For this type of activity, students are able to play the selected media file and listen to and/or
watch the content. Additionally, students are able to write a text response.
Play/Pause
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 46 of 99
The Simultaneous Recording Activity
For this type of activity, students are able to play the selected media file and listen to and/or
watch the content. Additionally, students are able to simultaneously record their own oral
response track while listening and/or watching the content.
Play/Stop Record/Pause
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 47 of 99
The Active/Comparative Recording Activity
For this type of activity, students are able to play the selected media file and listen to and/or
watch the content. Additionally, students are able to record their own oral response track while
listening and/or watching the content.
Active/Comparative recording differs from Simultaneous recording, in that listening and
recording are sequential rather than simultaneous. Students will alternate between listening and
recording on a word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase basis, rather than listening to the entire
program track from beginning to end without interruption.
With Symposium's Walk-In & Teach philosophy, it is not necessary for the teacher to edit media
files and create "break-points" at which the playback and recording activities toggle. Rather, the
student is able to dynamically choose his own break-points depending on the complexity of the
content and his language abilities. Also, if a student is not comfortable with his most recently
recorded segment, he has an erase button to delete his faulty response and re-record his response
to that segment.
When a student is working with active/comparative recording:
* He positions the cursor to the beginning (00:00:00), and clicks on Play.
EraseRecord/NextPlay/Pause
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 48 of 99
* When he has listened to the first word or phrase, (depending on the teacher's
instructions), he click on Record. This re-positions the cursor back to the beginning of
the word (or phrase) and puts the virtual recorder into recording mode.
* The student then repeats the content while the system records his response.
* The virtual recorder will automatically begin playing the second word (or phrase), and
again the student will press Record when he has listened to the second word (or phrase)
* After recording a segment, (if the student made an obvious mistake), he can immediately
press Erase to erase that segment and then re-record.
The Open Recording Activity
For this type of activity, there is no media file content. Students are able to record in an ad hoc
fashion without any implicit time limit. Open recording can be used in situations where students
are reading text from a book. Also, open recording can be used in situations where the teacher
is presenting content by asking questions with his microphone, or by playing CD-Audio content
that has not been transferred to the Library, (e.g. AP Testing materials)
Note that because the student recording is not bounded by the duration of a media file, the cursor
is always positioned to the left, and the file length field will continue to increment as the
recording progresses. The playback button only becomes active once a recording has been made.
Record/PausePlay/Stop
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 49 of 99
Saving Reponses
All versions of the Symposium Virtual Recorder include a local save button that can be used to
save response files. Oral responses are saved as MP3 files, and text responses are saved as RTF
files. When you click on the save icon, this opens up a browser. Using the browser, you can
navigate to any accessible folder and save your response.
Files that have been saved by students are not stored in the Symposium database. Normally, the
student will only have access to these files, (MP3 for audio and RTF for text), from a 3rd
party
applications such as Windows Media Player (for MP3) or Word (for RTF). The one exception to
this rule is text files, which can also be accessed from the Writing version of the Virtual
Recorder.
Teacher Initiated Saving
If the teacher wishes to save student responses, he must first establish a session, before launching
a media activity. (This is discussed in more detail in the chapter titled Establishing a Session
later in this guide.)
Once a session has been established, upon ending a media activity, the teacher will be given the
option of saving student responses. Saved responses are logged in the Symposium database, and
are saved to the Student folder on the media server, (WAV for audio and RTF for text).
The teacher can access saved student response files using the Follow-Up page of the Teacher
resources. (This is discussed in more detail in the chapter titled Configuration Management later
in this guide.) Responses can be accessed locally, and can also be exported for review at a
remote station.
If the teacher launches the same media
activity with the same media document,
any students who had previously
responded to this activity and had their
responses saved in the Symposium
database, will be given the choice of
responding anew, or retrieving their
most recent previous response; (see the
pop-up window at right), when the
Virtual Recorder opens on their screen.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 50 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. How does the teacher launch student virtual recorders?
2. Can a student open his own Symposium VR-LL virtual recorder?
3. What type of media activity would a teacher use if he wanted students to record
themselves reading a chapter in a textbook?
4. When running an Active/Comparative recording activity, how does the teacher set
break-points for toggling between playback and recording?
5. What is the function of the button shown at right, and in which media
activities will this button be present?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 51 of 99
Establishing a Session
Introduction
Sessions serve two purposes:
1. They prompt students to login to Symposium so that student names can be displayed
immediately beneath the corresponding workstation icons on the teacher's control screen.
2. They give the teacher the option of saving a permanent copy of student responses (oral
and text) to media activities.
Beginning a Session
A session is initiated when the teacher clicks on the
New Session hot key in the control panel (as shown at
right).
Teacher Station
At the teacher station, a pop-up window
(shown at right) will appear asking the
teacher to assign a name to the session. It is
recommended that the name include the
course number (e.g. Spanish 101), and a
unique identifier for this specific session
(e.g. Vocabulary Test 7).
