Greg Kornichuk's EFL-537 C.A.L.L. Software Review

Product Type

Comprehensive, multimedia, interactive, user-friendly ESL/EFL learning environment software.

Language(s)

English with Ellis Native Language Guides supporting Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Danish, English, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Magyar, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Levels

Intermediate to advanced learners in higher education, high school, business, and TOEFL preparation venues.

Activities

Includes role play activities. Utilizes full-motion video, graphics, animation, text, digitalized sound, and voice recording to teach grammar, vocabulary, culture, listening, and pronunciation in 12 lessons, with over 400 hours of instruction.

Media Format

Laserdisc, MPEG, and AVI versions.

Operating Systems

Windows

Mac

Windows 95, 98, NT 4, 2000, XP

Mac OS 7.1 minimum, Mac OS 9.0 max.

Hardware

Mac

Pentium 133 or faster recommended.

Macintosh or Mac OS compatible computer with PowerPC processor

Memory

Mac

32 MB RAM recommended; 16 MB RAM minimum.

128 MB RAM recommended; 64 MB RAM minimum.

Hard Disk Space

Mac

Approximately 30 MB hard disk space for each program; Native Language Guides require additional space on the Hard Disk.

35 MB hard disk space; approximately an additional 10 MB hard disk space required for the Native Language Guide.

CD-ROM

4x speed CD-ROM drive or faster.

DVD

N/A

Sound

Mac

100% SoundBlaster compatible sound card and speakers or headphones.

Speakers or headphones.

Video

Mac

SVGA 16-bit color, screen resolution of 480 x 800 or 600 x 800.

Color monitor with at least 800x600 resolution and 16 bit color.

Supplementary

Software

Mac

Requires Microsoft Active Movie and Internet Explorer 4.0 or better.

Requires QuickTime 4.0.

Documentation

Comes with instructor utilities, an on-line student tracking system, an instructor guide and a learner response book.

Native Language Guides

While learners at the Senior Mastery level are expected to learn entirely in the target language, Native Language Guides provide requested audible and textual translations to words, phrases and text that appear as a part of the lesson. (Note: ELLIS Native Language Help, semi-automatic audio and textual support/help files that are available for lower-level courses in the ELLIS system, are not provided in the Senior Mastery program.)

TUTORIAL

The ELLIS Online Tutorial is an online users guide—a walk-through—explaining navigational control, lesson design, and overall functionality.

training

ELLIS Training teaches how to maximize use of the program to best suit needs. ELLIS will also install the software & provide support with free Technical Support, troubleshooting, & upgrades.

Available Assistance:

· Training/Installation for Instructors and Administrators

· Live On-site Training and/or Installation

· Step-by-step Instructions for Installation

C.A.L.L. Lab/classroom

Video Network Requirements

(loads all contents on server)

Network Operating System – Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Netware 4.0 and 5.1

Client Operating System - Windows 95, 98, NT 4, 2000 (Windows XP clients"contact support )

Processor

	Server - Pentium II 266 or faster
	Workstation - Pentium 133 or faster

Memory

	Server - Minimum of 256 MB RAM
	Workstation – 32 MB RAM recommended; 16 MB RAM minimum

Hard Disk Space – Approximately 5 GB hard disk space on one drive

Network Interface Card – 100 BT (full duplex)

Design – A 100 MB switch must be used with more than 5 users, with a maximum of 2 switches in the configuration... The network must be 100 MB, full duplex design

CORROBORATION

PRICING

Services and software are generally sold in package deals to universities and language instruction institutions. Pricing is consultative, quoted per individual location and situation. In every case, an official proposal is presented by the regional dealer, in order to give an accurate quote.