Babilon

About Babilon

Babilon is a fully integrated function of CAN-8 that allows the instructors to create discussion groups. The instructors can listen and participate to these discussions, or alternatively record and evaluate them later on.

With Babilon, instructors can:

control several groups of students
specify manual or automatic group selection
assign up to four students to each group
listen to the conversation in any group
join in the conversation in any group
record a group conversation

I. Before you start

If you are not familiar with the Babilon interface or the options available, we strongly advise to read this section first. The information needed to set the groups is detailed here.

Adding Babilon in the Menu

Although the Babilon function is included in CAN-8, it does not by default appear in the menu. It must be added in the main menu in the area of your choice.

NOTES

If you want to prevent students from a class to be grouped with students from another class, create several Babilon entries in different parts of the menu. You can create as many Babilon entries as you need.

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To add Babilon to the menu:

Sign in with the Master ID
Navigate to the student menu (make sure to create the Babilon entry in a part of the menu accessible to all students, or to the part of the menu your students can access.)
Right click where you want the Babilon entry to be placed and select NEW > ITEM ABOVE or ITEM BELOW.
- In the in the TYPE section of the Menu properties window, select Babilon.
- In the TITLE field, type Babilon or Group discussion.
- In the PATH field, type in SVI/BABILON or leave this field empty and the system will generate a path for it.
- Select OK
Save your menu.

NOTES

To create another Babilon entry in the menu, repeat the steps above but make sure to assign it a different path (i.e.: SVI/BABILON2) at step 4.

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The Babilon interface

Upon starting a Babilon session, the system will differentiate users signing with an Instructor ID from users signing in with a student ID. The interface presented, as well as the options available, will change according to the user privilege.

The Instructor's Console

Select Babilon in the main menu to open the Babilon console. There are 4 main sections to this console:

In the top menu bar, the Babilon menu , which provides a list of available options.
To the right of the interface, the waiting list. It lists the names of all the users who have entered this Babilon menu, their current status (active or inactive), and their privilege (instructor or student)
In the center, the group area. Displays the groups (active or not) and lists the names of the users in these groups if any.
At the bottom, the minimized groups' icons, active or not.

1. The Babilon Menu:

It is located in the top menu bar.

This menu includes the options available for Babilon, such as group size, manual or automatic assignment, and the display type of the wait list.
These options will be detailed in the sections they apply to.

2. The Student WAIT list:

The Wait list displays the name of students waiting to be assigned to a group. The window title bar caption is WAIT
By default, this list displays the names of all users (users currently online and users who have previously signed in Babilon)
The names in the waiting list are colour coded to indicate the users' status:

If the student's name is highlighted in cyan, the student is currently connected and waiting to be placed in a group.
If the student's name is on white background, the student has signed off Babilon. This user can still be assigned to a group and if so, will start automatically the discussion next time he connects to Babilon.
Instructors' names are in red font.
Red font on cyan background means the instructor is online, on white background means the instructor is offline.
A name highlighted in grey indicates that it is selected (you have clicked on this name) and can be assigned to a group.

This list can be simplified to show only the names of the students belonging to a specific class, or to show the list of the students currently signed in.

Babilon > View Signed On in the top menu reduces the list to the name of the users currently signed in this Babilon session.
Babilon > View by class displays only the list of the students belonging to the class you specified, signed on or not.

You can reduce this list to an icon as illustrated below:

List displayed

List when minimized

To toggle between icon and list

click on the icon to view the list
Click on the X (exit button) to reduce the list to an icon

This icon is located at the bottom of the Babilon interface with the group icons.

3. The GROUPS:

Groups can have 2, 3 or 4 members. The sizes of the groups are set before you start assigning students to them.

From the Babilon menu, select the number of participants per group. This setting is for all the groups. You cannot have a group of 2 and a group of 3 for example.

Each group is represented by a small window and labelled Group A, B, C,..., X

You can have simultaneously

up to 24 groups of 2
up to 16 groups of 3
up to 12 groups of 3

The names of the students belonging to a group are listed in the group window. As for the waiting list, the students' names are colour coded.

names that are highlighted in blue are signed in the group and active (the discussion as started)
names on white background are assigned to the group, but the students are not signed in Babilon.
names highlighted in grey have been selected (you can select a name to place that user in a different group)

Groups can be either open and displayed , or closed and represented in the bottom left corner of the interface by icons, each icon representing a group.
To toggle between the group listing window and the icon:

Click on the X (exit button) of the group window to reduce it to an icon.
click on the icon to open the group window.

The icon will vary depending on the size of the group, and depending if they are empty (no users in that group) or if they include users

Groups of 2

There is a maximum of 24 groups of 2, each assigned a letter from A to X.