Click on the check mark at the bottom this
window to confirm the new session.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 52 of 99
A new pop-up window (shown at right) will
appear to confirm that the session has been
established. Acknowledge this message by
clicking on the check mark at the bottom of
the window.
As students begin to login, the control screen will reflect their progress by superimposing a login
symbol over each workstation icon screen, and the studenťs name will be displayed immediately
below the workstation icon. This is shown in the image below. Note that students have logged
in at stations 1 though 8 in this example.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 53 of 99
Student Stations
When the session is initiated, all
students will see a pop-up window
prompting them to login. This is
shown at right.
Each student should enter his
identification (in the Login field) and
his password (in the Password field),
and then click on the check mark at the bottom of this window to acknowledge.
If a student just clicks on the check mark without
entering his identification, the Incorrect login
message at right will appear.
If the student enters his identification, but does not
correctly enter his password, the Incorrect password
message at right will appear.
If the student is logging in for the
first time (or if he enters his
identification incorrectly) the New
User login screen (shown at right)
will appear.
The student should enter his First
name, Last name, Login
identification, Password, and Email
address in the appropriate fields, and
then click on the check mark at the
bottom of this window to confirm.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 54 of 99
Saving Student Responses
During the session, the teacher will
normally launch one or more media
activities. When the teacher ends the
activity, he will see a pop-up window (as
shown at right) asking if he wants to save
student responses.
The teacher should click on the check mark at the bottom of this window in order to save a
permanent copy of student oral and text responses in the Symposium database.
Ending a Session
A session is automatically ended when the teacher accesses either the Parameters button or the
Teacher button in the Configuration bar at the bottom of the screen. A warning message will be
displayed.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 55 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. What are the two possible reasons for enabling a session?
2. How does the teacher begin a session?
3. How does the teacher end a session?
4. What information can be saved from a session?
5. If a student accidentally types in an incorrect identification when logging in, how
can he correct his mistake?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 56 of 99
Making Presentations
Introduction
In this chapter, we will look at four different types of presentation:
* Live presentations
* Teacher presentations
* Model student presentations
* Document presentations (using A/V media files)
For any type of presentation, you can choose to work with the entire class by selecting the Allgroups
button in the Groups Bar at the top of the screen, or you can choose to work with a single
group by selecting the Group button for that particular group, (e.g. the Orange group).
Live Presentations
The most simplistic form of live presentation is to stand up in front of the class and speak to your
students. Such a presentation may be accompanied by writing on a traditional blackboard, or a
modern electronic whiteboard.
While such a presentation does not intrinsically require using the Symposium system,
Symposium can enhance this type of presentation in two different ways:
* Symposium can be used to blank student screens so that local computer screens are not a
distraction to students, and their attention is focused toward the front of the room.
To accomplish this, just click on the Hot Key called Blank screens. All student screens will
be set to black, and all student keyboards and mice will be locked.
When the presentation is over, just click on the Reset hot key to restore student screens to
normal.
All-groups Orange Group
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 57 of 99
* Symposium can also be used to enhance the oral component of the presentation by having the
teacher's microphone signal sent to all student headsets.
Normally, sending audio is used in conjunction with the previously mentioned blanking of
screens. Navigate to Presentation mode (this is actually the default view), select the icon for
the teacher station (station ID = M) in the workstation layout area, and from the control
module click on the Send Audio (A) button.
Check your local sound module to make sure that your microphone is not muted. If the red
Microphone Muted indicator is on , just press on the Microphone Mute button to clear this
state. You can now use your microphone to talk to the class (or currently selected group).
When a live presentation with audio support has been established, the control screen will
normally appear as shown below.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 58 of 99
Teacher Presentations
For the purpose of this text, Teacher presentations differ from Live presentations in that teacher
presentations include sending of the teacher's screen to the class (or group). A typical example
of a teacher presentation is presenting a new topic using a Microsoft PowerPoint slide show.
To enable a teacher presentation, the most straightforward way is to click on the Hot Key called
Broadcast. This will send the teacher's screen to all students, and will also send the teacher's
audio signal (mix of microphone and computer sound) to all students.
Alternately, if you do not need to send audio, you can navigate to Presentation mode, select the
teacher station (in the workstation layout area), and from the control module choose the Send
Video function.
When your presentation is completed, just click on the Reset hot key to cancel.
When a teacher presentation with audio support has been established, the control screen will
normally appear as shown below.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 59 of 99
Model Student Presentations
A model student presentation is virtually identical to a teacher presentation, except that the
screen source is a student workstation (or perhaps a document camera).
To enable a student presentation, navigate to Presentation mode, select the target student station
(from the workstation layout area), and from the control module, click on the Send Video button.
If the presentation requires audio, also select the Send Audio (B) button on the control panel.
