Online Community for the Service of Language Learning
Master Project Designed By
Wuping Lu
Learning, Design, and Technology
Stanford University School of Education
07/28/06
Agenda
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Learning Problem
Learning Theory
Design Process
Solution and Prototype
Assessment/Evaluation
Summary
Learning Problem
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The students of the Beginning Conversational
Chinese classes at Stanford lack opportunities
to develop communicative competence,
especially with native speakers, in a real
social context in which the language is really
used.
The English learners in China are
experiencing the same learning problem.
Learning Theory
Language Learning
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Communicative
Language
Teaching/Learning
Intercultural
Competence
How People Learn
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Learner centered
Knowledge centered
Assessment centered
Community centered
Learning Theory - Communicative Language Teaching
Key Points
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Emphasizes real-life
situations and
communication in context.
Makes use of communication
to teach languages
Implications to Design
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The Audio-Lingual Method
(grammar, drills, repetition)
should not be
overemphasized, which is
the case in current in-class
learning
CLT can balance ALM
Learning activities should at
least mirror real life
Learning Theory –
Intercultural Competence
Key Points
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Refers as the capacity
to mediate multiple
cultural identities and
situations.
Focuses on interactions
among people from
different cultures
Implications to Design
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Encourage dialogue and
communication among
differing languacultures
Emphasize cultural
issues in language
learning.
Learning Theory –
How People Learn
Learner Centered
Key Points
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Pay careful attention to
the knowledge, skills,
attitudes, and beliefs
that learners bring to
the educational setting.
Help students make
connections between
their previous
knowledge and their
current academic tasks
Implications to Design
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Learners decide what,
how, and when to learn
based on their level,
background, and prior
knowledge with
guidelines and
suggestions from
experts.
Learning Theory –
How People Learn
Knowledge Centered
Key Points
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Help students become
knowledgeable by
learning in ways that lead
to understanding and
subsequent transfer.
help students develop an
integrated understanding
of disciplines - an overall
picture rather than
isolated parts.
Implications to Design
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Skit writing, which mirrors
real life situations, and
conversation with native
speakers can help
students become
knowledgeable by
learning in ways that lead
to integrated
understanding and
transfer
Learning Theory –
How People Learn
Assessment Centered
Key Points
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Provide ongoing
opportunities for feedback
and revision
what is assessed must be
congruent with one's
learning goals.
Implications to Design
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Encourage self-assessment
and peer assessment
Emphasize the alignment
between the assessment and
the learning goals
Formative assessment as
sources of on-going
feedback to improve
teaching and learning
Summative assessment to
measure what students have
learned at the end of some
set of learning activities.
Learning Theory –
How People Learn
Community Centered
Key Points
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Especially important are
community norms for people
learning from one another
and continually attempting
to improve
Connections to experts
outside of school can have a
positive influence on inschool learning.
Implications to Design
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Build a community to
connect learners who are
experts of their own native
language
Encourage learners to
develop community rules
and norms which foster
learning
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opportunities to interact
receive feedback
freedom to make mistakes
in order to learn.
Design Process
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The idea of this design originated the curriculum
designed by Angel and I for Beginning Conversational
Chinese at Stanford: identified the learning
problem in the winter quarter.
Further developed in Cliffod Nass' Computer and
Interfaces class in winter quarter
Inspired by Roy Pea's The Online Community for the
Service of Learning in the spring quarter.
Formed the initial design at the end of the spring
quarter with extensive literature review and feedback
from Deedee, Shelley, Susie, and LDT peers
Prototyped at the beginning of the summer.
Refined iteratively with the feedback from Deedee,
Decker, Kihyun, and LDT peers and the data from
ongoing user studies.
The Solution
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An online community to connect
distributed learners and develop their
communicative competence in one
another’s expert language, which is
enabled by various Internet and web
2.0 technologies.
The Solution - Illustration
Alignment among Learning Activities, Theories, and Problems
Services
Skit Center
TLLT
E-Portfolio
Features/Activities
Connect learners
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Write skit mirroring real life
Negotiate the meanings, grammar rules,
expressions, and cultural issues
Communicate with people from different
culture
Learning Theories
Learning Problem
Community centered
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Skit Center
TLLT
Communicate with people from different
culture, it is real life.
