About SCOLA
Wed, 08/08/2007 - 13:46 — cwc5What is SCOLA?
SCOLA is a non-profit educational organization that receives and re-transmits television programming from around the world in native languages. At the University Park campus, the 24/7 SCOLA television broadcast is available to the Penn State community on channel 29 of the Penn State network.
SCOLA also provides additional multicultural and language learning content via their website, http://www.scola.org. Universities, Colleges, K-12 schools, cable systems, government language schools and individuals use SCOLA content for current news, language study and cultural enhancement.
Who may use SCOLA?
Any Penn State community member who has an active Access Account ID and password may use the resources available at the SCOLA Web site.
What are some good uses for SCOLA materials?
SCOLA programs provide a wide range of multicultural materials that can be used in many different courses, not just ESL and Foreign Languages. A list of suggestions can be found at the SCOLA site at http://www.scola.org/eoneCommerce/Portal?dsp=120&pcr=1:10:180.
An example given at the SCOLA site is as follows:
“Those interested in communication might do a comparison of national news reporting styles or TV presentation techniques. A course in international media studies might be developed that integrates satellite TV with other media e.g., newspapers to accompany the major breaking stories of the day.”
Where did my links go?
If you have been using the materials at the Penn State SCOLA site with your class, you will notice that the links to each of the languages is no longer available on the left side of the screen. Beginning in December 2008, Penn State will no longer be downloading selected materials for our users, but instead, will be allowing our users to access all of the resources available at the Web site for themselves. If you would like to continue to use the five-minute newscasts and associated materials, they are called “Insta-Class” and can be found at http://www.scola.org/eoneCommerce/Portal?DSP=80&PCR=1:60:80&ACTN=90100.
How do I access the resources?
To access the Penn State account at the SCOLA site you will need the Penn State ID and password.
- First, go to the authentication page: http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/scola/access_scola
- Login with your Access ID and password.
- On the page following the log in, note the Penn State SCOLA ID and password.
- Finally, go to http://www.scola.org and use the Penn State ID and password to login to the SCOLA site.
- Once you have the ID and password, the next time you want to access the SCOLA materials, you may go directly to the SCOLA site.
Note: The Penn State password will be changed periodically. If the password stops working for you, check back to see if it has been updated by following the steps listed above.
Sharing materials download from the site
You may share the materials from the SCOLA site with any member of the Penn State community. Materials may also be uploaded to ANGEL courses. Depending on the size of the files, it may be better to link to the files rather than uploading them to ANGEL.
To create a file to link to, you will need to obtain a streaming server account (http://its.psu.edu/streaming/), download the video from SCOLA, open the file in QuickTime, export the file with a hinted track, and upload the video to the streaming server. Complete directions are available in the document attached at the end of this section.
Another alternative to uploading files into ANGEL would be to set up an iTunesU account. Read more about iTunesU and how to request an iTunesU account at http://podcasts.psu.edu.
SCOLA materials can also be posted in personal and class related blogs. For more information about blogs at Penn State see http://blogs.psu.edu/.
Faculty and students may use the SCOLA materials in class assignments, even assignments that are available for public viewing. Materials can be combined and edited as needed. Please remember to give due credit and cite your source.
Learn more about SCOLA
Take a few minutes to explore the SCOLA site. Read about their mission (http://www.scola.org/eoneCommerce/Portal?Dsp=670&PCR=1:10:370) and about uses for their materials (http://www.scola.org/eoneCommerce/Portal?Dsp=120&PCR=1:10:210)
How To Add SCOLA To Your Course in ANGEL
1. Click on the Login link to the left if it is being displayed. If you are already logged on, you will see your user ID displayed there instead. Although this is a separate login from WebAccess, it should pass you through if you are already logged on to Web Access.
2. Choose the language you would like to use. A new URL will appear on your browser bar.
3. Copy the URL from the browser's address bar.
4. Log on to ANGEL and navigate to your course Web page. Click the Content tab at the top to add new content to your course.
5. Click the Add Content link.
6. Then click the Link option.
7. Give your new link a title and a subtitle, select New Window from the Link Target pulldown menu, then paste the URL to your language page in the Link URL field. Click the Save button to add your new link.
