Product name

  Tom Snyder Productions

Version/Date

  Triple Play Plus; 1994-1997

Platform / Operating system

  Win 3.x;  Win95;  Win98;  IBM 486DX66 compatible or higher microprocessor
  Also Needed:  8 MB RAM, SVGA card and monitor with 640x480 resolution or higher and 256 colors; 2x CD-ROM drive; 16-bit sound card; speakers/headphones; microphone

Type of Program:

  N/A Problem Solving   N/A Simulation  x Informational

 x Game x ESL-Specific  x Exploratory Activities

N/A Collaboration  N/A Non-ESL Specific

  N/A Testing      N/A Text Reconsruction

N/A Text Construction       xDrill and Practice 

 x Student Tool  N/A Teacher Tool

User friendliness:

  Excellent

English Language Areas Covered:

 x Reading     x Speaking   N/A Writing  xListening

  xCultural Competence   xComputer      xConversational 

xVocabulary      N/A Grammar (not directly)

What does the program try to accomplish?

Ø          Overall, the program focuses on the sounds, words,  and phrases of conversational English.  The goal of the program can change according to  the learner, who can choose a particular language skill from different activities.  There are two introductory levels, which focus on the user listening and reproducing sounds, letters, and words in English.

     The games and conversations are broken up into three levels.  Level one concentrates on vocabulary,  using word games (like Concentration and Word Bingo).  Level two focuses on phrases, while level three is centered around conversational practice. 

Ø          At each level, the learner has the opportunity to practice listening, reading, and/or speaking.

Pedagogical considerations--Program Operation:
How easy is the software to use?  

Ø          The user’s guide that comes with the program is, at first, very intimidating due to it’s thickness and complexity.  This is due to both the variety of  activities available and the 3 different language areas to be practiced at each level.  The beginning of the manual should be read first, for setting up purposes.  However, to learn how to navigate the program, one should open the desired acitivity and use the guidebook at the same time when first getting started.  The explanations are clear and navigation becomes very easy.

Ø         The icons used for listening(an ear) and speaking (a microphone) are appropriate and recycled often, so it is easy to catch on and choose which skill to practice with the click of a button. Listening is constantly being practiced, as a lot of the games, dialogues, and feedback automatically have a audio format for the student to hear.

Ø         The program is quick and easy to install.

Ø         There is no “flow” to the program, as there are no activities that build on previous ones.  This may or may not be appropriate, depending on the goals of the class or individual learner. 

Ø         There is a “save” feature for students to record their voice during an activity.  There is no save option for other kinds of work once a student is finished.

Ø         The Automatic Speech Recognition, the best feature of the program, is easy to use and has good recording quality. There is a tutorial for newcomer to the software. 

Pedagogical considerations:

Feedback

How does the software program evaluate the learner's response? 

Ø         The program gives the user automatic feedback, for both correct or incorrect answers.

Ø         If the learner gives an incorrect answer, they are given clues to figure out the right answer.  For instance, if the learner doesn’t know what a “hat” is, then the clue icon can be clicked on.  The learner is then given a choice of two-six different objects, some of which are hats and some which are not.  When the user clicks on a hat, “It is a hat” is heard.  If another object is chosen, then the learner hears, “It isn’t a hat”.  They then have to go back and try again.

Ø          For pronunciation, the user’s progress is monitored in several different ways.  In the “Sounds Start” option, the learner is shown a meter which lights up a little or a lot, depending on how close the user came to matching the program’s pronunciation.  During the games and dialogues, learners can record their own voice saying a word or line from the dialogue and play it back simultaneously with the programmed voice.

Ø          There is no feedback for listening comprehension, except during the games.  After choosing a word the user hears whether or not the correct answer was chosen.  There is no feedback for reading comprehension.  However, the user can slow down and/or separate words and dialogue to help follow along with a conversation, if necessary. 

Pedagogical Considerations:

Content

x  Well organized     N/A Well sequenced*     x Enjoyable

x Interesting      xFactually correct**    x Helps learning

x Provides effective practice   xIntroduces new

 language understandably        x Provides meaningful  

interaction between computer & learner 

 N/A Provides communicative interaction between students***  

 x  Creates challenge without anxiety

x Free of excessive violence        x Free of stereotypes

x Takes advantage of computer's unique capability

*  While there is no sequence per say, the levels are broken up appropriately and it is easy to choose an activity from the menu that matches the learner’s needs.

**  While there is no “factual information” other than vocabulary, the authenticity of the dialogues and cultural content, while not “facts”, are useful and life-like.  

*** There is no negotiation of meaning between students inherent in the program.  However, there are suggestions in the manual of how to incorporate student cooperation and collaboration for certain activities.

Pedagogical considerations:

Program Output
 

x     Attractive screens       xColor          N/A Video

x     Attractive Graphics         x Attractive Sounds

x     Personalization*        N/A Print option available

*There is no authoring option available for personalizing activities, but the ASP feature allows the student to tailor  the amount of practice and repetition desired. Also, both the speed of the dialogues and separation of words are controllable and add another personalization factor.