My media
evaluation covers a website called Duolingo. Duolingo is a website that
teaches foreign languages. Languages taught on Duolingo include; Spanish,
Danish, Irish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Dutch (Netherlands).
Duolingo at first glance looks to be well designed. The site is not just an
English based site. It is setup with a drop down menu to choose the language of
the site itself then there are a menu of options for languages you want to
learn accompanied at the bottom of the homepage with the flag of that nation.
This site has a gaming aspect to it. The site claims that 34 hours of learning on this site
is the equivalent of a semester off a foreign language on the college level. This site goes from very
basic to full Immersion in the chosen foreign language. Duolingo teaches the learner to read, write, and speak a chosen foreign language. I like that the site
goes from the most basic to advanced. Best of all it is free and accessible.
Duolingo is also an app available in the Google play store for android and
ITunes for Apple products. I think Duolingo is good for learners of all ages. I
see it more as an outside of the classroom tool; however it could be utilized
in a classroom setting.
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What to Evaluate
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High
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Med
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Low
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Score
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||||
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Instructional Aspects:
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||||||||
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Objectives clearly stated
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
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Objectives appropriately sequenced
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
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Instructional strategies appropriate for the
objectives
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
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Instructional activities/process clearly
described
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
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Tasks adequate/significant for achieving
objectives
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Resources adequate/significant for achieving
objectives
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Learning achievement adequately evaluated
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Evaluation criteria clearly expressed
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Motivational Aspects:
|
||||||||
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Gaining and maintaining learners’ attention
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Relating to learners’ interest and goals
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Building on learners’ prior knowledge &
foreshadowing what the lesson is about.
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Providing positive feedback and feeling of
accomplishment
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Motivational strategies serve for objectives
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Web Design Aspects:
|
||||||||
|
Navigation is clear and easy to access
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Authorship and date is clearly stated
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
||
|
Text follows the rules of grammar, spelling
and literary composition
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Use of multimedia (Text, graphic, audio,
video, animation, etc.) is visually appeal
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Mechanical aspects (No broken links,
misplaced or missing images, etc.)
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Web design appropriate for objectives
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
|
Web design appropriate for learner
characteristics
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
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TOTAL
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94
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|||||||
Reflection:
In
evaluating Duolingo I rated it high because it is very well thought out. The
lessons are accessible and easy to follow and understand. The gaming aspect of
it does well at keeping the learners attention.
The main reason for any points being taken off in my evaluation was for
the aesthetic portion of the site. It can be used for any learner and the
content is suitable all audiences, however I felt the design was more playful
and geared toward an elementary aged learner around 3rd
to 5th grade,
yet it claims that 34 hours study with Duolingo is equivalent to 1 semester or
11 weeks of Spanish at a higher learning institution.
Impressive, liked the option of pretest or basic skills. The playful nature does gear the site to younger students, but this is definitely a viable option for learning a second language.
ReplyDeleteThanks Diane, I thought it to be a viable tool as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great resource. I liked the introduction for the site through the owl. The tour gives a brief explanation of how the site works. I also like that it gives a tour prior to asking you to make a profile. The profile is optional also.
ReplyDeleteThe site also give you a chance to start with the basics or take a placement test to figure out your level in the language. Thanks for the resource!
I had such a fun time getting sucked into this website- I tried to test out of the basics of Spanish and found myself being forced to go through the basics modules because I did not test out of it. This website appeals to all types of learners by allowing you to type what you hear, pick from a pull down menu, fill in the blank, and translate from one language to the next. This is a very valuable resource, and I enjoyed getting rewards after finishing the modules!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny. I tried testing out as well. I quickly realized I didn't retain as much as I thought.
DeleteNeat website. I wish I had access to the site when I was taking Spanish. I see where the design of this website seems to be more elementary; however, the content does not seem to be only for elementary age students. When learning a new language you have to start at the basics.
ReplyDeleteThis website is an excellent find, Jahrel. I was actually quite impressed from the moment I opened it up. All the visuals were well thought out and relevant to what they were trying to convey. They actually reinforced the content. I also liked the fact that it was based on a very comprehensive cradle-to-grave concept. It begins with the basics and carries the learner all the way to applying what they have learned.
ReplyDeleteI agree I liked how it went from the most basic to an expert (fluent) level.
DeleteI like this website, I never knew it operated in this manner. I thought it was more like google translate. I wish it had sound so younger students could benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty cool! I found the quiz to try to test out of skills really fun. It had me really thinking about high school spanish. I do agree that the graphics seeming a bit to young for the target audience.
ReplyDeleteDuolingo is awesome! I used it quite a bit trying to learn French, because we almost had a kid come into UCA for basketball from the Congo. He spoke French, and only knew very little English, so I was trying to make him feel comfortable speaking around some of us coaches.
ReplyDeleteGreat find on the app! I think this should be in every foreign language class. To help students learn proper pronunciation and conjugations.
This was an interesting website. I tried French since that is what I had in High School. I thought it was pretty good. The audio could have been a little clearer to help understand the words, and it did not work when I tried to use my microphone and repeat a word. This is a free site and I think it is great for the price. I will have to try other languages later.
ReplyDeleteI took the Spanish route because that is what I had in high school. I agree as well the audio could have been better.
DeleteI see this site as a great tool for teachers to help them learn the basics of Spanish. Our Hispanic population is growing leaps and bounds with our students coming in at Level 3 or less. Communication is vital and it would be great to be able to not rely on Google translator. I like the ease of the site and the gaming aspect is a great visual tool.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! I wish I had this when I was studying languages because it offers great reinforcement and opportunities for assessment and practice. Even though it seems to be geared for a younger audience, I think it could be used to reinforce language lessons in school, and offers teachers an opportunitiy to differentiate for students who either need remediation or who want to move ahead of the class. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I wish I had when I was studying Spanish.
DeleteGreat website. I like the idea of using games to help with the learning. I agree about communication being vital and we need to be able to speak to parents who have trouble speaking English. I would also like to see sound added to help younger students learn different languages easier.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me the great tools that are online and so many of them are FREEEEEE! Unbelievable! I will make sure I share this with our language teacher. I have an ongoing list of these websites that we have reviewed for future reference!
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a pretty good one for a free language learning site. And, it does have audio once you past the "Quick Tour" step. This could be a good supplement teaching tool for teachers or self-enrichment. And, the simple design with the color, games, and interaction is appropriate for the content and instructional purposes. Some of you think it is too elementary; however, if you choose to learn a language that is completely new to you, it will not sound so elementary any more... :)
ReplyDelete