Teaching Tools

CHAPTERFOUR RESULTS

4.1 First Research Question

What pedagogical tools and methods does PeggyTeachesChinese employ to implement Ubiquitous Learning?

I address the first research question in two parts, the first section focusing on the online pedagogical tools and the second discussing the principal methods that I employ in my teaching. Afterwards, a sample of teaching plan is provided to visualize how a Skype tutorial session takes place. I integrate four digital applications, which I arranged below in Table 4, to implement the ubiquity of digital learning based on Jung’s characterization (2014): 1)

YouTube, 2) Skype, 3) Google Docs, and 4) Quizlet. I provide an overview of each application and how its functions aid my teaching.

4.1.1 Teaching Tools

Table 4 Digital Applications to Implement U-Learning

YouTube Skype Google Docs Quizlet

1) Omnipresence V V V V

2) Context Customization V V V

3) Interactivity V V V

4) Self-Directed Learning V V V

5) Perceived Enjoment V V V

1) YouTube

YouTube is the most typical example that represents the concept of user-generated content in today’s Digital Age. YouTube was published on February 14^th 2005 and provides a free online platform on which users are allowed to upload digital videos to broadcast

themselves. Any viewers have access to watch or share published videos as long as the Internet is available. It is free to register a YouTube account. Once an account is registered, users can upload short videos onto their own channel, subscribe to other channels, leave comments on a video and “like” or “dislike” a video. On February 15^th 2009,

PeggyTeachesChinese joined YouTube. Currently, there are nearly 90 Mandarin video lessons and video blogs on Chinese culture on this channel. As of June 2017, the channel possesses nearly 18,000 YouTube subscribers and has had over 2,600,000 views.

My YouTube video lessons pertain to one of the two primary Value Propositions of PeggyTeachesChinese, offering free lessons to the public in order to invite learners who enjoy my teaching style to sign up for a paid tutorial service. Indeed, the ubiquity of the Internet connection makes these learning resources present at all times (omnipresent). These videos attract learners who actively seek out information and resources on the Internet and who by chance come into contact with my videos (self-directed learning). My videos gradually gain popularity due to their unconventional way of teaching Chinese, producing a sense of enjoyment for learning the language and Taiwanese way of living (perceived

enjoyment). The pedagogical design of my teaching videos is illustrated in the analysis of my Value Propositions at page 52.

2) Skype

Skype was founded in 2004 and is a digital application that allows users to make free voice or video calls through the Internet. Users can also chat with other users through texting Skype messages. Skype operates under a business model called Freemium by providing certain services for free while charging fees for SkypeOut service. Average callers can purchase Skype credits to call landlines or mobiles phones. As for heavy users, they can join the pre-paid subscription to call with lower rates without long-term commitments.

PeggyTeachesChinese benefits from the free-of-charge offer of Skype. Each online tutorial session takes place via real-time Skype video call. It is important to note that making a high-definition-video-call on Skype requires only 1.5 Mbps for both download/upload speeds in order to achieve a best performance. That is to say, as long as there is an Internet connection with decent speed, a one-to-one Skype lesson can literally take place

anywhere/anytime either on a desktop or a mobile device (omnipresent). Each lesson is structured based on the learner’s goals and needs (context customization). Key sentence patterns and new vocabulary are presented both on a Skype text box and on a whiteboard.

During each session, I often visualize new vocabulary by utilizing traditional flashcards or presenting direct objects in front of the camera. More importantly, I engage my students through interactive dialogue and in-class activities (interactivity), aiming to maximize the sense of enjoyment throughout the course of learning (perceived enjoyment).

3) Google Docs

Google Docs is a “free, web-based software office suite” provided by Google

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Docs,_Sheets,_Slides_and_Forms). Users are allowed to create, edit and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets or presentations online in real time

or offline (omnipresent). To realize process of knowledge scaffolding, I provide study sheets and exercises focusing on the content we cover during our session on Google Docs (context customization). Students can access and edit these study sheets online or offline at their convenience (self-directed learning). In so doing, the tutee and the tutor can mutually develop a collaborative and interactive relationship by developing the document together

(interactivity) Google Docs provides an online platform where the instructor can

systematically outline important sentence structures and create exercise drills for the students.

However, the overall layout is not conducive to studying vocabulary for two reasons: 1) Google Docs is originally designed for collaborative writing and editing; and 2) the size of text is too small to read on a mobile device. As a result, a self-study tool or application that facilitates the studying of vocabulary on mobile devices is indispensible.

4) Quizlet

In an effort to facilitate the study of vocabulary for my students, I have incorporated Quizlet, a well-designed application for vocabulary, to reinforce two aspects of Ubiquitous Learning at once: nurturing learners’ “self-directed learning” (Jung, 2014) skill and

increasing the “enjoyment” of the process. Founded by Andrew Sutherland in 2005, Quizlet is an online studying tool that enables users to study vocabulary on their computers, tablets and mobile phones. According to New Relic, a software analytic company, Quizlet is currently rated as a top 100 education website as well as a top 5 app in app stores. The primary feature of Quizlet is its virtual flashcards. Users can create their own study sets. In each Quizlet study set, there are two sections: one is called “STUDY” which includes four different types of study exercises (Flashcards, Learn, Speller and Test), where the other section is classified under “PLAY” which consists of two games (Scatter, Gravity). The six

study activities are highly interactive and entertaining, making the process of learning more enjoyable (interactivity, perceived enjoyment). Figure 1 and Figure 2 below clearly capture both “STUDY” and “PLAY” of a Quizlet study set.

Figure 1. Study Section on Quizlet

Figure 2. Play Section on Quizlet

Since Quizlet is designed as a self-study tool, one of its most impressive features is that the tool automatically highlights a learner’s mistakes if the entry submitted by the user is incorrect in both STUDY and PLAY activities. Identifying a learner’s mistakes is a

significant factor in the process of self-study because it raises metalinguistic awareness for

the target language, that is, the speaker’s ability to reflect upon the usage of a language, when his/her instructor is not present (self-directed learning). Furthermore, Quizlet can be assessed and edited by both the tutor and the student. This feature underscores the characteristic of learner-centered education where both the teacher and the student share the learning

responsibility. As a mobile-friendly platform, Quizlet enriches students’ technology-assisted language learning experience, since students can seamlessly access and study the study sets anywhere/anytime both online and offline (omnipresent). It is worth-noting that the creation of a study set can be quite time consuming. To reach the goal of customized learning, I have to create different study sets for each individual student (context customization). As shown in Figure 3, the process of creating a study set requires the typing of Chinese characters, Pinyin and English translation, voice recording (a Quizlet Teacher feature for a fee) and image inserts. I can certainly use the same materials more than once, so that pre-created study sets can be shared among numerous learners. In most cases, however, study sets have to be tailored according to the learning progress of a student.

Figure 3. Creating a Study Set