Sometimes it is desirable to have both the presenter's microphone and the teacher's microphone
active. To activate the teacher's microphone, select the teacher's stations (from the workstation
layout area), and from the control module, click on the Send Audio (A) button.
When the presentation has been completed, just click on the Reset hot key to cancel.
When a model student presentation with audio support has been established, the control screen
will normally appear as shown below.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 60 of 99
Document Presentations
Multimedia files, (audio, video, and audio-visual), are stored as Documents on the control
computer (or on another designated media server).
To present a Document to your students, navigate to the Media Activities mode, click on the
Media Source button on the control module, and select Library as your source. This will open
the Document Library window as shown below:
Select the document that you wish to present from the document list panel on the left: (You can
navigate to other libraries by modifying the Author field at the top.) You can preview the
document (if desired) in the preview panel on the lower right. When you are ready, click on the
Document Broadcast button (just below the document list panel). This will open the Broadcast
Document window (as shown overleaf).
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 61 of 99
Use the Broadcast Image Size button to choose between a full-screen broadcast or a windowed
broadcast of the media file.
Use the Media Playback Controls to play, pause, fast forward, rewind, or stop the media file.
When your Document Presentation is completed, click on the check mark near the bottom of this
window to reset this activity.
Media Playback
Controls
Media Viewing
Panel
Broadcast
Image Size
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 62 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. Which mode does a teacher use to make Live presentations?
2. Which mode does a teacher use to make a Document presentation?
3. If making a Document presentation, does the teacher have control over the image
size? If so, with what limitations?
4. What is the difference between Live presentations and Teacher presentations?
5. If a student is delivering a presentation, is it possible for the teacher to interject
comment? If so, how?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 63 of 99
Providing Student Support
Introduction
Symposium includes a number of capabilities to make it easier for teachers to interact with
students in a class environment, group environment, pairing environment, and/or self-study
environment. This interaction can be done proactively or in response to a student call for help.
Self-Study Activity
Imagine that students are working on individual assignments. You have confidence in most
students to complete the assignment without problem, however there are a few students who you
would like to monitor a little more carefully.
Group Those Students Requiring Close Monitoring
To begin with, you might create a new Group-Configuration that you name Temporary. (You
will periodically change this group configuration to match day-by-day requirements.) To one
group (e.g. the Purple group) you assign those students whom you wish to monitor most closely.
You then select this group.
Select Support Mode
You then select Support Mode, and in the workstation layout area, select the first student in the
Purple group, (Roy). By default, the Observe and Monitor functions are normally activated for
you, and you will be immediately viewing Roy's screen and listening to Roy's audio signal. You
can tell at a glance if Roy is tackling the assignment correctly. (Note that if for any reason the
Observe and Monitor functions were not automatically activated, just click on these functions in
the control module.)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 64 of 99
Use the Scan Functions
While monitoring Roy, you now decide to sequentially
view all students in the Purple group. To do this, you
just activate the Scan function by clicking on the Scan
Start/Stop ( ) button. By default, the scan function will
sequentially monitor each student for 15 seconds. (Just
increment or decrement this time if you prefer a different
scan duration. See Scan functions at right.)
Your screen will appear similar to that shown below.
If, for example, you notice that one of your students (Amanda ­ who is seated at station 4) seems
to be lost, you can stop the scan function by clicking on the Scan Start/Stop ( ) button, and you
will then remain observing and monitoring Amanda's work.
Scan
Duration
Duration
Decrement
(5 sec)
Duration
Increment
(5 sec)
Scan Start/Stop
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 65 of 99
Dealing with a Student Problem
To deal with Amanda's problem, you have several options:
* Talk to the student (Talk)
* Take keyboard/mouse control of the studenťs computer (Take control)
* Show the student the proper solution on your computer (Toggle video)
Explain ­ Option 1
To talk to Amanda, just click on the Talk button in the control module. This will activate your
microphone so that you can have a dialog with Amanda. Explain what she is doing wrong and
have her correct her own work.
Demonstrate ­ Option 2
If talking is not sufficient, you can now take control of Amanda's computer by selecting the
Take Control function in the control module. You can now demonstrate ­ right on Amanda's
computer ­ what she is doing wrong.
Review Basics ­ Option 3
If neither explaining nor demonstrating is sufficient, cancel keyboard/mouse control by again
clicking on the Take Control button, and then select the Toggle Video button. This will reverse
the video switching so that Amanda is viewing your screen instead of you viewing hers.
Review the lesson material ­ on your own PC ­ and go over some basic example with Amanda
until she begins to catch on. When finished, again select the Toggle Video button and allow
Amanda to show you that she can now complete the assignment on her own.
Reactive VS Proactive Support
In the previous example, the teacher was working proactively to discover student problems.
However, as students are equipped with call buttons, they can also initiate a call for help when
they run into a problem.
