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Feedback Report |
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Phase I: Creating a Template A multiple choice, a cloze, a crossword puzzle, a short answer quiz, and a matching exercise were created using Hot Potatoes software. This initial set of activities allowed me to get accustomed to the format and quirks of the software before a full set had been completed. I tested the activities on my roommate, an international student from Turkey, and his girlfriend, a Mexican-American undergraduate student at Georgia State University. As they worked on the activities, I observed their reactions and jotted down any comments that they had on the activities. There were some problems with clarity in the directions and transition between activities. In addition, some sound files and pictures were not uploaded correctly. The pictures and sound files that did work took a long time to download from Geocities and eventually caused the participants to be booted off the site! These problems were noted and taken into account while adapting the initial set and designing subsequent activities. |
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Phase II: Adaptations and Resolutions Due to the limit on data transfer and data size that Geocities places on their free web sites, I decided to upgrade my site. This upgrade allowed me to upload and download larger sound files (created using Real One's Helix Producer program), resolved the problem of being kicked off my site for hours at a time, and made adding new files and pictures much simpler. With this new found freedom, I was able to create seventeen activities with mini-lectures and exercises based on stress in the English language. The activities were linked since they built upon information gleaned in previous activities. I tested the complete set out on a class that I am currently instructing, twenty low-intermediate Oral Communication international students enrolled in the Intensive English Program(IEP) at Georgia State University(GSU). I set aside one class period to go to the Language Arts Resource Center (LARC) to do the activities after the students had expressed interest in becoming more familiar with LARC and obtaining more practice with stress. I made an appointment with the LARC director to familiarize myself with the equipment and make sure that any necessary equipment was available. Once my students had arrived and were logged into their computers, I directed them to my activity page. Many students were curious about the whole site, so I had to monitor them closely to make sure that they stayed on task (or on the right page). Everything went well until we reached the second activity that involved a sound file. As each student clicked on the link for the file, the sound would not play! I asked the director for assistance and discovered that the media player at LARC was not compatible with ram files created with Helix Producer. Even though the media player at LARC was designed to play any ram or wave file, it could not. I was annoyed, to say the least, since I had been previously assured that Real One Player, the software needed to play my files, was installed on each computer. I decided to make the best of the situation by giving the mini-lectures impromptu. I used a headset that allowed my voice to be heard by all the students on their headsets while they did the activities. However, being on the teacher's computer at the head of the room did not allow me to observe my students' reactions as they did the activities. Furthermore, as I had not anticipated having to give my lectures on the spot, I did not have my lecture notes with me and could not go through several of the activities which required exact wording and examples. The class only made it through about half of the activities in this fifty minute setting. I was able to note, however, which activity links and pictures were not loaded properly. In addition, my students reacted favorably to the colors and pictures in the activities, the material covered, and sequence of the activities. The problems with the media player in LARC has yet to be resolved. |
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Phase III: Colleague Testing & Technical Difficulties Although I had planned to have my fellow IEP instructors test my materials during Phase II, I had not anticipated the need to have more students test the materials as well. Due to the LARC fiasco, however, I was forced to ask my students to do and provide feedback on the last half of the activities outside of class. Most of the students used the computer lab at school to do the activities, while a few of them did them at home. Unfortunately, in order to listen to the activities at school the students needed to have headphones which are not provided at most computer labs. The students who did the activities at home reported excessive delays with downloading the sound files and some problems downloading Real One Player. The instructors who tested the activities in their offices on campus reported greater success with Real One, which is already loaded on their computers. While observing these teachers, I discovered that a warning about the version of the browsers that they used appeared. This warning stated that the activities required version 6+ of Netscape or Explorer and that their browsers were not equipped to handle the activities. However, if the warning is ignored by closing the pop up window, the activities may still be completed. The instructors enjoyed the activities and found that the sequence as well as the links between activities were quite helpful. They enjoyed the mini-lectures as well as the general appearance of the activities. While observing the teachers, I realized that there was no transition between the activities on music and the culmination activity. I decided to create another activity that would center the attention on reductions and stress. Activity 17 (the transition) involved matching song titles containing reduced forms to the appropriate long form and definition of each form's meaning/use. I felt that this exercise provided a clearer more coherent link to the activity set. I also discovered that observations help the material designer look more objectively at their own work. Throughout the feedback process from both colleagues and students, the most challenging aspects were technology related. What was most frustrating was when the problems were due to things outside of my control, like the LARC incident and the Real One Player quirks. In the future, I would like to use a sound program that is compatible with any media player and the most common versions of Netscape and Explorer. I would also like to have a web host that was a little more user friendly and did not require such lengthy downloads. |
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Further Comments?? I would love to hear from those of you who have tried out the activities. Any comments or suggestions for the activities or the site in general would be greatly appreciated! Please click on the Badtz Maru icon below to e-mail your feedback.
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