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Orient AV's MP3 Multimedia Language Lab. System, NuriNET-AOD, is a new-concept digital multimedia language laboratory system based on MP3 technology. It is the best language education solution which has never been developed before. It revolutionizes the existing language education environment, which is based on cassette tape recorders, to a state-of-the-art MP3-technology-based digital multimedia language learning system. As uniquely-designed FTP mode-supported as well as TCP-IP Network-based, this system allows all data from teacher's computer to be processed digitally, which makes high quality AOD (Audio on Demand) function available.
● Application of MP3 Multimedia Language Lab. System
Everyone today seems to have a magic solution for learning a foreign language. It usually takes the form of a book of secret tips, a software package filled with pictures, talking foreigners and fancy voice recognition technology with a hefty price tag, or a language school boasting tiny classes, the world's best teachers, and textbooks with secret tips. No matter what the latest hype might be, however, there really is no other way to learn a new language than through hard work and time invested. It takes thousands of hours of studying in whatever form to become familiar with a new language.
These hours can be spent studying along with a book, a language software, or in class, depending on a person's situation, preference or learning style. I've taken my share of language classes, some in college and some as part of work, and even in this day and age most language classes are the same as I remember them from high school. Of course there might be classes somewhere that use cutting edge IT technology and wireless delivery systems but the vast majority of language classes still use the basic tools of learning, the book and the tape. Of course the tap is now in the form of a CD or MP3 files, but the contents of those listening comprehension materials more or less have stayed the same for decades, and probably because they are effective and easy to use.
Recently, however, I had a chance to participate as a guest in a classroom that uses a new kind of technology to maximize the effectiveness of these tried-and-true materials. The class used a language lab system that I later found out was the "NuriNET AOD system" developed by Orient AV as a "new-concept digital multimedia language laboratory system based on MP3 technology." Essentially, the system is a package for both the student and the instructor that uses network technology to make it very easy for students to access audio materials and the instructor to organize the materials and control the pace of learning.
The first thing you notice is the individual device that each student has, the "AOD-S". It's essentially a media terminal for the student that contains only the key functions needed for language study. I saw practice cues being played through the AOD-S, and realized that it was being controlled by the teacher's computer. The unit has its own internal storage as well as a USB port for using memory sticks or other external storage.
I was also given a chance to see a demonstration of the AOD-S's other features. The student was able to use the simple controls consisting of direction keys and function buttons to select and listen to different dialogues and materials and record her own responses into the terminal. Since she had her own set of controls, she could pause or repeat at her own pace, or bookmark a spot in the recording. She could even speed up or slow down the listening content. Obviously I could see that this allowed the class to be much for flexible than a teacher controlling the material by him or herself and the students simply listening and following at one rigid pace.
Although I didn't get to see it in action, the terminal also has test-taking functions, both oral and written, with the latter augmented by an optional keyboard, login functions for checking and keeping track of attendance, and even an intercom. Various sound formats are supporting including MP3, OGG and WAV formats. control, Student presentation, Terminal lock/unlock, Intercom.
The key different between this system and handing out a bunch of tablet computers to each student is that the AOD system is an integrated network system. Audio files can be stored and controlled from the teacher's computer using an operating software installed in the teacher's computer. The central control terminal allows the teacher to make a database of audio files in the form of MP3s on his or her own computer and set as many as 64 students to access to that database at the same time to search and play the audio files. The teacher can also easily create his or her own audio files complete with pauses for the students' responses, which, as noted above, can be recorded by the terminal.
When I study a language on my own, I have access to a lot of high-tech stuff like phone apps, computer software, or even interactive Web sites. Technology for classrooms, however, don't move at the same pace. Orient AV's NuriNET AOD system takes advantage of both hardware and software advances to make a tool that connects students with teachers and makes learning easier and more efficient for everyone.
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