TandemPlus news

The TandemPlus website has been updated with more information about the popular virtual face-to-face exchange program, as well as a short video on TandemPlus.
https://languagecenter.cla.umn.edu/tandem/index.php

TandemPlus Assistant Bethany Schowengerdt has left for a semester abroad in Senegal. She is blogging about her experience at http://bethanyinsenegal.blogspot.com/

Anna Kaminski is the new TandemPlus Assistant. Anna is returning next week from a study abroad program in Oman, for which she received a critical language scholarship to study Arabic.

Jones Hall Wins Beautiful Building Award!

FM custodial staff person, Bette Durst, has won this year's Beautiful Building Award for Jones Hall. This is a very competitive competition -- think of all those buildings on campus -- and Bette, for her work at Jones, was selected.


Thanks to Bette, Jones Hall is always clean, clutter free and functioning well. Bette has gone beyond fulfilling the basic requirements of her position, communicating regularly with Language Center staff about potential issues and building concerns. In the years that she has been assigned to our building, we have viewed Bette as a true partner, and we know that she cares as much about our space and users as we do.

So we congratulate Bette for winning this well-deserved award. We have been nominating her every year since 2006. We are glad that this is finally the year that her hard work, dedication and service to Jones Hall and the University of Minnesota has been acknowledged.

We are also saddened to report that Bette will be moving on to a new assignment in the Health Sciences buildings and leaving Jones Hall at the end of this week. We will miss her very much and wish her the best of luck on the other side of campus.
We also wish her many more enjoyable hours of vacation, where she can get the chance to spend some time riding her horse.

Jones 10 Classroom Renovation Complete!

The Language Center Technical Team is very happy to announce that the Jones 10 Classroom will be back in service starting Thursday, August 4th! This classroom has been unavailable this summer while undergoing a number of major updates.

The first thing those familiar with the old Jones 10 will notice is that the old booths are gone! They have been replaced with tables arranged in a new open layout. This new layout places four tables in the center of the room with additional tables on the perimeter; accommodates 30 student computers (an upgrade from 24) and still appears spacious.


The computers in the room have been replaced with new 20" iMac computers. Networking has been upgraded to provide service to the new computers as well as a new wireless access point which will improve wireless connection for mobile devices.

A new instructor desk has been installed. It has room for a document camera, controls for the data projector, easy connection for a laptop, zone-free DVD player, multi-standard VCR and shelf space where you can find the handy guide to the equipment located in the classroom.

As before, the MacDiLL audio lab software is available which provides an intuitive interface for instructors to pair students in conversation. Audio recordings can be easily saved by the instructor and listened to at any computer via a web interface.

And yes, the intercom is still active, as always, access to technical assistance is only a button push away!