++ References

Books

Chitravelu, et.al (2005). ELT Methodology: Principle and Practice. Oxford Fajar. Kuala Lumpur.

Brown, D (1995). Principles and Practices in Language Teaching, Prentice Hall Regents. New Jersey

Websites

Constructivist Learning Theory
http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/constructivistlearning.html

Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory
http://www.ndt-ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Constructivist%20_Learning.htm

Constructivist Theory
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm

evaluation of educational websites
http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/bokcaisse/bokcaisse.htm

http://www.google.com.my/search?q=criteria+of+good+educational+websites&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Positive Reinforcement: A Self-Instructional Exercise
http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/prtut/reinpair.htm

Activity theory
http://carbon.ucdenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/act_dff.html

Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy
http://gestalttheory.net/gtp/index.html

BEHAVIORISM:SKINNER AND DENNETT
http://www.trinity.edu/cbrown/mind/behaviorism.html

cooperative n collaborative
http://www.studygs.net/cooplearn.htm

Suggestions/Recommendations

Recommendations for Ministry of Education

1. I’d like to encourage the Ministry of Education to come out with this kind of effort in developing an educational website for the students. It’s quite a shame for our own ministry and any specific department not to have an educational website for the students. This is because nowadays, most schools have been equipped with internet facilities so there is no excuse to not to come out with at least one educational website.

2. Ministry of Education also should be aware of the existence of the educational websites. This is because we are afraid that some of the input are contradict with the one prepared by the CDC. So, I’d like to suggest that an ongoing supervision towards the websites will be done in order to ensure every educational website follow a certain standard or guideline.

Recommendations for Teachers

1. I’d like to recommend the teachers to use this application as it really helps in making the students understand the literary texts. However, teachers must realize that the application will never replace the roles of teacher.

2. This application, even though I encourage the teachers to use it, I’d like to suggest that the teacher to explain the literary texts first in the classroom because the way the information is presented is quite lengthy, plain and uninteresting.

++ Question 8

Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?

Yes.

Reasons:

1. The application is user-friendly whereby the 3 target groups will not going to face difficulty if they are using this application. The 3 groups of people are – teachers, students and parents. Besides that, the application promotes independent learning thus making the teacher functions as a facilitator in the classroom.

2. The application does not deny the fact that teacher still play an essential part in teaching and learning process. Students might easily get boring when they have to read a lengthy explanation on the literary texts. So, this is when the teacher plays the role to inject the interests of students by coming out with a more interactive and creative way of exploring the literary text.

3. The activity provided in the application is focusing on two important aspects – the novel (text) and glossary. This shows that the application still follow what is being presented in the syllabus. All of the information presented is based on what is listed in the syllabus. So, there’s no doubt for the teacher to use this application in the classroom.

4. The Question Bank section, as it is .PDF format can easily be downloaded and kept by the students and teachers for future reference. Students need to have a basic computer skill in order to do the followings:

a) create a new folder

b) save the .pdf format file

c) print the .pdf document

++ Question 7

In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on ‘whether the computer was “master” of or “slave” to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation - was the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?

In relation to my evaluation, the computer (in this context, the application) is not the replacement for teachers but it is also not a servant to the students. That means, the role of computer itself differ from one group of students compared to another. If we refer to this application, we can say that it replaces one role of teacher, but still it cannot play one important role that a teacher has – giving appropriate feedback. Basically, a computer and related ‘siblings’ are developed based on the coding of 0 and 1. So, if it is not 0, it will be 1 and vice versa. Enough if you do not understand that explanation because a simpler one will be given. A computer has only 2 answers in general – correct and wrong answers. Even though students can answer the questions, they still need clarification as well as explanation from the real teacher instead. Besides that, Brown (1995) mentioned that teacher can play a role of facilitator, a role that will be rejected by the computer. This is because only teacher can facilitate learning and teaching process in the classroom. However, the greatest thing that an application can do better than a teacher might be the Games and simulations provided in the application. Sometimes teacher needs more time to prepare a game for students but sometimes it ends up very frustrating. So, by the help of an application like this one, it can be considered as a relief for a teacher as they no longer need to stay up till late to prepare an interactive-yet-supporting-learning-theory game for students.

