July 4th, 2011

My French Coach part 3

Brian Clark

Comments: none Tags: Tags: app, cfe, Consolarium, DS, game based learning, GBL, My French Coach, Nintendo
 : Categories Edinburgh, Nintendo, game based learning

My French Coach [3 of 3]

Read Part 1 here | Read Part 2 here

So, it’s the end of the school year and Modern Foreign Language pupils at Firrhill High School in Edinburgh have been reflecting on the use of My French Coach on the Nintendo DS in their French lessons. One of the pupils, wrote about her and her classmates experience of the DS in the school magazine, Firrhill Heights.

You can read her article here.

TES Article

Helene Clark, the languages teacher who lead the project is delighted with the impact the game has had on her pupils learning and spoke to Elizabeth Buie at the TES about her experience. You can read the article here.

Next Steps….

As a result of the project, Helene submitted a proposal for funding from the PTA at the school in order to buy language based DS games, and other games the Consolarium have used in the past, to be kept in the school library for pupils to borrow in order to improve their French, or indeed get a taster of a new language.  Helene stated:

I managed to purchase 14 games for our school library, as well as 2 DS consoles. The idea is that children will be able to borrow the games as they can borrow books to practice French, German, Spanish and Mandarin at their leisure. I have also purchased a couple of “My Word coach” and “Brain Training” games to show that some games can be used to support literacy and numeracy.

The My French Coach games for the DS have been discontinued, however, Ubisoft have made the game (and others) available on the iPod touch / iPad at a cost of £2.99 from the AppStore, thus making it even more accessible to pupils / departments who have these devices.

January 18th, 2011

My French Coach

Brian Clark

Comments: 6 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, DS, engagement, game based learning, GBL, Learning, My French Coach, Nintendo
 : Categories Consolarium, Edinburgh, game based learning

My French Coach [1 of 3]

Hélène Clark | Firrhill High School, Edinburgh

When first playing my French Coach, the user takes a test which sets their initial comprehension of the French language. The player is then placed into a level reflective of their score. A player who scores highly will be able to skip many of the initial levels and more basic concepts.

When starting a lesson, the player is shown ten new words, which include nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs, as well as their meanings and pronunciation.

The software also includes a dictionary and phrase book, complete with audio pronunciations and the facility to record your own pronunciation for comparison purposes.

Hélène Clark, Modern Languages teacher at Firrhill High School in Edinburgh, has used My French Coach with her S1 – S3 classes between September and December 2010. This is the first of 3 blog posts which will document some of her work with pupils using the software.

With S1 pupils (12-13 years old)

The Game

In S1, pupils have a limited knowledge of French and my classes have enjoyed playing the game and progressing through levels for 15-20 minutes use about twice a week.

Pupils have been keeping a record of their progress at the back of their jotters, reflecting on their learning and noting new words they have learned. This coupled with the individuals user profile on the software allows the pupils to see how they are progressing with the language in a contemporary, familiar way that many of them are used to seeing with their social network profiles and console game profiles. In order to unlock different areas and types of game, pupils must master words. This has proven to be a highly motivating factor.

Using the Dictionary

While the game itself is a useful and motivating tool, Helene used other parts of the software as learning tool. Below is a summary of one of the tasks.

TASK – Creating sentences using prepositions.

The Set-Up

Pupils were asked to work in groups in order to create sentences using prepositions which they had learnt in class: sur, sous, dans, devant, derrière
Previously, pupils were taught how to create sentences using words they had been taught in class eg: Le chat est sur la table.

Each group was then given a photo/drawing (similar to the one below) that had unfamiliar animals, objects and rooms in them.

In groups, pupils used the My French Coach dictionary to inspire them in completing the task,

• practice pronunciation of new words (repeating and recording using the dictionary and compare tool)
• dictionary skill
• creating sentences using prepositions (Le chat est sur la table)

How the software was used

Pupils were already familiar with the dictionary tool available in the software. They were asked to examine the pictures given to them and construct descriptive sentences, using DS dictionary to find and learn unfamiliar words, including learning the pronunciation of their new words. (using the “compare” tool)

NOTE – One drawback of using the dictionary on the “My French Coach” software is that it does not give the gender of nouns and doesn’t specify if the French word given is a noun, adverb or verb. Therefore, a broader understanding of the language is necessary and S1 pupils needed to use a “paper dictionary” in order to find the gender: masculine (le) / feminine (la)

The Outcome

• Once the task was completed, pupils presented their sentences to the rest of the class. Pupils felt confident speaking French thanks to the “compare” tool.
• Other pupils enjoyed “guessing” the meaning of their partners’ work by pointing at the photo/drawing, displayed on a screen using a data projector.
• Pupils then assessed each group, in terms of effort, complexity of the sentences and number of sentences produced.

When asked about the task, pupils felt assertive about expressing their opinions:

Pupil A: “the software is very useful but it should be changed so that we can see the gender”
Pupil B: “Looking up words on the DS is fast and easier than a paper dictionary”
Pupil C: “Some words aren’t on the DS dictionary”
Pupil D: “The DS tells you how to pronounce words and makes me happier to talk French”

Hélène’s Comments

I started using the Nintendo DS consoles in August 2010, at the beginning of the new school year. I didn’t know my S1 students. The first thing I noticed is that using the Nintendo DS has helped me establish a strong, positive relationship with my new classes very quickly. The mention of the project created motivation, excitement and engagement with technology relevant to pupils.

The initial test and progressing through levels lead naturally to peer evaluation, informal discussions, bonding of class members, meaningful reward in the context of the game and meeting each student’s needs – for example:

A lower attaining ADHD pupil, who can be quite restless, started at level 1 after his initial test. He felt frustrated, knew very little French but was engaged and motivated to learn with the DS. Progressing through levels was very meaningful to him. As a result, he has made incredible progress. He may spend 20 minutes to produce 3 French sentences but he thinks thoroughly about the structure of the language and always tries to achieve his full potential. He also learns his vocabulary after each lesson as he has understood the importance of building on his own knowledge. In class, he is always positive, calm and hardworking despite his condition.

