ÔÅÉ ÈÅÓÓÁËÏÍÉÊÇÓ / LINGUA PROGRAM
Lingua Action 2-Development of Tools and Materials
Re: 90085-CP-1-2001-1-GR-LINGUA-L2
Project: HelloNet
FINAL EVALUATION OF THE
COURSE
REPORT
Evaluation is widely recognized as a
critical component of the development of educational materials and
technologies. Thus, within the framework of HelloNet program we have conducted
a number of formative evaluations during the development process where members
of the target population/ student users as well as colleagues were consulted
about both the usability and learn ability of the on-line course and the web
site/ portal in general. Results from those surveys were processed in all cases
and reports were made on every evaluation conducted. Not to mention that all
answers and suggestions were thoroughly taken under consideration.
In the present case a formative
evaluation was conducted concerning the overall project; the HelloNet web site
and the course. The respondents of this
final survey were all students of European universities and were asked --to answer 21 questions of a questionnaire
distributed to them. In total, 80 respondents (male
and female) replied, 50 of foreign partner institutions and 30 Erasmus students
studying in Greek institutions (TEI of Thessaloniki and TEI of Athens).
The questionnaire consisted
of both questions with
yes/no answers, as well as open-ended ones which demanded suggestions and
comments from the people asked. The outcomes of the survey have been, as
always, of great help to the improvement of both the teaching materials/
courses and the layout of the HelloNet program. However, it should be mentioned
that since progress in the field of Information and Communication Technologies
never seizes, it is our wish to keep the HelloNet site useful and updated.
The results of the questionnaires are as follows:
Respondents’ Details
A)
Nationality
|
Country |
# |
|
Finland |
|
|
France |
|
Total
|
80 |
B)
Gender
C)
Occupation
|
YES |
|
|
NO |
0 0% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
|
YES |
77 96.25% |
|
NO |
0
0% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
3 3.75% |
In this case there was only
one respondent who found it difficult to relate the topics with the buttons.
|
YES |
70 87.5% |
|
NO |
7 8.75% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
3 3.75% |
The majority of respondents
were positive as far as navigation is concerned with a minor percentage who
thought opposite and only one student who argued that links were not so
evident.
|
YES |
80 100% |
|
NO |
0 0% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
|
YES |
64 80% |
|
NO |
13 16.25% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
3 3.75% |
Interestingly enough, three
students found the site old-fashioned and therefore not so appealing.
Suggestions at this point were technical and concerned the layout.
|
YES |
60 75% |
|
NO |
10 12.5% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
10 12.5% |
In the present question 2 out
of 3 respondents who replied “Other” reported not quite having understood the
meaning of the question. We believe that the same probably happened with at
least one of the students who said no, as the explanation was, it would be
difficult to use the keyboard with Greek characters.
|
YES |
40 50% |
|
NO |
16 20% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
24 30% |
Unfortunately, for technical
reasons not all respondents could get the sound. As mentioned to us, they were
not supplied with headphones. Therefore, that explains at least the negative
rate being high.
|
YES |
71 88.75% |
|
NO |
9
11.25% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
Here
there was no justification for the negative replies, which would really
interest us to get some new suggestions from them.
|
YES |
24 30% |
|
NO |
56 70% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
At
this point we wished for the majority of replies to be negative as the nature
of the question is actually negative itself. However, as observed there seemed
to be quite an interesting number of respondents who actually find activities
difficult and this is something that should be taken under serious
consideration for future improvements.
|
YES |
70 87.5% |
|
NO |
4 5% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
6 7.5% |
Some students reported at
this point that although understandable they would rather prefer them to be
more detailed.
|
YES |
70 87.5% |
|
NO |
10 12.5% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
|
YES |
64 80% |
|
NO |
16 20% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
We believe that 20.2% is a
considerable negative rate. However, what should also be mentioned here is that
a lot of positive feedback was made concerning the sufficiency of the reference
materials.
