Online Language Enviroments

Overview

(What is the OLE Board?)

The OLE Board is an online multimedia tool that can incorporate audio, video, and text elements and facilitate the creation of rich language experiences for almost any pedagogical situation. These include traditional classroom settings and distance learning programs, large group instruction and individual tutoring. The board combines features of online Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) programs such that it functions either asynchronously or quasi-synchronously, depending on whether a given user is signed on at the same time as another.

The OLE Board can be used for courses such as those in less commonly taught languages, where geographical distance between learners may prohibit face-to-face interaction and the Board may then serve as the primary vehicle of instruction. Teachers in traditional classroom settings, where the learners meet and interact face-to-face, can use the Board to enhance their instruction at any stage of a lesson. Finally, because the OLE Board can keep audio, visual, and/or textual records of language exchanges, it can also be used for collecting data, for instance, for compiling language corpora or for conducting classroom research.