To react to a student call for help, the approach is very similar. In any mode where the
Monitoring functions are available, in the workstation layout area just select the student station
with the open call (raised hand), and choose both the Monitor and Observe functions from the
control module. If your microphone is not already open, choose the Talk function to ask the
student about their problem.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 66 of 99
Class or Group Activity
If students are working on a class or group activity, most likely you are using Symposium's
Presentation mode. In this mode, students may have questions about the material being
presented ­ or (proactively), you may want to ask questions of specific students to confirm that
everyone is following the presentation.
In Presentation mode, if a student (Pierre) has a question, select Pierre's station from the
workstation layout area, and choose the Send Audio (B) function from the control module. (If
your microphone is not already open, choose your own station (M) from the workstation layout
area, and click on the Send Audio (A) function. You can now ask a question of the student, and
the student can respond. (Note that because you are working in Presentation mode, all students
in the class (or group) are listening to the dialog between you and Pierre.)
(Technically, the Send Audio (A) and Send Audio (B) functions are interchangeable, but to avoid
confusion, the A channel is normally assigned to the teacher, and the B channel is assigned to a
student.)
When a question is being asked in a class or group environment, the screen will appear as shown
below:
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 67 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. If a student requires help, how can he advise his teacher without disturbing the
class?
2. How can a teacher proactively determine if his students need help when they are
working on a self-study assignment?
3. What does the Toggle Video function do, and when is it used?
4. How can a teacher help a student fix a small problem on his computer without
physically going to the studenťs desk?
5. If you are in the middle of a teacher presentation, and a student has a question that
you believe can be answered by another volunteer student, how would you ask for
volunteers, and once you have a volunteer, what must you do to let him address the
class?
6. In the same situation as described in question 5, if you wanted the volunteer to
demonstrate a point by taking control of the teacher's computer, how would you
enable such an action?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 68 of 99
Running Collaboration Activities
Introduction
For Symposium purposes, collaboration activities are deemed to be student audio pairing, student
audio conferencing, and teamwork (shared audio, video, and keyboard/mouse control within
student teams).
At present, neither conferencing nor teamwork is enabled, so collaboration activities are
restricted to student audio pairing.
There are three types of audio pairing currently supported:
* Random audio pairing
* Ad Hoc audio pairing, and
* Programmed audio pairing
Random Audio Pairing
Random audio pairing is the easiest form of pairing to configure, and is often the most beneficial,
as students are nearly always paired with a different partner.
To enable Random Audio Pairing, select the Collaboration Mode, choose the Pairing function,
and from the pop-up menu choose Random pairing. The system will then assign student pairs,
and a collaboration number will be superimposed on the circular audio icon at each paired
station.
To activate pairing, click on the Start pairing button.
On student screens, a graphic (see right) will appear to
let them know that the pairing function has been
invoked. The graphic includes the configuration ID
for the pair to which the student belongs.
To cancel pairing, just select the Stop Pairing button
on the control module or choose the Reset hot-key.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 69 of 99
Ad Hoc Audio Pairing
Ad Hoc audio pairing enables teachers to choose student pairs based on specific selection
criteria.
To enable Ad Hoc Audio Pairing, select the Collaboration Mode, choose the Pairing function,
and from the pop-up menu choose Ad Hoc pairing. The teacher defines a student pair by
clicking on the first station, holding down the control key on the keyboard, selecting the second
station, and then clicking on the Add pairing button. A collaboration number will be
superimposed on the circular audio icon at each paired station. Continue selecting additional
student pairs by repeating this procedure.
To activate pairing, click on the Start pairing button.
On student screens, a graphic (see previous page) will appear to let them know that the pairing
function has been invoked. The graphic includes the configuration ID for the pair to which the
student belongs.
To cancel pairing, just select the Stop Pairing button on the control module or choose the Reset
hot-key.
Programmed Audio Pairing
With Symposium, it is possible to define ­ in an unrestricted way ­ which student stations will
be paired together. This is called programmed pairing.
In fact, it is possible to pre-define several different pairing configurations, and to select which
configuration will be used for any given exercise. Pairing configurations are discussed in detail
in the Configuration Management chapter later in this guide.
From an operational perspective, the teacher needs only to navigate to Collaboration mode,
choose the Pairing button, and choose the appropriate Programmed Pairing configuration from
the pop-up menu. A collaboration number will be superimposed on the circular audio icon at
each paired station.
To activate pairing, click on the Start pairing button.
On student screens, a graphic (see previous page) will appear to let them know that the pairing
function has been invoked. The graphic includes the configuration ID for the pair to which the
student belongs.
To cancel pairing, just select the Stop Pairing button on the control module or choose the Reset
hot-key.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 70 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following questions, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble with any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. What mode must you access to enable audio pairing?
2. What are the three types of audio pairing?
3. Does random audio pairing require a special hardware layer?
4. Are you restricted to a single pairing configuration, (e.g. set of workstation pairs),
for Programmed Audio Pairing?
