{"id":233,"date":"2013-06-05T12:21:24","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T17:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/?page_id=233"},"modified":"2013-06-06T07:37:36","modified_gmt":"2013-06-06T12:37:36","slug":"using-handhelds-learning-a-language-anytime-anywhere","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/grammar-index\/cile-project\/using-handhelds-learning-a-language-anytime-anywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Handhelds: Learning a Language “Anytime, Anywhere”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using Handhelds:<\/p>\n

Learning\u00a0a Language\u00a0\u201cAnytime, Anywhere\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Phyllis Larson<\/p>\n

Craig Rice<\/p>\n

\n

St. Olaf College<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Abstract<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

Handheld devices, also known as PDAs, are generally viewed as a technology that makes the mechanics of managing a professional life easier: providing electronic calendars, addressbooks, todo lists, and so on. What has largely been ignored is their usefulness in teaching and learning.\u00a0This paper describes how a partnership between a Japanese language faculty member and an information technologist, combined with support from the Freeman Foundation, has resulted in the thoughtful, planned, and appropriate use of handheld technologies in the teaching of Japanese language.\u00a0\u00a0The authors document their goals, their strategies and software to address those goals, their rationale for using handhelds in pursuit of their strategies, their implementation, training, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the handhelds, and their plans for future use.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our Goals<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

This\u00a0handheld\u00a0project developed out of a discussion between the two of us about one of the major challenges of teaching Japanese in the United States: the difficulty of learning to read and write, and the amount of class time that needs to be delegated for it.\u00a0In order to read and write Japanese, a student needs to master two syllabaries of 47 items each plus variations, and nearly 200 Chinese characters (kanji<\/i>), most of which have at least two readings. Adding to\u00a0the difficulty is\u00a0the fact\u00a0that there are no cognates in English for either the characters or vocabulary students must learn in Japanese. Further, students need to learn and practice the correct order for writing the characters, so learning to write involves meticulous and patient study of the stroke order and visual aesthetics of the characters.\u00a0Complicating all of this is\u00a0American students\u2019\u00a0lack of skill\u00a0in\u00a0memorizing for long-term retention. As we talked, other concerns surfaced: students need to be more active in their learning; and students\u2019 individual learning styles should be addressed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We realized that handhelds seemed promising as a way of meeting these challenges. We decided to investigate whether there was any software we might be able to use, especially any that would allow us to create lessons tailored to our specific purposes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our goals became these:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to support long-term retention of characters and vocabulary in Japanese;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to encourage more active student learning;<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to address individual learning preferences; and<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to tailor software to specific course objectives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our Strategies<\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We knew we could increase long-term retention of characters and vocabulary if we were successful in getting students to increase the frequency with which they manipulated the linguistic items and the sheer amount of time devoted to practice. Beyond that, students needed to receive immediate and accurate feedback on their responses. We hoped to find software that would allow us to implement these strategies with our own tailored materials.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why Handhelds?<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

While flashcards share some of the advantages of a handheld, in that they are portable and offer randomized practice, we found that we could improve accuracy and increase interactivity with the use of the handheld.\u00a0\u00a0In previous classes, students had made their own character flashcards by hand, not all of them accurately. When they drilled themselves, they had no notation of correct stroke order, so the materials from which they studied did not give them enough information, and sometimes they practiced forms incorrectly without realizing it. The handheld offers students practice in a variety of formats and with immediate and accurate feedback.<\/p>\n