Serve as a model
Help to understand
Help to express
Give info about culture and life
Skit Center
TLLT
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Skit Center
Learner decide what to learn
Revise others' writing and be revised
Compare with others' writing
Learner centered
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TLLT
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E-Portfolio
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Support
Tools
Knowledge centered
Communicative
competence
Intercultural
competence
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Correcting
Feedback
How to Use
Audio Dictionary
Learning/Teacher Tips
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Assessment centered
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Provide learners
opportunities to develop
communicative
competence, especially
with native speakers, in
a real social context in
which the language is
really used.
Prototype
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Wiki site for Skit Center (online, platform provided by JotSpot, I
developed the user interface)
“Talk to Learn and Learn to Talk” and Recording Tool: Skype
with PowerGramo (free download from the Internet, installed on
learners’ computer)
Blogs for E-Portfolio to hold learners’ work and feedback (online,
users decide which blog to use)
Supporting Tools
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Audio Dictionary (free download from the Internet, installed on
learners’ computer)
User website (online on LDT server, I developed)
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Suggested How to Use
Learning tips
Teacher tips
Quick User Guide
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Go to the User Website (http://ldt.stanford.edu/~luwuping/tllt/) and read the
user guide.
Download and install Skype (voice messaing), PowerGramo (recording tool),
Kingsoft’s Powerword 2006 (audio dictionary) on your computer
Open an account at http://www.blogger.com/start/ to have your blog
Register at http://chinaus.jot.com/ and post the contact info on the member
page
Collaboratively contribute to the bilingual skits at http://chinaus.jot.com/
Meanwhile, contact the other learners on the member page to find your
language learning partner
After having found your learning partner, negotiate what, when, and how to
learn with your partner
Talk to learn and learn to talk one another’s language via Skype. If needed, use
the bilingual skits and audio dictionary to scaffold and support your learning.
Record the conversation by using PowerGramo and post it on your blog for
feedback
Also give your feedback to your partner on his or her blog.
Enter
Learner Assessment
Services
Activities
Revising others'
writing
Being revised
Comparing with
others' writing
Type of Assessment
Assess What
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Skit Center
TLLT
Correcting
Being corrected
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Formative assessment
(occur continuously)
Self/Peer assessment
Improve teaching and
learning
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Summative assessment
(occur at a key time)
Peer/Teacher Assessment
Measure what learners
have learned at the end of
some set of learning
activities
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TLLT
E-Portfolio
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TEST
Use the language
correctly and
appropriately in a way
which is culturally
sound
Effectiveness Study
Study
Methods
Research Questions
Purpose
Is the user guide clear?
Do they use the tool as
expected?
Is it easy to use?
Any feature particularly
conducive to their learning?
Are they engaged in the
learning activities?
Any difficulty?
Any suggestion?
To improve the
design
iteratively
Do the group using the tool
achieve higher performance
gain than the group not
using the tool.
Is the tool group subjects'
participation positively
correlated with their
performance gain.
To evaluate the
effectiveness of
the product
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User
Study
Qualitative:
Observations
Interviews
Questionnaire
Program
Evaluation
Experiment:
Experiment & Control group
Pre-test at the beginning of the
quarter
Post-test at the end of the quarter
Independent variables: participation
(amount of entries and conversation
time) and intervention.
Dependent variables: performance
gain (post-test minus pre-test)
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Summary
Strength
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The strength of this design is
not attributable to the
technology itself, but how to
use the technology for the
service of second language
learning – integrating
appropriate pedagogical
approaches into the learning
activities by wisely
harnessing the affordance of
the technology.
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Theory-based design iteratively
informed by learner feedback
Harness collective intelligence
Alignment among what to learn,
how to learn, and how to assess
All technologies are free and
easy use
learner-generated content to
meet the learner’s needs and
release the burden imposed on
teachers/developers
Spread by words of mouth
Thanks
Comments?