CALL website evaluation

Website evaluation

http://wwwedu.ge.ch/cptic/prospective/
projets/anglais/exercises/welcome.html

1. Who are the users the website is targeting?

The users which the website is targeting are actually any users who want to learn English, from the Beginner stage, all the way to Advanced. I’m assuming they have to at least have a rudimentary knowledge of the language first though.

2. What sorts of things are the application users expected to do with regards to learning and using or even manipulating the content?

The site doesn’t boast anything fancy, which is just fine. Users are expected to do anything from filling in blanks, to reading and understanding passages and answering questions about those passages, in a slightly boosted form of the Microsoft Excel exercise we had a while back. There are also some crosswords and the like. Users generally just decide where they stand in the food chain, from Beginner to Advanced, click on a link, and are guided to many different types of exercises, which are focused on the various skills.

3. What sorts of computer skills are the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

Basically, the computer skills required to use the website are the ability to type, and point and click a mouse. Handicapped students might have a problem with this one, but technology has recently come up which allows those without the benefit of hands to operate a computer using a mouth held device, and in fact, some technology is in the making that allows for a chip to be inserted in the part of the brain which controls motor functions, which then beams instructions to a receiver chip which then processes commands according to whatever it is you’re thinking. Er… Okay, enough digression, but basically, all you need to know to use this website is being able to type and use a mouse. Also, for Mozilla Firefox users, you may want to enable scripts for the website.

4. While you are “playing”/”accessing”/”assessing” the website, does it remind you of anything you do (or have done) in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

The exercises found in the website are akin to the drilling practices that were done by teachers back in primary and secondary school. Filling in the blanks, reading and understanding passages, it’s the staple food of English class exercises in Malaysia. At least it was back when I was in school…

5. What setting will the website best be used in: independent study lab with no teacher available, lab associated with a class, a teacher-led class with one or a few computers?

The website can be used in an independent study lab, but the dangers of having a computer access a website would be that students will more often than not be surfing rather than studying. A lab associated with a class can be done, as long as the teacher is vigilant and students are obedient. A teacher-led class could probably work, but with only one or a few computers, not much learning would take place, since these are the types of exercises that seem best done individually.

6. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

Drills, drills, more drills, and drills. Perhaps some scaffolding, if a teacher is around to facilitate the exercises which are being done.

7. How well are the Vygotsky’s constructivist theory of learning and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory applied to the chosen website?

Honestly, the website seems more catered towards individual usage, so Vygotsky’s constructivist theory may not have been what the author had in mind, however, it can definitely be used that way, assuming there is someone who is more proficient than the user who is willing to sit down and guide the user through the exercises. As for Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory, the website doesn’t seem to have any exercises based on anything outside of the Linguistic intelligence sphere.

8. In 1980’s and early 1990’s, there was a major debate on whether the computer was a master of or a slave to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation, is the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?

The website itself quotes this at the starting page : “Students having problems with any of the exercises are advised to consult their teacher for further help -
neither this nor any other program can provide a substitute for a real, live human teacher !”. I’m inclined to agree actually, as you can learn a lot from a computer program, or a website, but until we develop the technology for actual functional Artificial Intelligence, there’s only so many variables which can be programmed into a programs response algorithms, meaning a program will never be able to answer every single question that you can come up with satisfactorily. A computer is a wonderful tool which allows us to actually be able to experience things which we might not have access to in real life, however, at this point in time, that’s where the story ends. A very intelligent student may learn from a computer, but a computer is not able to teach a student. Yet.

9. Would you like to use the website yourself in your future work?

Assuming I work as a teacher, I would probably direct my students to try this website out at home, but I probably wouldn’t try to use it in class, unless I had direct control over every single terminal my students were accessing. It is a very good site for drilling exercises, but lacking something more interactive, students would become bored quickly and easily unless they wanted to access the website on their own steam.

10. Suggestions/Recommendations.

I have no real suggestions and recommendations for the website. It’s true, I have toted that the website is mainly about drills with a lack of interactivity however, websites like these are needed for those who want to learn the language without having to wait forever for an interactive flash to finish downloading so that a merry clown can sing ABC to you while you go off on your adventure through the wild with a talking tiger who lays down grammatical rules while hunting bad language. I may be exaggerating, but my point is, not everyone needs a website which is colorful and interactive in order to learn. Those who have taken practicum will know that if you enter every single class with a different game, in the end, the students will get bored of games and will not have learned much. This website is pretty good, since it gives you what you want, and that’s it.