Introduction
At The Ashcombe School,
we are pleased to have been able to develop a resource which has come
to be widely used by Modern Language
teachers in many schools in the UK and elsewhere.
These pages aim to give an insight into the background of this on-going project by revisiting its early stages and charting its progress to date.
It also aims to give some technical guidance to others wishing to follow this example.
The Rationale
The rationale behind this project was quite straightforward albeit with several distinct, though related, elements:
- the finished product had to be simple to use,
- it had to be suitable for use in the classroom and at home,
- it had to be accessible by as wide an audience as possible,
- it would have to add value to the learning experience,
- above all, its educational value would always be the driving force, not the technology.
In the beginning
It all began with a simple enquiry one day, following the substitution of an image with a video file in a Word document. The intention had been to investigate the possibility of a student calling up a text file and reading questions while watching a small video.
As there was no interactivity, the question was posed: Would it be possible to incorporate a video clip in a web page?
A little experimentation soon proved that this was possible and that an HTML version of the original Word file could also be included, although at this stage there was still no interactivity.
These early experiments quickly showed that, while it was not difficult to use web-based video, the file format of the clip would be crucial in achieving a balance between quality and bandwidth. Thus began some basic investigation work.
On 3rd December 2001, an 'expert seminar' was held at the school, which was attended by representatives from NGfL, SEFfL, Surrey LEA, BECTa, RM and other parties. Various issues were discussed, but the main practical agreed outcome was that The Ashcombe would press on developing the resource and would request comments from interested parties.
Adding interactivity
HotPotatoes quiz authoring software:
Around the time of the first video experiments, we were trying out this program which enables the user to produce individual, interactive quizzes in a variety of formats. Once the quiz has been produced, the program saves the output as JavaScript contained within an HTML file. An initial sample was devised to go with our first video clip.
Experimental designs
Then followed some experimentation to find the best way to present the quiz alongside its associated video. At the outset, this mainly involved ways of making the video remain visible while the student worked on the quiz page.
It was decided that it would be necessary to embed the video clip in the webpage, rather than allowing Media Player to open normally.
Design considerations
Further experimentation showed the need to produce an HTML frameset to hold the clip and the HotPotatoes quiz. This necessitated a small video clip size but, as this meant a smaller file size, it was no great disadvantage.
The educational perspective
How can this resource add value?
- Actually seeing the speaker provides a better focus of attention than a simple audio file,
- Being able to pause and replay parts of the video, offers greater flexibility to the student,
- The quiz element, being truly interactive, gives instant feedback,
How can it fit into the scheme of work?
- By identifying an area of the curriculum that could genuinely benefit from the technology, integration with the scheme of work was assured from the outset.
- The topics have been chosen to fit in with the AQA GCSE specification and complement other work and resources.
Must be suitable and practical for teachers and students to use
- The videos can equally well be used as part of a teacher-led activity and, by the students, as part of an individual learning programme.
- To this end, they have been designed to address fairly straight-forward listening, vocabulary and grammar skills.
- The videos have been encoded in such a way as to minimise file sizes and download times, bearing in mind that most home users will still be using a 56k modem connection.
The first set of French videos
Scripts
- French were devised first and based upon sixteen key topics within the Y10/11 syllabus.
- English translations were also produced.
Filming
- A native French-speaking assistant was filmed reading the script.
- The video was edited in Adobe Premiere and a Windows Media Format file produced.
The quiz
- HotPotatoes software was used to make interactive cloze exercises to sit alongside each video clip.
Web page design
- The different elements were then brought together on a single web page, along with a pop-up guide to typing common accented characters.
- Finally, a web page was designed with some introductory notes and a menu to enable users to launch each video exercise.
Further sets added
Following the success of the set of French video quizzes, it was decided to produce sets in other European languages, as the opportunity arose.
Subsequently, sixteen German videos were made next, then sixteen Spanish ones.
Meanwhile, a number of 'interview-style' videos were made in French and German, with a range of types of quiz being employed.
A set of Italian videos and quizzes make up the latest set, making a total of 86 by May 2003.
The sheer number and range of exercise available by this stage meant that a fresh look at menus and navigation was required.
Menus and cross-referencing
Menu: Version 1
The initial sets of sixteen video exercises were grouped under six headings and lent themselves to a straightforward list menu layout.
Menu: Version 2
A second set of French exercises employed a wider range of HotPotatoes quizzes and, in one case, an additional image to support the quiz. One other exercise did not employ HotPotatoes but was an experiment in the use of HTML <form> elements to construct a multiple choice exercise. This led to the use of a second form of menu which launched the new exercises in full-screen mode in order to maximise the space available (although there were some misgivings about this approach in terms of usability).
The later addition of a third set of French exercises, and a set of German 'interviews', led to the reconsideration of menu design and navigation generally.
Menu: Version 3
By this stage, we had 35 French exercises of different types and it was necessary to unify the navigation in some way.
It was decided to cross-reference each exercise to the AQA GCSE specifications and to devise a menu system which would enable this and, at the same time, guide the independent learner
This style of menu, while exposing gaps in the range of resources currently available, has the advantage of being much more easily extensible than previous versions and should be relatively 'future-proof'.
Where next?
This project could be developed in a number of ways, e.g.
Extending the range of exercises
There are a number of gaps in provision which means that certain topics are not well represented.
As time permits, it is envisaged that further videos will be made to fill some of these gaps.
Adding a greater variety of quizzes
While cloze exercises are ideal for revising vocabulary and aspects of grammar, other forms of quiz may well be more suitable for covering other elements of language learning.
Exploring provision for other Key Stages
The initial exercises were chosen specifically to address the needs of Year 10 and Year 11 students, although they could well be used by lower year groups if needed.
As The Ashcombe has particularly strong links with a number of local Primary Schools, there will be future discussions with Key Stage 1 & 2 teachers to explore the possibility of devising some sort of web-based resources for their pupils.
Although this use of DV and web technology is hardly 'cutting-edge' in industry terms, as far as schools are concerned, The Ashcombe has taken a lead in this area and is committed to sharing what it has already produced and to developing it as far as resources allow.