Cantare USER GUIDE. Pedagogical Design Lydia Froio. Software Design Diane Joly. Collège de Maisonneuve

Transcription

1 USER GUIDE Cantare Pedagogical Design Lydia Froio Software Design Diane Joly Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique Collège de Maisonneuve

2 Cantare is a production of the Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique (CCDMD) supported financially by the ministère de l Éducation du Québec. Pedagogical Design Lydia Froio, Collège de Maisonneuve Software Design Diane Joly, Ars Multimedia An adaptation of Song Stack by Christopher Jones Graphics and Layout Christine Blais Translation Lydia Froio Annie Desnoyers Diane Joly Angelika Baur Jana Schindler Software Validation Sylvain Gagnon, CCDMD Project Coordinator Réjean Jobin, CCDMD Rights of reproduction Notice to the user No reproduction of this document is allowed without the express authorization in writing from the CCDMD. This authorization is given only to those educational institutions in the province de Quebec who have obtained au copy of the document from the CCDMD or from one of its authorized agents. This software application has been verified and tested to the best of our ability. As a result, the CCDMD divest itself of all responsibility for any losses of damages tht could result from the use of from the nonuse of the software application. Cantare USER GUIDE, all rights reserved Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique, 1999 ISBN Legal deposit : Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, 1999 Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999

3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Minimum system requirements Contents of the CD-ROM Running the program Cantare, Teacher Module File Menu Edit Menu Studio Menu Help Menu Troubleshooting Cantare, Student Module File Menu Option Menu Help Menu

4 Introduction - Cantare 4 1 Introduction This user guide is addressed to those teachers who wish to develop language learning lessons with song lyrics. Cantare allows users to synchronize the text of the lyrics on the screen to the song on the compact disc. The teacher module allows users to prepare lessons and the student module allows students to run the lessons. 1.1 Minimum system requirements The software (teacher module and student module) can be used on any Power Macintosh computer running MacOS or on an IBM or compatible (Windows 95) with 32 MB of memory. The computer must be equipped with a CD-ROM drive, a sound card, and a color screen capable of displaying millions of colors and with a resolution of 800 x Contents of the CD-ROM On the CD-ROM, you will find the Macintosh and Windows versions of the software. The program is delivered with ACROBAT READER which is ready to install on the hard drive. This software will allow you to read and print the user guide for Cantare. To run the teacher and student modules of Cantare, you must copy them to your hard drive. To install the software, copy the folders or the directory for Cantare, Teacher Module or Cantare, Student Module to the hard drive. 1.3 Running the Program Cantare is a software program designed to promote language learning through songs. The program allows teachers to build lessons for language learning around songs on a compact disc. Students can listen to a song from a compact disc, read the lyrics on screen and access a dictionary and notes. To create a lesson, teachers: 1) choose a compact disc and create a file for the selected songs; 2) type the lyrics of the selected songs and write notes to accompany each of the songs; 3) select the words or expressions to include in the dictionary; 4) set the time code to synchronize the text of the lyrics with the song on the compact disc.

5 Introduction - Cantare 5 The student module allows students to open a lesson the teacher has prepared. Students select a song on the compact disc and can: 1) listen to the song and follow the words on the screen; 2) click on a line to hear it; 3) access the words and expressions in the dictionary; 4) access notes related to the song; 5) listen to the song without the lyrics.

6 Cantare, Teacher Module - Cantare 6 2 Cantare, Teacher Module There are four main menus in the program. Figure File Menu Figure 2 The File menu allows you to open and save files, access the credits information for Cantare and Quit. Files are saved in text format and carry the.txt extension. The menu also accesses the Preferences menu item which allows you to select the language of the software menus, messages and on-line help. Figure 3 You can choose the language of the menus, the messages and the on-line help by sliding the marker to the language of your choice (French - English - German - Spanish - Italian). This information is saved automatically in the configuration file of the program (Prefs.txt). The next time you open Cantare, the software will open in the selected language. This information is also saved in the song file so that the student module will also open in the selected language.