Groups of 3

There is a maximum of 16 groups of 3, each assigned a letter from A to P

Groups of 4

There is a maximum of 12 groups of 3, each assigned a letter from A to L

Icons are colour coded to indicate if they include users or not:

The icons are black and white if no-one has been assigned to that group. (the group is empty)

The icons are coloured or partially coloured when the group includes users (active or not):

Example

In this illustration

the icon representing group A is fully coloured. This indicates that there are 3 students in that group.
The icon for group B only shows one coloured point: there is only one student in that group.
And the icon for group C with 2 coloured points indicates that there are 2 students in that group.

NOTE:
Icons indicate how many members are in the group. They do not indicate if these members are active (signed in) or not. To see the students' status, you must restore the group to its original size and look at the background colour of their names.

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The Students' Console

Users joining Babilon with a student ID have a simpler interface.

If they have not yet been assigned a group (if their name is showing in the instructor's waiting list instead of inside one of the groups), they will be presented with a Waiting for group message.

If the assignment was already pre-selected or the instructor set the group assignment on automatic, they will enter directly the discussion with their group. Otherwise, they will start as soon as the instructor select their name in the waiting list and place them in a group.

The names of the members in the group will be displayed.
The name preceded by a * character is the name of the user currently talking.

Students cannot see the other groups.

To leave the discussion, the student must exit the Babilon tab.

NOTES

If, during a Babilon session, the user opens a second tab in another CAN-8 lesson he/she will be disconnected from the Babilon discussion until the Babilon tab is selected again

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II. Starting a Babilon Session

There are 3 methods to set a Babilon session.

The first one consists in selecting manually the students one at a time as they log in and placing them in groups. Using this method, the instructor can choose who to pair the students with. This method requires the instructor be signed in Babilon at the same time than the students. The conversation starts as soon as the instructor assigns the students to groups.
The second method consists in manually pre-selecting the students and assigning them in specific groups. As they log in, the students will start the conversation even if the instructor is not online. The students' names must be present in the waiting list in order to use this method.
the last method consists in automating the students' placement. As they log in Babilon, students will be placed randomly in groups. The conversation will start right away.

In all cases listed above, the instructor can at any time change a student to another group or move a student from a group to the waiting list.

Method 1: Manual Placement

NOTES

Students and their instructor must be connected to Babilon at the same time.

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Click on the Babilon link in the students' menu.
Verify that the group assignment is set to manual
The group icons at the bottom of the screen will indicate the current group size. You can change the existing setting if desired.
In the Wait list click once on the student name to select it (or use the up/down cursor keys)
type the letter of the group the student should belong to. (A, B,..., X)

The name of the student will be moved from the waiting list to the group window and the discussion will start right away.

NOTES

While waiting to be assigned to a group, the students will see the following message

Wait for the session to start

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Method 2: Manually Pre-set Groups

You can pre-set groups manually before the students log in. The instructor will not have to be signed in at the same time than the students. As soon as the students sign in, the group conversations will start. This method, contrarily to the automatic assignment, allows the instructor to choose which students are grouped together.

To pre-set the groups, the students' names must be present in the waiting list, although not necessarily active. The students' names will be shown in the waiting list if they have entered Babilon at least once. You will therefore not be able to use that method with students who have not previously signed in Babilon.

The steps are as follow:

Click on the Babilon link in the students' menu.
Verify that the group assignment is set to manual
The group icons at the bottom of the screen will indicate the current group size. You can change the existing setting if desired.
In the Wait list click once on the student name to select it (or use the up/down cursor keys)
type the letter of the group the student should belong to. (A, B,..., X)

The name of the student will be moved from the waiting list to the group window.

NOTES

The discussion will start automatically the next time (and as soon as) the students enter Babilon.

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Method 3: Automatic Assignment

When group assignment is set to Automatic, students are randomly assigned to groups as they sign in. There will be no waiting time as they enter Babilon. CAN-8 will make sure that no student is left alone in a group. If necessary, students are taken from their original group and assigned to a new group to provide company to a student who would otherwise be alone. As an example, if you have set the groups to be of 4, and only 5 students sign in, CAN-8 will place 3 students in group A, and 2 in group B.

Click on the Babilon link in the students' menu.
Set the group assignment to automatic
The group icons at the bottom of the screen will indicate the current group size. You can change the existing setting if desired.

NOTES

This method does not require that the students' names be listed in the waiting list. The discussion will start as soon as the students select the Babilon link.

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Move a Student from a Group to Another:

Independently of the mode of assignment selected (manual or automatic), the instructor can always move a student to a different group.

Enter Babilon
In the group list, click on the student name once (or use the up/down cursor keys)
Once the name is highlighted, type the letter of the new group you wish to assign that student to.