By combining other things a student may want to do (keep a schedule, take notes, and even play games) the more likely students are to have the handheld with them. Because of this convenience, and the fact that the digital environment is an\u00a0appealing way for students to work, the handheld lends itself to brief, more frequent practice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For languages that utilize non-roman scripts such as Japanese and Chinese, learning how to correctly draw, both in design and in stroke order, is as important as being able to recognize and pronounce the character. Traditional computers do not support this function, since drawing a character with a mouse is not particularly effective, and entering the characters on a keyboard is even less so.\u00a0\u00a0In contrast, most handheld devices support some kind of \u201cdrawing\u201d function for entering information; this combined with appropriate software can turn the handheld into an ideal practice device. For PalmOS devices, one-stroke shorthand notation called \u201cGraffiti\u201d is used for entering.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, for language learners, especially those who are learning non-roman scripts, entering letters or characters using this Graffiti system, even as it might be adapted to non-Roman character sets, is counter-productive: there is no reinforcement of the correct character drawing or stroke order; and worse, multi-stroke\u00a0kanji<\/i>\u00a0cannot be drawn by the single, continuous stroke required by Graffiti.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We wanted to capitalize on software that allowed students to draw characters completely and correctly.\u00a0\u00a0Since the ability to do this is limited to specific software, this meant that students could not effectively create PalmOS standard To-Do lists and Memo items; such activities would have been ideal, providing an opportunity for real use of Japanese.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Visors<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the fall of 2000, a variety of handheld devices were on the market.\u00a0\u00a0Our first decision was whether to pursue a device that supported the Palm Operating System (PalmOS) or the Windows CE operating system.\u00a0\u00a0Two primary factors played a role in our decision: available software and cost.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of all the potential software we identified, more was available for the PalmOS environment than for the WindowsCE environment. Further, PalmOS devices tended to cost much less than their WindowsCE counterparts.\u00a0\u00a0Lastly, we found the PalmOS devices more intuitive to use.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Among the PalmOS handhelds, Handspring offered a unit called the \u201cVisor Deluxe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Costing only $150, this device was affordable and came standard with 8MB of memory.\u00a0\u00a0At the time, this much memory was quite liberal, and knowing that our Japanese software \u2013 dictionaries, fonts, and applications \u2013 might well consume more than the 4MB standard at the time, our selection of the Handspring Visor Deluxe was straightforward.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With financial support from St. Olaf College, and a generous one-for-one donation of refurbished Visors from Handspring, we equipped our fourth-semester Japanese language students with Visors in the spring of 2001.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Software<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

In preparation for our project, we researched software available to assist in Japanese language learning.\u00a0\u00a0One package,\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0(www.gakusoft.com; $35 per copy, site licenses available), fit our needs very well; it was flexible learning tool, allowing customizable lessons, stroke order display, and user interaction.\u00a0\u00a0We had initially looked at a program called\u00a0Kanji Hanabi<\/span>\u00a0(www.neth.com) and were impressed by its intuitive user interface and its large, readable characters.\u00a0\u00a0Kanji Hanabi<\/span>\u00a0did a nice job of demonstrating stroke order but lacked the ability to display multi-kanji<\/i>\u00a0vocabulary or phrases; further, it was neither customizable nor did it allow students to practice drawing the characters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0included the ability to customize lessons and provided a stroke order demonstration (the longer you held the stylus on any character, the slower it drew the character, stroke by stroke).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Students can work with any one lesson, or any group of lessons, making review of arbitrary sets of material very easy.\u00a0\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0selects a vocabulary word or\u00a0kanji<\/i>, and based on student preferences, displays (or withholds display of) the definition, the reading, and the word, phrase, or\u00a0kanji<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0The student then draws the characters in the large rectangle; at any time, the user can click on the character to review the stroke order.\u00a0\u00a0When finished, the student clicks on \u201cShow\u201d to display any of the top three boxes that are not already displayed.\u00a0\u00a0The software does not actually evaluate the student\u2019s responses, so it is up to the student to determine whether the answer is right or wrong and whether to repeat the exercise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although we could create custom lessons, doing so with the initial versions of\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0was very difficult; current versions of\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0include a more user-friendly lesson creator that much simplifies the process.\u00a0\u00a0The vendor\u2019s web site also contains downloadable lessons others have contributed, including our own.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We also worked with\u00a0AvantGo<\/span>\u00a0(www.avantgo.com; free) in conjunction with\u00a0CJK-OS<\/span>\u00a0(www.dyts.com; $28 per copy, site licenses available).\u00a0CJK-OS<\/span>\u00a0is a PalmOS add-on that allows the native display of Japanese (as well as Chinese and Korean) that we had hoped would allow students to take notes and to create to-do lists in Japanese.\u00a0\u00a0Eventually we discovered that its ability to enter Japanese very weak if not impossible.\u00a0\u00a0When used in conjuction with a handheld web browser like\u00a0AvantGo<\/span>, we were able to provide authentic language web content, for example, articles from the Japanese newspaper\u00a0Asahi Shinbun,<\/i>\u00a0on the handhelds.\u00a0\u00a0We created an\u00a0AvantGo<\/span>\u00a0\u201cchannel\u201d and created links within it to other web content.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We found several other software packages that could be useful.\u00a0\u00a0At the beginning level of Japanese language learning, the free program\u00a0Kana \u2013 Hiragana Flashcard Trainer<\/span>\u00a0(www.delph.com\/kana) does one thing very well: flashcard practice of\u00a0hiragana<\/i>characters. We are excited about the many functions provided by the memory-intensive\u00a0Dokusha<\/span>\u00a0program that provides a Japanese-English dictionary, a Kanji dictionary, and several other features (www.geocities.com\/andrew_brault\/dokusha\/index.html), and looked briefly at BDICT, JAQUIZ and JDICT.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the fall semester of 2000, we identified the key software packages we planned to use and prepared 24 lessons tied to the chapters from the textbook for the Intermediate Japanese course for the\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0program. We created several lessons containing vocabulary, phrases, and\u00a0kanji\u00a0<\/i>for each chapter in our textbook,\u00a0Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese<\/i>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We divided vocabulary and\u00a0kanji<\/i>\u00a0from each lesson into between four and eight sub-lessons.\u00a0\u00a0We started each sub-lesson as a Microsoft Word file containing one line for each word or phrase in the form:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