7 Cantare, Teacher Module - Cantare Edit Menu Figure 4 The Edit menu allows you to cut, copy and paste. Depending on the platform used (Windows or Macintosh), you can use the following keyboard commands: Ctrl+X or Command + X / Ctrl+C or Command + C / Ctrl+V or Command + V 2.3 Studio Menu Figure 5 The Studio menu gives you access to each of the steps in the development of lessons. The Lyrics menu item allows you to type the lyrics of the song as well as notes, information or questions in the Notes field. Begin by typing the title of the compact disc. To type or edit the title of the CD, you double click in the Untitled field and type the title. Figure 6

8 Cantare, Teacher Module - Cantare 8 You can now type the titles of the songs that you have chosen for the lesson. By clicking on the pop-up menu of titles, you can add other titles, edit existing ones or select a song to begin preparing a lesson. Figure 7 When you add or edit a title of a song, you must choose the corresponding track on the CD. To do this, you click on the arrows in the dialogue window which appears. Figure 8 Attention! When you choose to delete a song, all the files connected to the song will also be deleted (lyrics, time code, dictionary and notes). Typing the lyrics of a song After typing the title of the compact disc and the song, you select the song and type the lyrics in the right window. Entering the lyrics can only be done in Lyrics mode. You can also include any other information, notes, questions and recommendations for each of the songs in the Notes on the Song window. The Dictionary menu item allows you to choose words or expressions from the lyrics that you want to include in the dictionary.

9 Cantare, Teacher Module - Cantare 9 To develop the Dictionary, you select a word or expression in the lyrics of the song. The selected word or expression will appear in the window on the left of the screen. Type the definition and any other information that you want to give your students. When students click on an underlined word or expression, the definition (or whatever you have typed) will appear in the window on the left of the screen. Figure 9 To delete a word from the Dictionary, you must click on the scissors at the bottom of the Dictionary window. Attention: The lyrics of the song must not be modified at this point. Otherwise, the dictionary will not function correctly. The Music menu item allows you to synchronize the lyrics on the screen with the song on the compact disc. When you are in Music mode, the first line of the song is highlighted. The time code windows on the bottom of the screen just under the lyrics window allow you to synchronize the text to the song. To do the time coding, you have to play the song. Click Play on the CD player control panel Time coding (synchronization) consists in highlighting each line of the song so that students can follow the words as they are sung. To understand how this works, keep in mind that the song starts and highlights the line corresponding to the time code indicated in the left hand time code window. In this way, it is not necessary to synchronize the end of one line and the beginning of the next line perfectly. This feature will facilitate the task of time coding the songs.

10 Cantare, Teacher Module - Cantare 10 Figure 10 Here are the steps to complete the time coding of a song: 1) Choose a song. 2) Insert a compact disc. 3) Choose the desired track. 4) Click in the time code window to automatically set the time code that corresponds to the beginning of the line. The left time code window sets the highlighting of the line on and the right time code window turns the highlighting off. You can always adjust and fine tune the values of the time codes by using the arrows between the time code windows. If the lyrics scroll too quickly, use the Pause function to allow you to do the time coding more easily. Preview allows you to test the time coding to see it how it will be presented to the students in Cantare, Student Module. You can also test the notes and the dictionary. Click Play on the CD control panel. You will see the lines of the lyrics highlighted as the song is sung. You can also click on a line to hear it. 2.4 Help Menu The Help menu allows you to obtain help on the functions of the program at any time.

11 Cantare, Teacher Module - Cantare 11 Figure Troubleshooting Sometimes, when you insert a compact disc, Cantare cannot play it. An error message appears which states that the compact disc is not ready even if it has been inserted into the CD-ROM drive. This happens because another program such as CD Player automatically starts up as soon as a compact disc is inserted in the drive. To solve the problem, you must close the program that is controlling the compact disc. If Cantare still cannot control the CD, do the following: 1) Quit Cantare. 2) Leave the CD in the drive. 3) Make sure another program does not control the CD. 4) Re-start Cantare. This should allow Cantare to control the compact disc.

12 Cantare, Student Module - Cantare 12 3 Cantare, Student Module The student module allows students to open Cantare lessons. There are three main menus in the program. The program opens in the language selected by the teacher. Figure File menu Figure 13 The File menu allows you to open a Cantare file developed using Cantare, Teacher Module. The menu also allows you to access the credits for the program and to Quit. 3.2 Options Menu The Options menu allows you to choose different ways to listen to the song and allows you to access the Dictionary and the Notes on the Song. Figure 14 The With Lyrics option allows you to listen to a song while reading the lyrics on the screen. You can also click on a line to hear it. You control the compact disc from the control panel of the CD drive. The Without Lyrics option allows you to listen to a song without the lyrics on the screen. The Dictionary option allows you to view the words and expressions that have been included in the Dictionary. Click on a word or an expression to see the definition in the Dictionary window.

13 Cantare, Student Module - Cantare 13 The Notes option allows you to view the information, questions or recommendations that the teacher has included with the song. Figure Help Menu The Help menu allows you to obtain information on the functions of the software at any time.