Image 8: Crossword Puzzle (example)

Image 9: Crossword - answers revealed

So, does it an obedient servant to students? In order to answer that, we can refer to the meaning of the two words – master and slave. Slave is the one that obeys the master so, the meaning of master is of course contradicting with the meaning of slave. I do think that the students or the users are the master to the application. But, unconsciously we are the slave to the application. We are in need to find the correct answer instead of looking for the answer that we think is right. Meaning, in answering questions, we are supposed to answer according to 0 and 1 concept. 0 is correct and 1 is wrong. Students, though considered as master can only choose between the two answer. Meaning that, the concept of self-learner is not really achieved. Students are bounded to answer ‘inside the box’ thus disabling them to think critically on the questions.

In short, my stand over this issue is that the role of a teacher cannot be replaced easily by any computer or application. This is due to some of the roles of teacher that the computer cannot carry out because of their limitations as machines.

++ Question 6

How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to the chosen website?

The term ‘Constructivism’ refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves or in short, we can say the term refers to self-learning whereby each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning - as he or she learns. The process of constructing meaning is also considered as learning. There are two basic concept of Constructivism in learning which are;

1) We have to focus on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the subject/lesson to be taught):

2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to experience (constructed) by the learner, or community of learners.

George E. Hein (1991) mentioned that Constructivism involves both how people learn, and the nature of knowledge. Based on that and the terminology explained earlier, we can say that this application applied the constructivist theory in the teaching and learning process via website. The application offers the students a set of specific task-based materials in order to promote active learning. The presence of Constructivism in this application can be felt as the activity meant for students are prepared to develop critical thinking skills as well as required Higher Order thinking skill (HOTS). As constructivism promotes independent learning, we can say that teacher does not play an important role in the teaching and learning process. This is because the teacher only facilitates teaching and learning process to take place in a meaningful and contextualized setting, enhance reinforcement as well as motivate the students to be goal oriented. For instance, we can say that the effort of the application developer to come out with a glossary section should be acknowledged. This section enables the students to learn independently and there is a possibility that the students’ tendency to ask everything to the teacher will decrease.

++ Question 5

Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

a) Behaviorism

- This application offers the basic concept of behaviorism that has a stimulus, a response and reinforcement. In reference to the Interactive activity from this application, we can take the Crossword Puzzle as an example whereby it offers a set puzzle, then the students will answer and if the answers are correct, they can proceed to next set of crossword puzzle. So, the basic features of Behaviorism are present in this application. Besides that, it also emphasis on repetition and drills as well as promotes immediate responses to the students.

b) Cognitivism

- Chitravelu (2005) stated that cognitivism is in contrast with behaviorism whereby it emphasis on the students and how they manage their knowledge. In this application, we can see that it encourages the students to find the information needed on their own without much help from the teacher. The teacher will be a modern teacher in a technology-based room if students are using this application when they learn the literary texts. Teacher will facilitate the process of teaching and learning to ensure that it takes place in a meaningful yet contextualized setting. The application itself encourages the students to be goal oriented. Thus, we can say that the application really supports student-centered learning as proposed by Cognitivists.

c) Notional-Functional Syllabus

- As we are bounded to the syllabus, we can’t deny that NFS is either consciously or sub-consciously has been implemented in this application. Even though the ‘planet’ of Internet is quite enormous, the application needs to be developed according to the syllabus that has been prepared by Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) of Ministry of Education. This is to ensure that the students will not run off the track that they are supposed to follow. If the students do not realize that they have a syllabus to follow, they might take it for granted.

++ Question 4

While you are “playing”/”accessing”/”assessing” the application, does it remind you of anything you do in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

While utilizing this application, it reminds me of a few things that I have done in the classroom and the traditional teaching and learning process. I can say that; the classroom climate will be improved and stabilized, students will become motivated, and teachers will facilitate the classroom instead of playing the traditional role of teacher – teaching all way long.

Based on what I have done with the application, I can say that it reminds me about my self-studying session. According to Murchu (2005), when studying alone, students will see their own goals, organize their own work, and manage their own time. As the application is an online resource, so it is up to me to determine when and where to use the application. Like a textbook, the application has a list of glossary at the end of every ‘chapter’. It really helps me if I am studying alone.

Besides that, it also reminds me of the things that the teacher will do in the classroom – giving lengthy notes on the biography of author, synopsis, themes and moral values. This can be seen if we browse through the Novel section. A lengthy explanation is presented and of course it is not attractive anymore. Without any illustrations, graphics and simple tables, the application can be considered as having a contradiction with what Chitravelu (2005) suggested in her book. A text itself must tempt the students to read through it until the end. But looking at the plain text in the application, I am sure that students will become more interested in doing the activity without reading through the information presented in this application.