kanji (or vocab<\/i>ulary<\/i>\u00a0word)<\/i>\u00a0[pronunciation] \/meaning\/<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

for example:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u56fd\u00a0[\u304f\u306b] \/country\/<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We saved each lesson file in a special format with a special filename (\u201cEUC Encoded Text\u201d with a \u201c.kf\u201d extension), then used a utility supplied with KingKanji to create the \u201ckusr.pdb\u201d file which is finally loaded onto the Visor for KingKanji\u2019s use.\u00a0We found this multi-step process time-consuming and prone to error.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the spring semester of 2001, we launched our project, distributing to each of twenty students in our Intermediate level Japanese language course a Visor with a docking cradle (used for synchronizing the handheld with a desktop computer), and a CD-ROM containing the synchronization software.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since each license for our 20 copies of KingKanji and CJK-OS required a unique, several character user registration, we gave each Visor a distinct name: \u201cvisor001,\u201d \u201cvisor002,\u201d \u201cvisor003,\u201d etc. Preparation of the Visors for distribution to students was frustratingly slow and involved the following steps:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Resetting each Visor to its \u201cinitial\u201d and clean state<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Applying a plastic screen protector<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Setting PalmOS preferences to maximize performance<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Installing our Japanese language learning software<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Placing each piece of software into a \u201cJapanese\u201d PalmOS menu category<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Installing individual licenses for CJK-OS and KingKanji<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Synchronizing an initial set of AvantGo web pages<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The following fall semester, we did not have to create new\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0lessons, and instead of treating each Visor as a unique unit, we created one \u201cmaster\u201d Visor, saved an image of this Visor to a Handspring 8MB Backup Module, then restored this image to each student Visor. This dramatically reduced the time for preparing Visors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Student Response and Evaluation<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

Feedback on the Visors after the first semester was disappointingly lukewarm.\u00a0\u00a0Students did not find the units or the software particularly helpful in their learning of Japanese.\u00a0\u00a0Based on discussion with students, we learned that our brief introduction at the beginning of the semester was insufficient in helping\u00a0them\u00a0become comfortable with this new learning environment.\u00a0\u00a0This was a wake-up call for us, since we both felt students were coming to college with a strong background in things technological.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We also found that the synchronization process (\u201cHotSync\u201ding data between the Visor and a desktop computer) was difficult to configure and painfully slow, AvantGo in particular. In the end, we abandoned HotSync\u2019ing, meaning that our AvantGo-accessible web pages were not used.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We re-evaluated our training, and in future semesters spent an entire class period talking through (and working with) the Visors and the course software.\u00a0\u00a0In addition, we devoted fifteen minutes every other Friday to discussing how things were going.\u00a0\u00a0One of the most helpful aspects of this was the student-to-student sharing of how they are doing what \u2013 having them demonstrate something they have discovered, or showing others how they are doing something on the Visor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Evaluation of successive semesters resulted in reports of extensive student use and strongly positive feedback.\u00a0In a survey of 17 class members, all but one student stated that they used it any where from several times a week to several times a day. They found it saved the time they used to spend making flashcards and allowed them randomized reviews of vocabulary and\u00a0kanji<\/i>\u00a0whenever and wherever they had a few minutes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Limitations of the Visors<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