The name of the student will be removed from the initial group list and shown in the new group list.

Remove Students from Groups

Open the Babilon console
Select the student's name in the group's window.
On the keyboard, press the space bar.

The name of the student will move from the group list to the wait list and the student's interface will show wait to be assigned to a group

Listen to / Join a Discussion

Instructors have the options to listen to a group discussion, or to join a discussion.

Listening to a discussion

The instructor can listen to any group discussion at any time. When in Listening mode, the instructor cannot talk to the group members, and the members are not aware the instructor is listening.

To listen to a group, click on the icon on the left of the group header bar and select Listen.
Listen to a discussion

To stop listening to a group, click on the icon on the left of the group header bar and select Leave.

Joining a Discussion

The instructor may join and participate to a discussion with any group, at any time.
When joining a group, the name of the instructor is shown with the names of the other group members.

To join a group, click on the icon on the left of the group header bar and select Join.

To leave the group, click on the icon on the left of the group header bar and select Leave.

III. Recording a Discussion

To record a discussion, there must be at least 2 active students in a group. Active students are students who are currently in that Babilon session, and placed in a group. If there is only one student present in the group, the recording will not start.

Recordings can be set while students are active in Babilon, or preset for the next time students log in.

Step 1: Set the Recording Length.

open the Babilon console
In the Babilon menu, select Recordings

Group Recordings list

Double click on an empty line. (previous recordings may be listed in that window.)

start group recording

Set the desired length of the recording in the Duration in minutes field. The minimum length is one minute, the maximum length is 40 minutes. The recording will stop once the time limit is reached.
OR
select Stay active until stopped. It will override the time setting. The instructor will have to sign in to stop the recording manually.
Press Record

NOTES

If the students are signed in and already in a group, the recording will start right away.
All active groups will be recorded at the same time.
If the students have been placed in a group, but are not currently signed in Babilon, the recording will start as soon as they sign in.gs in.
For unsupervised preset and automatic groups recordings, be aware that the recording timer starts when the first student logs in Babilon, and that no recording will show until at least a second student logs in that group. This means that if the recordings are set to last 10 minutes, but the second student only logs in after 9 minutes and 30 seconds, the recording will only be 30 seconds long.

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Step 2: Stop a Recording

You can stop a recording at any time, even if it has been preset for a certain time length.

Click anywhere on the line listing the recording you want to stop (it should say Busy Recording). At the stop recording prompt, select OK

Step 3: Listen to the Recordings.

NOTES

You can only listen to the recordings once it is stopped.

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To listen:

select Babilon > Recordings in the main top menu

The list of recordings ready to be listened to will appear

Double click on the recording you wish to listen to
At the prompt, select the option Replay the recording.

The next interface is divided in 2 areas:
- To the right is the list of Participants. It lists the names of all the students who were participating to a discussion at the time of the recordings.
- To the left are the groups that were recorded (Replay lists). Each group has one recording.
NOTES

We mentioned earlier that when Babilon is set to automatic mode, a student may be moved from a group to another one to balance the number of users per group. If the student was moved while the groups were being recorded, this student will show in several group recordings; when you highlight (click on) the name of a student in the Participants list, it will highlight that same student's name in all the Replay lists this student was recorded in:

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To select group recording, click on the group header. The audio graph will display the rendering of the entire discussion.
Selecting a student's name in the Replay list will highlight this student's recording in magenta in the volume graph. This will give you a visual clue of the participation level of each student.
To listen to the conversation, press the Play button on the volume graph, or simply click on the audio rendering of the conversation in the volume graph.
To exit this replay window, select Babilon > recordings in the main menu.

Step 4: Deleting Recordings.

To delete a recording:

select Babilon > Recordings in the main top menu

The list of recordings will appear

Double click on the recording you wish to delete
At the prompt, select the option Delete the Recording.

Babilon

About Babilon

I. Before you start

Adding Babilon in the Menu

NOTES

NOTES

The Babilon interface

The Instructor's Console

1. The Babilon Menu:

2. The Student WAIT list:

3. The GROUPS:

Example

The Students' Console

NOTES

II. Starting a Babilon Session

Method 1: Manual Placement

NOTES

NOTES

Method 2: Manually Pre-set Groups

NOTES

Method 3: Automatic Assignment

NOTES

Move a Student from a Group to Another:

Remove Students from Groups

Listen to / Join a Discussion

Listening to a discussion

Joining a Discussion

III. Recording a Discussion

Step 1: Set the Recording Length.

NOTES

Step 2: Stop a Recording

Step 3: Listen to the Recordings.

NOTES

NOTES

Step 4: Deleting Recordings.

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