Not Yet Ready for Everyone: PLE for language learning

Not Yet Ready for Everyone: an Experience Report about a

Personal Learning Environment for Language Learning

Carsten Ullrich, Ruimin Shen, and Denis Gillet

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Personal Learning Environment

All kinds of things can serve as a PLE

Here: mash-up environment

Assembled according to suggestions by French teacher

Responsive OpenLearning Environments

www.role-project.eu

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Motivation

Understand better the way how PLEs can be integrated in classroom

Do students interact with a PLE?

How do students interact with a PLE?

How do our students interact with a PLE?

What kind of interactions are suited?

Limitations, improvements

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

PLE’s and Evaluations

Significant amount of literature on benefits, potential

But difficult to find evaluations (what did I miss?)• Blees, I., Rittberger, M.: Web 2.0 learning environment: Concept,

implementation, evaluation. eLearning Papers 15 (2009):  13 participants familiar with Web 2.0 technology

• Minocha, S.: A study on the effective use of social software by further and higher education in the UK to support student learning and engagement. Tech.rep., JISC, Bristol (2009):  26 case studies where students worked with a singe Web 2.0 service embedded in a PLE

• Gillet, D., Law, E.L.C., Chatterjee, A.: Personal learning environments in a global higher engineering education web 2.0 realm. In: 1st IEEE Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). Madrid, Spain (2010): Higher engineering education, self-directed aggregation of peers, teaching assistants and resources

Small numbers, higher education, digitally literate users

But what about “typical” learners?

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Online SJTU

Shanghai Jiao Tong University College of Continuing Education

35.000 students

Blended learning

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Challenges

Students have only limited time available for study

• adult learners with full time job & family

“Typical” learners: limited digital literacy

Exam-oriented

Varying degree of interest in learning in general and in topic

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Recording tool Conversation toolOnline translation

Spell CheckText2Speech

Business DictionaryConjugaisonQTI Engine

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Why?

Tools can• facilitate communication

• empower students

Goals:• Facilitate access to tools, train tool usage skills

• Provide training opportunities

• Reuse: access to tools we never would be able to build on our own

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Setting

French I and French II over 3 semesters • Spring 09 (S1, June 2009–August 2009),

• Summer 09 (S2, September–November 2009)

• Spring 10 (S3, starting March–June 2010)

Numbers:• S1: 128 students (French I),

• S2: 474 students (347 French I, 130 French II)

• S3: 369 students (178 French I, 191 French II)

• Students progress from French I to French II:S2 French II students = S1 French I students

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Data on Participation

In classroom: • French I: 20–30 students• French II: 10–15 students

Final exams: • 33 for S1 (French I)• 106 (French I: 72, French II: 34) for S2• 95 (French I: 37, French II: 56) for S3

About 23%, typical for second language

Lecturer popular among students, received good grades in student evaluations

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Evaluation Methods and Instruments

Observation of teacher-student interactions

Teacher interview

Questionnaires and video-taped Q&A session to collect student feedback students

Log-file analysis: usage of the PLE (comparable to homework)

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Results

Students like the idea of having tools and exercises in one system

But: several technical and pedagogical issues

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Connection

Mash-ups require fast connection

Access to services not always given

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

User Interface/Usability

Drawback of widgets: screen space allocated to widget significantly smaller than of a standard Web site

Scrolling within a page

Repeated log-ins

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Data Collection

How to get data from embedded widgets?

OpenApp/CAM

But: how to access third-party widgets?• Javascript security

• Browser plug-ins not practically applicable

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Restricted Functionality

Not all Web sites/services support widgets

A lot of existing sites/services offer access to their functionality only via Website

Widgets offer only limited access to main functionality

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Pedagogical Issues

Initial approach of PLE usage: • introducing PLE during class via example usage• students received a homework that required them to

use the PLE as demonstrated

For instance, teacher showed how to record a video using a Web 2.0 service, and students’ homework consisted of recording a video, too, or to respond to the teacher’s video

No specific topic (increases motivation)?

Initial approach failed. No student did this or any other similar open homework

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Reasons: Overtaxed

Students quickly become overtaxed

Concept of a PLE is unfamiliar

Embedded services are new

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Value?

Students do not see the value in learning how to use tools

• it distracts from learning grammar and vocabulary

• does not prepare for the exam

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Web 2.0 No Fun

Often, students (and teachers) not intrinsically motivated to use Web services

Technically inclined users might find playing around and experimenting with Web tool interesting in itself

But majority of students feel that time could be spent more effectively

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Lessons Learned

Make sure students clearly perceive value

Not sufficient to present single example of how to use the PLE in class

Each PLE usage needs to be broken down into individual steps

Embed PLE usage in meaningful tasks

Open tasks can be too open:• “write a text in French and record yourself reading it” • “write and speak a self-introduction you will use for introducing

yourself to a French colleague”

Create class accounts in third-party services to avoid repeated account creation/login

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Recent Results

This semester: PLE usage with specific, relevant tasks

Data still under analysis

Higher participation, good quality of student contributions

Encouraging feedback, students want to use PLE after class ends

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Summary

Anderson, T.: PLEs versus LMS: Are PLEs ready for Prime time? (2006):

• “we are some distance from being able to operationalize” the vision of a PLE”

Today, PLE usage still only for teachers / students who feel comfortable with and are proficient in technology

PLE not motivating by itself

When used properly: encouraging feedback

PLE for Language Learning - Carsten Ullrich

Thank You

Questions?

Contact: • [email protected]

• http://www.carstenullrich.net

• http://twitter.com/ullrich