The spring 2001 semester will feature an improved foreign language lab, which will include state-of-the-art technology.

Improvements include purchasing and installing 15 fully equipped student stations in A-301, and purchasing an additional eight desks that can be used for future expansion.

The fully equipped stations will include a Dell computer with a CD-ROM drive, Internet access, and a CD writer. Emily Vescogni, director of learning technologies, said the system comes from Tandberg Systems, a respected name in foreign language equipment. The entire project will cost an estimated $106,000.

Vescogni said the new system is a digital instructional system that will allow the students and the faculty to create and share digital sound files or videos so that students can be exposed to more materials.

Installation of the new equipment is scheduled to begin in December, followed by instructor training, and the lab should be open for students at the start of the spring semester.

One preparation that has already been accomplished in the lab is the removal of storage areas from the back.

Johannsen Associates of Milwaukee are providing and installing the Tandberg equipment. The lab upgrade is being paid for through an Illinois Community College Board Tech Support Grant.