5. Will a student be aware that audio pairing is enabled if his partner is not speaking
into his microphone? If so, how?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 71 of 99
Launching Media Activities
Introduction
Symposium defines media activities as those activities that use multimedia (audio, video, or
audio-visual) files. There are several steps that must be taken to enable a multimedia activity,
and typically one step involves opening virtual recorders on all student stations, so that students
can work on a specific media activity.
An A/V media file becomes a document when it is captured into the Document Library. There
are two ways capturing media files, one way for digital sources and another way (A/V Capture)
for analog sources. These mechanisms are discussed in this chapter.
Teachers are able to assign any of 5 different activities for any media file:
* Listening
* Writing
* Recording (Simultaneous)
* Recording (Audio Active Comparative)
* Recording (Live)
Each activity launches a slightly different version of the student virtual recorder, (as described in
the chapter on Student Virtual Recorders).
To launch a media activity, the teacher must navigate to the
Media Activities mode. All activities begin with the same
approach, selecting a specific media file. To do this click on
the button labeled Media Source. You will see the pop-up
menu shown at right.
The two media selection options are Library and A/V Capture.
(Items 1 through 5 represent recently used media files, which
are also included in the Document Library.)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 72 of 99
Selecting a Library Document
Let us assume that the document we need is already in the Library. To access this file, we click
on the Library option in the pop-up menu. This opens the Document library window shown
below.
Select the desired library by choosing the author's name from the drop-down list in the Author
field at the top of this window. Then choose the desired document from the document panel on
the left.
You may optionally choose to preview the selected document in the preview panel at the lower
right portion of this window. When accessing library-based documents, you MUST choose
to broadcast this document to students (to allow them to watch/listen to the material),
before launching an activity. To do so, just click on the Broadcast Document button
immediately below the document list.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 73 of 99
Starting an Activity
Before launching an activity, select the group (Group Bar) or
the specific stations (Workstation Layout Area) on which you
would like to run the activity. Then choose the Start Activity
function from the control module. A pop-up list of activities
will be displayed, as shown at right.
Just choose the desired activity, and the appropriate version of
the student virtual recorder will be launched on the selected
workstations. (The virtual recorder activities are discussed in
detail in the chapter on Student Virtual Recorders.)
The screen below shows that a VR-based activity has been launched for the Orange group.
Ending an Activity
To end an activity, begin by selecting the stations on which you would like to end the activity
and then click on the End Activity button in the control module.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 74 of 99
Digitizing a New Document ­ A/V Capture
If the media file with which you wish to work is currently available only on an audio-visual
medium like an audiocassette tape, videotape, CD-Audio, or DVD, (or if you want to capture a
live presentation using a camera and/or microphone), then you can use the A/V Capture option to
digitize this source and automatically capture the file as a document in the Library.
Philosophically, the teacher normally plays the media file to the class (or group) while it is being
digitized, so that all students are able to preview the content that will be used for the coming
activity. That being said, A/V Capture can also be done off-line prior to class.
* Select the students with whom you wish to work.
* Navigate to the Media Activities mode, and click on the Media Source button in the
control module.
* Click on the A/V Capture function. This will open the Create New Document window
shown below:
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 75 of 99
* Choose the input source by choosing one of the A/V Source Select buttons at the top of
the screen. This will also open a media player window on the teacher's screen, and will
trigger a broadcast from the teacher's station.
* Using the Broadcast Image Size button, choose either a full screen or a window-based
version of the media player.
* Cue up your media source to the right point on the tape (or the right track on the CD or
DVD).
* When you are ready, begin playing the medium (e.g. by pressing on the play button on
your tape deck). Immediately, click on the Start button in the Create New Document
window. The media file is now broadcast to the class and is concurrently digitized into
the Library.
* When the broadcast is complete, click on the End button in the Create New Document
window. A pop-up window will advise you to stop playback on the media source (e.g.
tape deck). Acknowledge this window.
* Assign a name to the new document (by overwriting the automatically assigned name).
* Click on the check mark at the bottom of the screen to save the document.
The Start Activity process and End Activity process are exactly the same as described earlier in
this chapter for Library based documents.
Importing Digital Files into the Document Library
If the media file that you wish to use for a lesson is already available in a digital format, (e.g.
MPEG, AVI, WAV, QT, MP3, WMA, WMV, etc.), this file can be transferred to the Library
very easily.
The details are presented in the chapter titled Configuration Management.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 76 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following question, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble answering any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. What five media activities are currently supported?
2. If the teacher wants to run an activity using an audiocassette tape, is it necessary to
digitize the tape before coming to class?
3. If the audiocassette tape mentioned above was a preformatted language lesson with
a series of questions and blank spaces left where students are expected to respond,
which media activity should the teacher use?
4. Is it possible to run several different media activities concurrently with different
students? If so, how?
5. After you have launched a media activity, is it possible to monitor student progress
without physically patrolling the lab? If yes, how?