Image 7: Example of how the website present the setting of the novel

++ Question 3

What sorts of computer skills is the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

Basically, when the users are utilizing this application, they only need the basic computer and ICT skills. This is because of the application is developed using a simple CMS. If we can refer to the application, we can simply arrange the skills into two basic groups:

a) Information processing skill – This skill can be used while reading the following sections – Aspects of The Novel, Biography of The Novel and Summary of The Novel. We can say that the users are using computer-based technologies to manipulate, create, store and retrieve information to express ideas and communicate with others. So, users will read the information, gather, and store the information using any medium that they prefer to use.

b) Multimedia and Internet skill – Users will be using computer-based technologies to locate, access, evaluate, store and retrieve information and to express ideas and communicate with others. This can be seen when the users perform the interactive activity prepared in this application. The users need to know on how, where and what to be clicked when they operate the application.

++ Question 2

What sorts of things is the application user expected to do with regards to learning the content?

As a learner-centered, user-friendly and autonomous application, this application provides a new range of learning in the classroom. The application users; regardless whether they are teachers or students are expected to do the followings:

a) Gathering Information

- The application users are expected to read through the information provided by the application and try their best to gather and save the information according to their own and comfortable way. If a student feels that it is easier to jot down notes, so that particular student can just gather the information that way. However if another student feels that it is easier to just save the page; the student is free-and-easy to do so. There’s no specific way that the students can use because when it comes to independent learning, the efforts must come naturally from the students.

b) “Question Bank”

Image 3: The activity page

- The application users are expected to do the activity in order to enhance their understanding on the text as well as testing whether or not the information that they have gathered is enough. Such activity is needed because according to Brown (1995), a test has two major components; a method and carry the purpose of measuring. When mentioning about measuring, we should focus on measuring the students’ ability or knowledge. If the students have no knowledge, we can’t test them on anything. That’s why the students are expected to gather the information first before doing the activity.

c) Interactive Activity

- This application’s users are expected to utilize the Flash-based activity which requires them to memorize certain words and understand the meaning of the words in reference to the literary text. For instance, the application offers the following Flash-based activities:

1. Crossword Puzzle

Image 4: The Crossword Puzzle

2. Word Search

Image 5: Word Search

3. Drag & Drop

Image 6: Drag & Drop

++ Question 1

What does the application attempt to teach?

This website attempts to “teach” the students to learn the literary texts independently without relying too much on the teacher. It provides online resources for Malaysian Secondary school students studying from Form 1 until Form 5. The content of this website is developed in line with the current literary texts that are being used in the school nowadays. Meaning that, the website somehow promotes ‘independent learning’ and we can consider that most of the activities are ‘learner-centered’ because students need to gather information on their own and finish up the activity provided based on the information presented in the website. We can say that it “teach” the students to perform independent learning because the website prepared everything from A to Z. We can see that the website has its own ‘glossary’ page which can help the students to understand the meaning of certain words that they are not familiar with. So, all in all I can say that this website attempts to teach the students to practice independent learning as the website is a ‘learner-centered’ one.

Image 2: The Glossary Page

Introduction

Image 1: The Home Page

There are many educational websites available in the World Wide Web. From a basic way if interacting with the students via websites; developed using Microsoft Front Page, now we can see a lot of brand new yet interactive educational websites that have been developed using updated software or recently built Content Management System (CMS). For this assignment of ESL Website Evaluation, I have chosen this website (http://www.literature.com.my) which has been developed by a company that is very concerned with the development of English Language; Just English Sdn. Bhd. This website is meant to cater the needs of students studying in form 1 until form 5. All of the materials provided as well as the activities presented in this website have been developed by Just English team and they tried their best to help the secondary school students to understand the literary texts in a meaningful way.

++ Task 1

TSL 641: COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING
Task 1

ESL WEBSITE EVALUATION
1. You are to evaluate an ESL website (on English as a Second Language Teaching & Learning) by answering the attached list of questions. Do not forget to include the website’s address in your commentary. Remember to have a good focus!
2. Your answers to each question must be at least one paragraph in length.
3. This evaluation task is to be done individually and to be posted in your blog.

Evaluation Guide
1. What does the application attempt to “teach”?
2. What sorts of things is the application user expected to do with regards to learning the content?
3. What sorts of computer skills is the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?
4. While you are “playing”/”accessing”/”assessing” the application, does it remind you of anything you do in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?
5. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?
6. How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to the chosen website(s)?
7. In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on ‘whether the computer was “master” of or “slave” to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation - was the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?
8. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?
Yes? Give reasons:
No? Give reasons:
Suggestions/Recommendations.