MERLOT International Conference 2006
Facilitating Japanese
language learning through
innovative online activities
developed collaboratively
Kazue Masuyama & Andrea Shea
California State University at Sacramento
Presentation Agenda
1.To describe the collaborative development
and implementation of technologies into
Japanese language classes
2.To showcase interactive online activities
3.To show students’ responses
4.To share what we learned working
together
My journey of learning and
using technology….
Summer 2002
I need help!
Sure, how can I
help you?
Summer 2002
We came up with an idea.
WebCT as a Teaching & Learning Hub!
Foreign Language Lab
Usagi-Chan’s Genki Resource Web Page
www.csus.edu/indiv/s/sheaa/projects/genki
WebCT Home Page
Handouts
Course Syllabus
Schedules
Streaming
Audio
Important
Announcements
WebCT
Discussion
Board
Quizzes,
Exercises,
Surveys
Grade Postings
E-mail
Learning
Games
PowerPoint
Presentations
(1) Interactive online
daily schedule
Click here!
WebCT Japanese 1 Homepage
Content Module
Table of Contents
Interactive Online Syllabus
(2) Posting PowerPoint
presentation, notes,
and handouts
PowerPoint Slides
PDF Print Version of PowerPoint Slides
(3) Online audio files using
voices of native speakers
of Japanese
(4) Online quizzes &
exercises
Example: Online Quizzes & Exercises

How did we collaborate for quizzes?



Faculty needed to have an easy way to create
WebCT quiz and exercise questions
Online specialist created a PHP program that
used a MySQL database to create questions
This allows faculty to create interactive online
quizzes and exercises easily
Questions generated by
PHP program
Type
Kanji
# Questions
300
Vocabulary
1000
Verbs
3600
Total
4900
(5) Student Homepages
in Japanese
Student Homepage (First year)



Showcasing their own work in
Japanese
Reading other students’ homepages
as a part of classroom activities
Developing their webpage over the
course in Japanese
Student Homepages
(6) Online research &
discussion on
Japanese culture
Discussion Board


A place to share the information
on Japan-related events
Cultural Learning Site





Pop-culture & entertainment
Festivals & Food
Customs & manners
Geography
Folklore & mythology
Doing online research on
Japanese culture

Students’ Task





Search Word(s)
Web page address
Information
Importance and relevancy to their lives
A question for an exam in a multiple-choice or
true-false format, with the correct answer
indicated
Online
culture
quiz
Actual student posting
(7) Web-based
exercises for newly
introduced vocabulary
& verb conjugation
Vocabulary Flashcards
Vocabulary Flashcards
(8) Lesson-by-lesson
kanji sheet with strokeorder movies & PDF
worksheets and
flashcards
Kanji (Writing) Online Exercise
QuickTime
Movie
Kanji Exercises - cont.
PDF Kanji Flashcards
PDF Kanji Worksheet
Detailed examples of
collaboration


Drag-n-drop game
e-portfolio
A detailed example of
collaboration

Hiragana & Katakana (Japanese
characters) drag-n-drop games
Note: These games are available through
the MERLOT resource page
Hiragana
Japanese writing system


Hiragana: 46 Japanese syllables (characters)
Students must recognize these characters in the
first 2 weeks
A typical approach to teach hiragana
in classroom using flash cards
Pros
•
•
•
•
Hands-on
Fun
Ice-breaker
Students’
full attention
Cons
• Preparation
• Time
consuming
activity
• Individual
differences
Designing a new approach

Online specialist


saw potential for an equivalent online activity
designed the game based on a simple French
drag-n-drop exercise
Game evolution
Simple French Drag-n-Drop
Version 1



Drag-n-drop
characters
Timer keeps
track of
current game
We didn’t
know if
anyone was
playing the
game
Version 2



Scores are logged to a
database
Students are not typing in
their real names, difficult for
instructor to monitor
Multiple names of the same
students. Discouraging for
others.
Latest Version



Student enters
student ID
Welcomed by first
name
Shows best time
so far
Latest version
Click here!
Hiragana Challenge
Click here!
Hiragana Challenge
Enter student ID
Timer
Time to Beat
Another example of
collaboration

e-portfolio



WebCT 6 - Student homepages no longer
available
Masters’ project
Third year Japanese class
Name, major,
email, resume,
etc.
Self-introduction
in Japanese
Philosophy:
“Everybody is unique”
Future goal
“I want to live in Korea” &
“I want to study in Japan”
Enter student
Username and
Password
Steps to create e-portfolio
Click here
to edit the caption
of the picture
Enter caption text in box
e-Portfolio: pros and cons
Pros
•
•
•
•
Easy to use
Accessible by
others
Multilingual
Free
Cons
• Limited
capability
• Limited
improvement
What did students think about use
of technology in their learning?
Participants

185 college students who enrolled in the
first year Japanese language course from
Fall 2002 to Spring 2005
Data collection



Anonymous online survey
In-class non-anonymous survey
Interviews
Research questions

Did students perceive a technologyenhanced class as useful?

What activities do they perceive to be the
most and least beneficial to their learning?
2002-2005 Survey results
Strongly
Disagree/strongly No basis of
agree/ agree disagree (%)
Judgment
(%)
1. Online quizzes and exercises
91.9
5.4
2.7
2. Online handouts
89.7
2.2
8.1
3. Online syllabus
88.6
3.8
7.6
4. Learning game
87.4
3.8
8.8
5. Mail
87
3.8
9.2
6. Streaming audio files
83.2
7.0
9.7
7. Discussion B oard
82.2
8.6
9.2
8. Diva©e program
80.5
3.2
16.2
9. Online grade book
78.4
9.7
11.9
N=185
Let’s listen to what the students
have to say about class activities?
What did we learn by working
collaboratively?
Design/developing product
Piloting
Instructor
Consultant
Assessing
Collaboration
Student
Improving/implementing
Andrea’s amount
of help
Kazue’s level of
skills and knowledge
using technology
2002
2003
2004
2005
Future?


Increase in faculty’s technology skills
allows online specialist to work on more
advanced tasks
Increase in online specialist’s knowledge
of content allows faculty to work on more
advanced projects collaboratively
Example: Kanji website for
Advanced Placement Japanese
program: current project
Kazue Masuyama: kmasuyama@csus.edu
Andrea Shea: ashea@csus.edu