ADVENTURES in Foreign Language
The Newsletter of OWL Testing Software •
Volume 4, Issue 2
Photo: http://photoeverywhere.co.uk
One tool,
so many solutions!
Also In
This Issue:
Perspective
on Products:
PALS Competition
By T. Christopher Dalessandri, President, OWL Testing Software
page 2
Spotlight
on Relationships:
ICTC Selects OWL
page 3
Focus
on Features:
OWL’s New Release
page 4
We are pleased to welcome our newest
customers:
Cleveland State University
Information and Communications
Technology Council
Contact us for more information about
what OWL can do for you.
OWL Testing Software
1484 Washington Road
Pittsburgh PA 15228
877-OWL-3395
www.owlts.com
Time and time again our customers tell us what they like most about OWL Testing
Software is it flexibility. Unlike most pre-packaged language learning systems, OWL
can be applied to a multitude of language learning scenarios across a variety of
organizations. And OWL’s development team is constantly working, in
collaboration with our customers and partners, to find even more ways to increase
language learning around the world. Here are some of the interesting ways our
customers have used OWL’s flexible platform.
Getting a Jump Start with OWL’s Content Library
A mid-western university used existing content from OWL's library of shared tests
and added their own target language prompts. They used OWL for SOPI-like
midterms and finals in a variety less commonly taught languages including; Polish,
Arabic and Russian.
American Sign Language
In addition to traditional foreign language tests, one of OWL's newest university
customers is using the video capabilities of OWL to create tests to assess student's
understanding of American Sign Language.
Interpreter Certification
A national certification board is using OWL to deliver their validated interpretation
exam in several languages. The exam consists of both sight translation and role play.
The role play component simulates a situation where the candidate would have to
rapidly switch between the target language and English.
High Stakes, SOPI-like Testing
Perhaps the most popular use any on-line testing application, many of our customers
use OWL to create, deliver, assess and report on "high stakes" SOPI-like testing.
(continued inside)
Perspective:
Practice Activities for
Language Students (PALS)
1392 language students
18 different schools
47,806 practice activities
2 short weeks
It may sound like an impossible
combination, but that is just what the
Pittsburgh Public Schools did by taking
advantage of OWL’s state-of-the-art
language practice technology. In a
recent article released by the
Pennsylvania State Modern Language
Association (PSMLA), Dr. Thekla Fall
describes how Pittsburgh Public Schools
(PPS) used OWL’s Practice Activities for
Language Students (PALS) module to
create a district-wide language
competition.
Background:
Over the last 10 years, the district
administered annual, online, speaking
proficiency tests using OWL Testing
Software. Using OWL’s reporting
features to collect and analyze the
results, they had determined that one of
the main reasons students have
difficulty in moving up the Novice
Levels of the ACTFL Scale is their
limited command of vocabulary. It was
decided, therefore, to purchase an
online Practice Activities for Language
Students (PALS) Program -- a
supplementary component of the OWL
Testing Software.
The Competition:
In December, PPS instituted the first,
district-wide, PALS Competition. The
competition offered something for all
levels of language students from K-12.
As one might expect, the students were
highly motivated by the chance to win a
pizza party. Some third grade students
even volunteered to come in early to
school, stay and work through lunch,
and work during bus room after school.
Students played some of the activities
over 50 times. Perhaps most
importantly, their teacher has observed
the students using the vocabulary from
the practice activities in their daily
exchanges.
What Teachers are Saying
Dr. Isabel Espino de Valdivia’s Japanese
2 class was the winning high school
class. According to Dr. Valdivia, “The
High School Japanese classes found the
PALS activities especially valuable
because they include a reading
component. Students in level 1 and 2
learn Hiragana and Katakana, each of
which has 46 symbols plus combinations.
The reading in PALS is presented in a
theme context with visuals and this helps
students to make connections integrating
the symbols at a new level in the brain.
They are not just reading symbols in
isolation but they are making meaning
out of them, connecting them to the
theme and visuals. This is especially
critical for American students who only
use the alphabet system.” A sample
Japanese PALS activity is shown below.
The Role of the OWL PALS program:
OWL’s PALS Program carried the brunt
of the organizational effort for the
competition: asking questions, scoring,
collecting, and tallying the needed
student data. The district was able to
execute this monumental competition
with relatively little fuss or bother! No
busses were needed. Students competed
from their home schools throughout the
two weeks.
OWL Testing Software offers many
features that helped to make this
expansive competition possible:
Curriculum Connection –
activities were created by teachers
ensuring a direct curriculum tie-in
Daily Feedback - students were
provided daily postings of their
progress relative to the other classes
across multiple grades and schools
Multiple Languages - the
competition crossed all seven of the
district’s available languages.
Ready Access - because the PALS
program runs on OWL’s web-based
platform, students can have access
anywhere and anytime
Familiar Context – the contexts
Unlike many contests that are one-shot,
right or wrong efforts, the PALS
program allows students infinite
opportunity to not just show what they
know—but also to learn as they go. The
activity items are limited in number (8)
to encourage rapid learning. Students
receive immediate feedback. To increase
their likelihood of success, they are
encouraged to move through the
activities from the easier receptive skills
to the more difficult productive skills.
are similar to SOPI-type oral
proficiency tests
Four Practice Modes – PALS
activities include listening
comprehension, reading, speaking,
and writing skills
For more information on the
Pennsylvania State Modern
Language Association, visit
www.psmla.org or e-mail Dr. Thekla
Fall at thekla.fall@gmail.com.
Fall, Thekla. (2010, Spring). PPS
Launches District-Wide Foreign
Language Competition.