Students\u2019 comments were extremely helpful, and several of them focused on some limitations of the\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0software.\u00a0\u00a0Students complained that, while it was very useful to see the stroke order of a character, it was often too small to read easily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We also ran into memory limitations, forcing us to limit the software we could install on the Visors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As we became more familiar with the capabilities of the Handspring Visor, we soon began thinking about the \u201cwhat if\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0With our goals of encouraging more active student learning and addressing individual learning preferences in mind, we started looking for ways of incorporating audio content: using the handheld to present pronunciations of vocabulary and even short dialogs. We experimented with the TotalRecall Voice Recorder (a module that plugs into the Visor and acts as an audio recorder) and with the MiniJam MP3 SpringBoard module (that allowed us to play MP3 files from the Visor).\u00a0\u00a0We found immediate application for these (more on this below), but they were quite expensive and did not always work reliably, especially when we inserted the module into or removed the module from the Visor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Next Stage<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the Fall of 2001, we evaluated the Visor project, brainstormed some additional pedagogical applications, and researched new software and handheld devices.\u00a0\u00a0After coming up with our ideal plan for the next stage, we submitted an application to the Freeman Foundation and received a grant to expand the use of handhelds to all of our Japanese language students and to customize software and a more advanced handheld device, the Sony CLIE.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Upon receipt of the grant in spring, 2002, our first order of business was to contract with the author of the\u00a0KingKanji<\/span>\u00a0software to make the stroke order demonstration more viewable by displaying the character in a large pop-up box and at a much higher resolution. We also began looking into new educational software, including some exciting offerings such as the Walking Japanese-English Dictionary, Learn Japanese I, and the HandStory browser.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The CLIEs<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our research showed that\u00a0the Sony CLIE (T665Cs and NR70 series) offered dramatic improvements over the Visor: higher resolution (320×320 instead of 160×120), color, a built-in MP3 Player, a built-in Movie Player, and a built-in Image Viewer.\u00a0\u00a0Best of all, it supported the Memory Stick, capable of storing 128MB of software, movies, images, and sounds. The capacity and ease of updating information on the Memory Stick may obviate the need for students to set up and regularly run the HotSync synchronization software, thus making it more realistic to access updated content on the handheld. In our view, its only weakness is the CLIE\u2019s inability to record audio.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pedagogical Possibilities<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Throughout this project, we have maintained our core goals of increasing\u00a0students\u2019\u00a0long-term retention of linguistic material and providing tailored exercises for practice outside of the classroom. We have engaged students more actively in their own learning in a digital environment that seems helpful to most of them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We are beginning to think of the handheld as a self-contained learning system that can provide not only complete portability (learning \u201canytime, anywhere\u201d), but also \u201clanguage-as-needed\u201d rather than \u201call-the-language-you-need.\u201d By providing a pared-down but essential reference system (Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary,\u00a0a\u00a0brief dictionary of grammar), a practice mechanism (character and vocabulary exercises, limited cloze, multiple choice and true\/false exercises), listening materials accompanying the text, and some carefully chosen authentic cultural materials (audio, video, still photos, etc), students could access in the palms\u00a0of their hands\u00a0all the essential preparation for classes and tests.\u00a0In concrete terms, we have already begun preparing MP3 versions of audio materials that accompany the textbook (with the permission of the publisher).<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are important implications in this technology beyond the language classroom. We are beginning to see the handheld as a device that would allow integration in some exciting ways. For example, the handheld could provide a way to link the content of language classes (Chinese and Japanese) with introductory Asian humanities courses. We could infuse linguistic content into cultural studies courses, and vice versa. Ideas and images could be linked across courses and even off-campus in the study abroad programs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To better link our Japanese language courses with our\u00a0Asian humanities courses, we intend to more closely tie language material with the Asian Studies theme-based materials.\u00a0\u00a0This will result in linking visual and audio resources with language tasks, allowing students to, for example, view clips of\u00a0anime<\/i>\u00a0(Japanese cartoons) or\u00a0manga<\/i>\u00a0(Japanese comics) that can tie into a theme.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The new version of the Sony CLIE, the NR70V, includes a built-in digital camera. We envision sending students abroad with these new units,\u00a0enabling them\u00a0to capture images (of signs, people they interview, etc.) and bring them back to ask questions about or to share as part of a presentation\u00a0to\u00a0fellow students.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For faculty members there are numerous possibilities:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0keeping a bibliography (such as EndNote) at hand for research projects;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0creating a database of one\u2019s private library;<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0downloading and reading newspaper articles in target languages;<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0creating simple but interactive true\/false and multiple\/choice web-based reading comprehension and grammar exercises<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0with a portable keyboard, using the handheld as a laptop for word processing, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.<\/p>\n

<\/h5>\n

We also look forward to future handheld models that will allow us to record speech and send the resulting files electronically to the professor and\/or other students.\u00a0\u00a0As wireless networks become more commonplace and are supported on the CLIEs either via 802.11b or Bluetooth, the amount of authentic language material that we can access quickly via a handheld web browser will also be powerful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We met our initial goals, but as often happens in a project like this, we have\u00a0ended by\u00a0expanding our goals for using handhelds in the learning of Japanese. We also think that our experience with handhelds, preliminary though it may be, indicates some important implications for the learning of other languages and even for\u00a0learning in\u00a0other disciplines.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using Handhelds: Learning\u00a0a Language\u00a0\u201cAnytime, Anywhere\u201d   Phyllis Larson Craig Rice St. Olaf College   Abstract   Handheld devices, also known as PDAs, are generally viewed as a technology that makes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":0,"parent":212,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-233","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/233\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}