patth@dasys1.UUCP (Patt Haring) (08/21/88)
Reposted from: The Children's Television Workshop BBS
1-212-595-4588 (3/12/2400baud, 24hrs)
On The FrEdMail Network!
Educational Voice Mail System
by George Migliarini
During December of 1987, we started working in our Educational Computer
Voice Mail System. Basically this is a Bulletin Board System. The
difference is that instead of having to use a computer, all you need is
a regular touch tone phone. This allows most of the students to have
access to it. Like with CompuServe, The Source, FredMail or Mix,
students can send mail. The difference is that instead of E-Mail we
should call it VOICE MAIL (V-MAIL). The Educational Computer Voice
network has different areas of information such as General Information,
Educational Area, School Update or Coming Up Events. In the Educational
Area you, can find science reports, social studies essays, foreign
language assignments, etc. In a Computer Voice Mail System the mail box
number is equivalent to the Username or I.D. of a regular computer BBS.
The host computer can be an IBM AT 386 with 2 Mega and 80 Mega hard
disk, a voice digitizer, software and a regular phone line. To make it
clear, we'll give you a typical case. A student from home can dial the
computer voice system number, the host computer answer, an a digitalized
voice tells the student the possible options (Voice Menu). Usually the
short greeting like:
"Thank You for calling our educational computer voice mail system
.Press one in your touch tone pad. If you wish to enter in the
general area, press two. To send a message, press three to enter
in the voice mail area. Or press zero to hang up".
If the student decides to enter in the general area by pressing one, a
new series of options such as to listen to the school news, school
update or enter in the educational area and select between science,
reports, social studies or other options that the sysop offers. If the
student picks option 2 instead, he will be able to send a voice mail to
other system user, and the host computer will give him/her a message
like this:
"If you wish to send a voice mail, please enter the path's mail box
number"
Once the student proceeds, v.g. 6520 the host computer says:
"Enter your message after the tone and press the asterisk to end"
The voice mail is then sent to the path.
If the student chooses option number 3 after entering his Password he
will enter directly into his personal mail box. In his personal mail
box he will find different options such as:
- Listen to Personal Messages - Date & Time when message were posted -
Delete old message - Change Password
There is also an area in the educational voice mail system that allows
students to record his/her own voice and listen to it afterwards to see
how the computer synthetises the voice. We want to remark that in our
computer voice system, the messages have the human voice quality and not
the robotic sound that we are used to hear in synthesized voice. The
system allows further possibilities but here we only describe some of
them.
We think that in bilingual education this could be a powerful learning
tool. In that case students have the opportunity of practicing their
pronunciation in the second language.
--------------------------------------------------------- Now you
will enter in the Demo Area of our Educational Computer Voice
Mail System. Dial (714) 754-7462 and when the host computer ask
for your System Number you'll enter 1500 in your phone keypad.
---------------------------------------------------------
George Migliarini