Pennsylvania Language Forum, 80
(1), 80-81.
PALS screen capture copyright of
OWL Testing Software.
One tool,
so many solutions!
Spotlight:
(continued from page one)
One of large public school district uses
this application at 2-3 year intervals.
These tests begin in 5th or 8th grade and
are often given a second time in 11th or
12th grade. These tests are given in more
than eight languages to thousands
students each year. This district has done
several validation studies over several
years correlating these tests with OPI's
given by certified OPI raters including
the current president of ACTFL.
English Speaking Assessment
One university is using OWL to
administer speaking proficiency
assessments to their graduate students
seeking to become teaching assistants.
They are assessing the English
capabilities of those for whom English is
a second language. Each department
adds their prospective teaching
assistants to OWL and views a report of
how each student in their department
tested. The test is rated using multiple
blind ratings by trained raters. These
multiple ratings, from 2-5 for each
candidate, are then averaged and
rounded to generate a score that matches
the 5 point intervals used for the English
speaking proficiency assessment.
Pre- and Post-Achievement Tests
These tests are primarily multiple choice
and are given in several grades to
demonstrate student progression from
the beginning of the year to the end.
They are given in 7 languages to an
average of 3,000 students each year.
OWL has a built-in reporting feature
which allows these pre and post tests to
be easily compared within and across
languages.
“Prochievement” Exams
One western school district uses OWL to
deliver large "high stakes" yearly final
exams. Their "prochievement" exams are
a combination of proficiency and
achievement tests. The tests consist of
two parts; the first part is a standard
multiple choice section and the second is
a SOPI-like test.
Teacher Screening
One school is adding another type of test
to OWL; but, this test is not for students.
They are now using OWL to deliver
teacher candidate tests. These tests are
used to demonstrate teacher candidate
ICTC Selects
OWL Testing
Software
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proficiency as part of a pre-interview
screening process. The teacher candidate
tests have a primary section which is a
SOPI-like test. The second and third
sections consist of speaking and writing
questions about general knowledge of
the language and culture.
Study Abroad
One western university used OWL to
conduct a study which to quantify the
proficiency gains of second language
learners before, during and after a study
abroad experience. OWL's web-based
platform was used to deliver tests on
campus in the United Sates, and while
studying abroad in locations such as
Chile, Spain, Italy, China and Egypt.
These tests were then assessed by raters
on campus here in the United States.
English as a Second Language
A partner of OWL uses OWL Testing
Software to create and deliver ESL tests
which are specifically designed for a
given workplace setting. These tests an
American English test are based on the
Cambridge ARELS test.
“Low Stakes" Testing
Many schools also use OWL for a
number of teacher created "low stakes"
tests. These include in-class quizzes and
regular in-class, achievement and
proficiency testing. These in-class tests
are given in 7 languages to almost all
language students (approx. 12,000 in one
district). Teachers are able to use OWL
to view a "gradebook" report of these inclass tests and quizzes.
Practice Activities for Language Students
Finally, OWL can be used to create,
deliver and report on Practice Activities
for Language Students (PALS). The
Perspective feature on the facing page
details how OWL’s PALS program can
help students build vocabulary in a
challenging and fun way.
Canada’s Information and
Communications Technology
Council (ICTC) of Ontario has
selected OWL Testing Software for
their Workshops Online, an
online, e-learning tool for new
comers to Canada and their
stakeholders.
The ICTC is a not-for-profit
council whose purpose is to attract
Internationally Educated
Professionals (IEPs) to Canada’s
Information and Communication
Technology sector. Workshops
Online is part of the Council’s
online learning initiative to help
professionals prepare to
immigrate to Canada. These
online workshops include a
module that assists internationally
educated professionals
immigrating to Canada improve
their French and/or English
speaking skills.
ICTC and OWL have signed an
agreement to install OWL at the
Council’s data center. The two
organizations are currently
collaborating to integrate OWL
with ICTC’s Workshops Online.
“Our collaboration with the
Information and Communication
Technology Council is an ideal fit for
OWL Testing Software,” says Chris
Dalessandri, president and CEO of
OWL. “Improving communication
skills in the workplace is a key
component of OWL’s mission to
improve the language learning process
to ultimately advance cross-language
communication and cultural
awareness in the age of a global
economy.” Mr. Dalessandri
continues, “I think what ICTC found
so appealing about OWL was that it
was the most comprehensive solution
to help immigrating professionals
improve their language skills.”
For more information on the Information and
Communication Technology Council visit
www.ictc-ctic.ca.
OWL Testing Software
1484 Washington Road
Pittsburgh PA 15228
877-OWL-3395
www.owlts.com
Focus:
OWL’s new release
gives users even more flexibility and control.
Improved
Response
Reliability
Add direction items anywhere throughout your test.new
Allow test takers to practice a question type without affecting scoring, rating
or reporting.improved
Provide test takers constant feedback with OWL's amplified user interface.improved
Improved
Rater
Efficacy
Improved
Assignment
Administration
Allow raters to rate assignments faster and more accurately with OWL's enhanced rater
interface.improved
Compare your raters to the average of their peers with OWL's Rater Reliability
Report.new
Gain more control to correct inconsistencies in the rating process with OWL's
enhanced assessment functions.improved
OWL's streamlined test interface allows you to deliver even more media rich tests.improved
Give more test takers simultaneous access with OWL's even more efficient
test interface.improved
Improved
Test Authoring
and Editing
Add Customizable "End of Test" text.new
Create tests easier and faster with OWL's enhanced test authoring interface.improved
Leverage existing content easily with OWL's improved copy features.improved
Review all of your test elements at-a-glance with OWL's new quick review page.new
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