6. Does Symposium directly control A/V devices like VCRs and DVD players, or must
you manually control these devices when digitizing new documents?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 77 of 99
Program & File Management
Introduction
Symposium includes a number of network utilities that enable teachers to open software
programs (like Microsoft Word) on student computers. In future releases of Symposium,
additional network utilities supporting file transfer (to student computers), file collection (from
student computers, and file erasing (on student computers) will be added.
Run Program
To run a program on student computers:
* First select the target workstations
* Navigate to the Network Tools mode.
* Choose the Run Program function. This will open a popup
window as shown at right.
* Select the program that you wish to run. (The chapter titled Configuration Management
discusses how programs are pre-loaded into this listing.)
* The target program will be launched on the selected student workstations. (See sample
screen overleaf.)
Quit Program
To quit a program (that you have launched) on student computers:
* First select the target workstations
* Navigate to the Network Tools mode.
* Choose the Quit Program function.
* This will close the most recently launched program on the selected student workstations.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 78 of 99
When you are running a program on student workstations, the control screen will appear as
shown below. Note that in this example, different programs are being run in the Orange and
Purple groups.
Beginning with Symposium version 1.4, if the teacher chooses to run a second program before
quitting the first program, the first program will automatically close before the second is
launched.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 79 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following question, then you are ready to move on to the next chapter. If
you have trouble answering any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's content is
recommended before proceeding.
1. Is it possible to launch more than one program on a single student workstation? If
yes, how?
2. Is it possible to use Symposium to close a program that has not been opened through
the Symposium control panel?
3. Is it practical to run different programs on different workstations at the same time?
If so, how?
4. After launching a program, is there any way that the teacher can tell by looking at
the Symposium control panel that the program has actually opened on student
desktops?
#######
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 80 of 99
Configuration Management
Overview
In this User Guide, we will examine those facets of configuration management that are
applicable to teachers. (For a detailed review of all Symposium configuration management
functions applicable to the system administrator, please refer to the Symposium Installation
Guide.)
Configuration management addresses the following topics, each of which are uniquely
maintained for every individual user:
* Interface appearance
* Programmed Pairing
* Document management
* Program management
The Symposium configuration is accessed from the Configuration Bar (shown below). There are
two different aspects to the system configuration: One-time set-up parameters are managed from
the Parameters button, while dynamically changing parameters such as document libraries and
program lists are managed from the teacher's resource button, (Teacher).
Parameters Teacher
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 81 of 99
Parameters
Clicking on the Parameters button opens the Parameters window as shown in the image below.
This window has 5 different tabs on the left hand side. By default the License number tab is seen
when the window is first opened. Just click on any tab to access the associated parameter page.
Note that in the upper left-hand corner of this window, it is possible to toggle between the
Parameters and Teacher windows.
License Number
The License number name is a bit of a misnomer, as the only parameter of interest to teachers on
this tab is the Program Language field, (see image below).
Program Language
At the right hand side of the Program Language button is an arrow that opens a drop-down menu.
From the menu list, choose the language that you wish to use for the Symposium user interface.
(Currently, English, French, Spanish, and Chinese are supported, but these options will be
expanded with future releases of Symposium.) The selected language will apply to all system
users, but can be modified on-the-fly by any user.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 82 of 99
A/V Capture
When you select the A/V Capture tab, the image shown immediately below will appear on the
control screen. Note however, that a second image (shown at the bottom of this page) will be
displayed on the teacher's screen.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 83 of 99
The image on the teacher's screen contains important information for the capture of new
documents from A/V sources. Normally, these parameters will have been configured by your
system administrator, and should not be modified.
To view the A/V sources page, click on the tab marked Source on the teacher's screen. This will
change the window view as shown below.
Again, your network administrator should have configured all parameters on this page. By
viewing this page however, you can better understand how your system's A/V devices have been
connected.
For example, item No. 3, (which corresponds to the 3rd
button on your A/V Capture page), (see
the chapter on Launching Media Activities), is configured as a video type. The icon shown is for
a VCR or DVD player. The audio connection is via the Line-In port on your computer, and the
video source is set to NTSC, using an S-Video connection.
The A/V configuration applies to all users.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 84 of 99
Interface
Click on the Interface tab to select the Interface parameters page, (shown below).
On this page, you can modify the following interface parameters:
Dual-screen options ­ If your teacher workstation is running both the control screen and the
teacher screen on the same computer, you can define which monitor displays each screen. Note
that this parameter will have been configured by your system administrator and should not be
modified.
Computer Hints (tool tips) ­ On the control screen, when you pass the cursor over a station
icon, you can choose whether you wish to view a tool tips style pop-up list that contains some
specific details about the workstation.
Screen Display Mode ­ You can choose that you want the control screen to appear full screen,
or as a decorated window. Normally, it is configured as full-screen.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 85 of 99
Computer Icon Size ­ You can select large or small sized computer icons (for the workstation
layout area). Normally your system administrator will have configured this parameter.