A very able, slightly over confident pupil started at level 12 after his initial test. He started by showing off to the rest of the class which didn’t make him very popular in class discussions. However, he soon realised that it was very difficult for him to progress through the levels as the game gets more challenging. He also realised that he was often rushing his work and was missing on important information or making various mistakes from grammar, spelling or structure. His attitude has now changed as he is being more conscientious on his DS or class work. He also often offers to support other pupils, using his own ability and mistakes to helping others in the class. His relationship with the rest of the class is also more positive.

I believe using the game as one tool in my classroom, has helped create an engaging climate for learning for all pupils. I have observed my pupils demonstrating the 4 capacities of Curriculum for Excellence: successful learner, confident individual, responsible citizen and effective contributor.

You can contact Hélène at Helene.Clark@firrhill.edin.sch.uk

Read Part 2 here

June 17th, 2008

Dr Kawashima post tests: The Western Isles

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: Consolarium, DS, Kawashima, Western Isles
 : Categories Nintendo, Western Isles

This week has seen my colleague from the University of Dundee, Dr David Miller, carrying out the post-tests in participating schools in Dundee with me making my way to Stornoway to carry out those in the Western Isles. The life of a Development Officer for LTS is not an easy one I may add what with a 4:30am wake up on Monday morning so that I could get to Edinburgh Airport in time for my flight! Even so, to get the opportunity to visit parts of Scotland such as the Western Isles is really a bonus. If you haven’t had a chance to come here then take the first opportunity you can…it’s Scotland with a completely different flavour to that of the central belt and it’s great to see, smell and feel.

My host and contact up here, Hamish Budge and I combined to mix up the dates of my visit and so my arrival at the airport was not expected. Eventual phone contact led to Hamish saying, “Don’t worry we’ll fix it,” followed 10 minutes later by a trail of dust left behin by Hamish’s Citroen Berlingo LPG as it streaked into the airport carpark.

All the schools managed to accommodate our rearranged visits to carry out the post-tests and many thanks to all at Laxdale, Stornoway, Tong and Back Primary Schools for their help with the project.

Today we visited Sgoil nan Loch which sits just outside Stornoway. Andrew Reeves (HT) gave me a tour of the school and I must say what an exemplar school it was. A new building with plenty of light, excellent resources, a fantastic situation with wonderful views and superb displays throughout the school. Most certainly a place of learning. See some of the photos on the Rock You slide show.

Thanks once again to all in the Western Isles for their help with this project but also for the warm welcome that is always made to visitors such as myself. Tapadh leibh!

June 17th, 2008

Dr Kawashima: The post-tests begin!

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Consolarium, DS, Kawashima, Nintendo
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Nintendo

Time flies when you’re playing Brain Training in the classroom it seems. The extended research study into the use of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training that I am doing with Dr David Miller from the University of Dundee is coming to an end. I can hardly believe that it’s been ten weeks since this began and that we are already at the post-test data collection stage.

Last week we went up to Aberdeesnhire to carry out the post tests and were ably assisted in this by the ICT Staff Tutor team that comprises of Anna Rossvoll, Alison Butcher and Caroline Denning. The same tests were given out within the same framework although this time the beautiful weather made the travel betwen the schools hugely enjoyable. What a beautiful part of the country Aberdeenshire is.

We still have Dundee, the Western Isles and East Ayrshire to visit over the next two weeks and then we’re in to the data analysis. At this stage it seems that the experience has been an enjoyable one for the children and that they do feel that the game has helped them with their mental maths. My feelings were that the schools that were using the Nintendo DS machines were very much quicker with the number test this time around but as yet I don’t know about their accuracy.  There’s quite a lot of marking to be done now.

Thanks to all in Aberdeenshire for their support with this leg of the LTS Dr Kawashima research project.

February 8th, 2008

Nintendogs project under way

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: DS, games based learning, Nintendo, Nintendogs
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Nintendo, rich tasks

Some time ago I received a very interesting proposal from the team in Aberdeenshire for a games-based-learning project that we could undertake in a couple of P.2 classrooms. The idea was to use the popular Nintendogs game for the Nintendo DS as a the context through which a cross-curricular project could be developed. What is Nintendogs I hear you ask? It’s a virtual pet that grows from being a puppy to a well-trained dog that you can take to virtual dog shows. I can assure they are great fun and disarmingly therapeutic when you scratch them behind the ear or tickle them under the belly! Have a look:

I was really interested in this and when I saw how the teachers had planned to use the resource I immediatley bought in to the idea.

The Consolarium has loaned some DSs and games to the schools and the local authority have also purchased resources to support the project. The children are working in pairs to support the nurturing and dvelopment of their virtual pets and the teachers are using the context created by the game to dive in to a range of rich tasks that open up the curriculum in a connected and meaningful fashion.

Lots of ideas for writing and number, design and technology is being looked at as the children have ben given a design brief to create a kennel that will keep a real dog dry and warm. There has also been evidence of entreupeneurship as some of the children have decided to open a dog-walking service that ocurs on a Friday afternoon (safety concerns taken acount of and parents heavily involved). The children have also established a system called Top Dogs in the class. To be a top dog you will probably have Nintendogs at home and will most likely be a more experienced player. These chiuldren are then acting as mentors to help and advise peers as they look after their dogs!

The project has a class blog, called Top Dogs, that hopes to detail the progress of the Nintendog puppies and the teaching and learning that is ongoing.

Looking forward to reporting more about this in the near future.