We have completed editing our audio files for use on iPods.  Here is what we have done:

1. Extended the playtime of short audio files
We have extended the playtime of short audio files such as vocabulary items from 1-2 seconds to at least 5 seconds.  We have extended these by a) adding 2 seconds of silences to the end of the file and b) repeating the audio + silence a total of 3x for vocabulary items and 2x for audio of dialogues or phrases.  By extending the audio in general and by added silence to the end of the audio files, students will have more time to pause when listening and more time is spent on each item.  If the pace is too slow, students can allows click the forward/next button to go to the next track…

2.  Repeated audio with silence between repetitions
As noted above, when extending files we have repeated the audio 2-3 times (3x for very short audio and 2x for longer audio).  Between each repetition of the audio is silence that is approximately as long as the audio portion itself.  This allows students to hear the language, repeat what they have heard, hear it again, and repeat again and so on.

3. Chinese Vocabulary Metadata
We have improved the Chinese vocabulary metadata.  Last summer, each audio file had 4 versions , one in which the track title was in English, one where it was in Pinyin transliteration, another with Simplifed characters and a version with Traditional characters.  Students would study each version in succession.

Since the display of the Chinese or Pinyin transliteration of most vocabulary items takes so little space (most Chinese vocabulary items are only 1 to 2 syllables which can be represented by 1 to 2 Chinese characters or 2 to 8 Latin characters), we have opted to include in the track name metadata for each of the 4 versions of metadata, at least 2 representations of the vocabulary item.  For example for the English version of vocabulary item (i.e. the version in which the track title is displayed in English), we have choosen to include both the Pinyin transliteration as well as the English in the track title.  For the Pinyin version, we display both the Pinyin and the Simplified characters.  For the Simplified character version, we display the simplified Chinese characters and the English and for the Traditional character version, we display the Traditional and Simplified characters.