Display Groups ­ If you do not intend to work with multiple groups, you can remove the
Groups Bar from the control screen.
Menus
Click on the Menus tab to display the menu parameter page.
This page contains a listing of all of the buttons that appear on the control module. If there are
functions that you do not use, you can un-check those functions so that the buttons do not appear.
(Note that in the image below, the Team and Flex modes have been removed, as these modes are
not yet implemented in the current release of Symposium.)
Note that any menu items removed by the administrator apply to all teachers, but each teacher
has the option of customizing his own menu by deleting additional modes and/or functions.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 86 of 99
Add
Programmed Pair
Configuration
Delete
Programmed Pair
Configuration
Add
Workstation Pair to
Configuration
Delete
Workstation Pair
from Configuration
Pairing
Click on the Pairing button to view the Pairing parameters page. This page, (shown below),
enables you to define one or more pairing configurations for Programmed Pairing.
For Programmed Pairing, it is possible to have multiple configurations for the same classroom.
In the example shown below, there are two programmed pair configurations called Horizontal
and Vertical. The connection of the workstations in each template is listed immediately below
the template name in the list box.
Note that effective with Symposium version 1.4, each user has visibility of only those
programmed pairs that he has created. Users to not have access to programmed pairs created by
other users.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 87 of 99
Teacher
Click on the Teacher button in the Configuration Bar to access the Teacher window, as shown
below.
This window has multiple tabs on the left hand side. By default the Users tab is seen when the
window is first opened. Just click on any tab to access the associated parameter page.
Note that in the upper left-hand corner of this window, it is possible to toggle between the
Parameters and Teacher windows.
Users
The Users page is shown in the image below:
In the main box, a list of the current users is displayed, a long with a brief summary of their
properties. Teachers are empowered to add or modify any users who have a student profile, and
are also empowered to modify their own user profile.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 88 of 99
Adding a User ­ To add a new user, click on the plus sign (+) at the bottom of the screen. (Note
that student users are automatically added to the database when they login to a session for the
first time.) When you click on the add new user button, a small menu offering "add one user"
and "add multiple users" options is shown.
To import a list of users from an external file, choose the "add multiple users" option. The page
shown below is displayed.
Click on the Import List button. This will open a browse window where you can locate the file
containing the list of users. The list to be imported must contain entries for the six fields shown
at the top of the above page, with all fields separated by the ";" (semi-colon) character. There
should be one record per line. An example file format is shown below:
Import List
Button
Graham;Smith;Graham;Password1;;Spanish 101
Heather;Jones;Heather;Password2;; Spanish 101
Alicia;Jackson;Ali;Password3;; Spanish 101
Simon;Fraser;SFU;Password4;; Spanish 101
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 89 of 99
Modifying a User ­ To modify an existing user, highlight the user name in the main display
box, and then click on the Details tab at the top of the screen.
Taking either of the above actions will open the Details page, (as shown below).
With the present release of Symposium, there is no value in having student users listed in the
system. (This will change with future releases.)
The main value of this screen is being able to edit your sign-in name (Identification), and your
sign-in password (Password).
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 90 of 99
Classes
Click on the Classes tab to view the Classes window, as shown below.
The Classes parameters are not yet used in the current release of Symposium. While it is
possible to create and name classes and assign students to a class, there is currently no value in
doing so. (This will change with future Symposium releases.)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 91 of 99
Documents
An A/V media file becomes a document when it is captured into the Document Library. There
are two ways of capturing media files, one way for digital sources and another way (A/V
Capture) for analog sources. Digital document capture is covered thoroughly in this chapter, and
capture of analog media content is covered in the earlier chapter titled Launching Media
Activities.
The Documents window is shown below:
It is important to envision how your document portfolio is going to grow after you have been
using the Symposium system over a long period of time. So, when first starting out, it is best to
create several new libraries for different types of documents. You can index libraries by subject,
by grade level, by topic, etc. Remember that the libraries that you create are user specific, and it
is your choice whether documents stored in your libraries are shared or not.
Add New
Library
Delete
Library
Add New
Media File
Delete
Media File
File
Sharing
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 92 of 99
Importing Digital Files into the Document Library
If you have some existing digital files, (MPG, MPEG, AVI, WAV, MP3, QT, WMA, WMV,
etc.), it is very easy to transfer these files into one of your libraries. Just highlight the library
into which you want to place the new file, and then click on the Add New Media File (at the
bottom of the screen).
This opens a standard Windows browsing window (with filters for all supported file types). Just
navigate to the workstation, drive, and folder where your digital files are stored, highlight the
file, and click Open in the browser window. The file will be immediately imported, and a small
pop-up window will appear to visually show you the progress of the file transfer.
Once a new file has been imported, you can modify the file name by first highlighting the file in
the media file box, and then overwriting the existing name with a new name of your choice. You
can also disable file sharing (see icon in previous image) if you so choose. Click on the check
mark (just below Creation Date) to save your edits.
