Italia 2000 Video Software on CD
Introduction
The software is part of the Italia 2000 project. Italia 2000 ("the project") was an EC-funded project for the provision of Intermediate / Advanced level Italian language learning materials. The core of the project is contemporary video footage
from two Italian broadcasters, RAI and Teletna, collated into half-hour programmes on particular themes. These programmes were broadcast by satellite and on "The Learning Zone" on BBC television in the UK.
As well as the production of these television programmes, by way of support materials for teachers and learners, the project produced workbooks, conventional CALL software, web sites, workshops and distance learning courses, and latterly the video-based software ("the software") being submitted.
Arrengements for commercial publication are now almost complete, and Giunti Multimedia will be publishing a video, a workbook, a floppy disk, access to a web site and a CD-ROM with video-based software under discussion here.
Two batches of video-based software have been produced and made available on CD-ROM, CD-1 and CD-2, for use by project participants.
The purpose of the software within the project is to back up classroom and personal use of the television programmes, complementing the other study materials. In particular, by way of language learning exercises, it allows students to study with close, exact reference to the video clips in a way not possible with any other medium. Students work through vocabularly and comprehension exercises, referring to selected segments of each video clip throughout, and usually finish with a specially-recorded video dialogue exercise where they can begin to use the language learnt.
The raw material for most exercises came from the language teachers involved in the project, adapted by the software developer to incorporate video directly. The project demonstrates one important principle of academic multimedia development: that expertise both pedagogical and technical, working jointly and sympathetically, is required to produce material which is both academically useful as well as technically proficient and well-designed.
main contents
| introduction
| Pedagogy & design
| Evaluation & use
| screen shots
| web links
| references