Click on the check mark at the bottom of the screen when you are ready to exit the Documents
window.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 93 of 99
Programs
To access the Programs window, (shown below), just click on the Programs tab.
It is important to envision how your program portfolio is going to grow after you have been
using the Symposium system over a long period of time. So, when first starting out, it is best to
create several new libraries for different types of programs. You can index libraries by subject,
by grade level, by topic, etc.
Note that you can have multiple instances of the same program each having a unique name and a
unique associated file (Parameter). In the above example, one program entry is for Internet
Explorer, while the highlighted entry (Robotel Web Site) is also for Internet Explorer, but when
this program launches it will automatically open the specified Robotel web site.
Add New
Library
Delete
Library
Add New
Program
Delete
Program
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 94 of 99
Importing New Programs into the Program Library
To include a new program (or an instance of an existing program) in the library, first select the
library location in the program list box, and then click on the Add New Program icon at the
bottom of the screen.
This opens a standard Windows browsing window. Just navigate to the workstation, drive, and
folder where your program is stored, highlight the program (typically an EXE file), and click
Open in the browser window. The program will be immediately imported into the program
library.
Once a program has been imported, you can modify the program name by first highlighting the
program in the media file box, and then overwriting the existing name with a new name of your
choice. You are also able to set the program type and parameters values at the same time. Click
on the check mark (just below Creation Date) to save your edits.
Click on the check mark at the bottom of the screen when you are ready to exit the Programs
window.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 95 of 99
Follow-Up
To access the Follow-up page, (shown below), just click on the Follow-up tab.
The Follow-up tab provides access to student responses (both oral and text) that were saved from
different media activities within a particular session. (See the chapter titled Establishing a
Session for more information about sessions.)
At the top of this page are three search fields that can be used to locate a particular session. If
you cannot remember the name of the session, just use the From and To date fields to identify a
list of all sessions within the date range of interest.
In the list box, a list of sessions meeting the search criteria will appear. In the above example,
there is a single session titled Spanish 101 ­ Vocabulary Test 7. Within each session, the first
tier folders identify the students, the second tier folders identify the media document, and the
third tier of folders identifies the media activities.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 96 of 99
Local Follow-Up
When evaluation of student responses is
to be done from the teacher's
workstation, it is only necessary to
double-click on a response folder to
trigger the follow-up. This launches a
playback-only version of the Virtual
Recorder on the teacher's screen. A
pop-up window (shown at right) must first be acknowledged, and the student response can then
be played (oral response) and/or viewed (text response) as shown below.
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 97 of 99
Remote Follow-Up
If evaluation of student responses is to be performed on a remote computer, then the session(s)
should first be selected in the list panel, and then the user should click on the Export button. It is
important that only the desired session be displayed in the list panel, as the Export function will
export the entire contents of this panel. Use the date and name fields at the top of this page to
exclude extraneous sessions.
When the Export button is accessed, a browser window appears, allowing the teacher to navigate
to any available network-based folder.
In the export example shown below, the teacher is copying the session data to a removable USB
drive.
The remote computer requires no special software, as the audio response files (WAV or MP3)
can be played with any media player (such as Microsofťs Windows Media Player), and the text
response files (RTF) can be viewed with any RTF viewer (e.g. Microsofťs Word).
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 98 of 99
Shortcuts
The Configuration Bar will display different shortcut buttons depending on the particular mode
that you have selected. These shortcuts include:
* Documents
* Programs
Documents Short Cut
The documents shortcut will appear whenever you are in Media
Activities mode. When you are selecting a media source, you
can either use the buttons on the control module, or you can
click on the Documents button in the Configuration Bar at the
bottom of the screen. When you use this shortcut button, a popup
list of recently accessed documents will appear (as shown at
right.)
Programs Short Cut
The programs shortcut will appear whenever you are in
Network Tools mode. When you are opening a program, you
can either use the buttons on the control module, or you can
click on the Programs button in the Configuration Bar at the
bottom of the screen. When you use this shortcut button, a
pop-up list of available programs will appear (as shown at
right.)
User Guide ­ Symposium (Software Pairing) Page 99 of 99
Chapter Quiz Questions
If you can answer the following question, then you are ready for some hands-on Symposium
practice. If you have trouble answering any of these questions, a brief review of this chapter's
content is recommended before proceeding.
1. One of your fellow teachers has a teaching mode called Flex available on his screen,
but this mode button is missing from your screen ­ even though you both use the
same system. How is this possible, and what can you do about it?
2. Do you need to contact the system administrator to have your sign-in password
changed?
3. True of False: The Symposium control screen shows all commands in the English
language?
4. Can a user have more than one document or program library? If so, why might he
want more than one library?
5. Must you contact your system administrator to import digital files into the
Symposium document library?
6. Is it possible to have multiple listings for the same program in the programs
library? If so, why might you want to do this?
7. Is it possible to review student oral and text responses outside of the classroom? If
so, how?
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