|
YES |
47 58.75% |
|
NO |
27 33.75% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
6 7.5% |
In the specific question the
impression we got from the negative replies was that users would rather have a
tutor to assist them rather than just reference materials to look up.
|
YES |
73 91.25% |
|
NO |
0
0% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
7 8.75% |
At
this point we got a variety of replies. Some respondents argued that games are
too easy and therefore not so fun to do. Others thought opposite and some
stated they were not really keen of games.
|
YES |
64 80% |
|
NO |
0 0% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
16 20% |
In this question 5 (five)
respondents (20.2%) didn’t give an answer because as reported they didn’t
understand the question. They were classified under the “other” category.
|
YES |
64 80% |
|
NO |
6 7.5% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
10 12.5% |
At
this point, almost all negative replies were due to the lack of understanding
just like in question n#6. Actually, the present question concerns learning
methodologies and it seems that students are not yet familiarized of being
asked about their learning styles. Maybe in future developments they must be
taught the word ‘autonomous’ which is a greek word.
|
YES |
64 80% |
|
NO |
10 12.5% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
6 7.5% |
Once
again, as in the former question, the majority of respondents replied
positively with a small amount of negative ones who most probably didn’t quite
understand what they were asked.
|
YES |
60 75% |
|
NO |
20 25% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
0 0% |
No doubt, 25% is a
considerable rate, especially when it comes to such an important element of the
course, its material. However, neither suggestions nor explanations were made.
|
YES |
70 87.5% |
|
NO |
7
8.75% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
3 3.75% |
This
is a question that totally depends on the personality of each user since what
one considers ‘enjoyable’ cannot not be overgeneralized. In any case, the
majority gave a positive answer.
|
YES |
67 83.75% |
|
NO |
3 3.75% |
|
OTHER (PLEASE EXPLAIN) |
10 12.5% |
In
this final question, all 3 respondents who replied “other” stated that they did
not have time to browse the information about
Among the ideas brought out by respondents
was the need for audio input to be more
clear whereas others felt there should be more detailed information concerning
instructions in general. Some proved to be inhibited by the use of the
keyboard, as far as writing in Greek was concerned.
As
far as the content of the lessons is concerned, respondents believe that the
grammar section could be more detailed. With reference to the exercises 0they
seem to need more grammar practice and some suggest there should be more
game-like exercises, i.e. crosswords.
Some asked for more pictures
(a photo gallery perhaps) in the “About Greece” section where cultural and
sociological aspects of the Greek life are presented.
The current evaluation examined the
effectiveness and impact of the teaching material/ course of the HelloNet
program to potential students.
Most respondents were positive
towards the teaching material and the portal in general. They find the platform
user friendly (100%), the navigation easy and flexible (96%) and easy to use
(87.5%) by someone with minor computer skills. They find graphics and symbols
clear to use (100%), the layout appealing (79.1%), the language input
meaningful (75%) and the audio input clear (50%). 87% of the respondents find
comprehension tasks useful and 70% of them believe that language activities are
not difficult. In this point, as 29.2% find language activities difficult we
need to take this under consideration when we deal with future improvements of
the material. Most of the people (87.5%) find instructions understandable and
are satisfied with the range of activities.79.1% find the reference material
complete and efficient and 58.3% think they would use it often. About the
e-games that are part of each lesson, they find them (91.6%) easy and fun to
do. Most of them (79.1%) feel that the software offers them free choice of what
to watch and listen to, promotes
autonomous learning and allows the user to work at his own pace. For the ‘About
Greece’ part of the portal, they believe (75%) that the material offers the
chance to get to know every day
In conclusion, the majority of respondents are proved to be optimistic about the
course and enthusiastic not only with its material, but with its
well-structured design as well. Most users believe that the site is
attractive and well-planned with a great potential. They find it easy to
navigate through, with clear graphics and obvious tasks.
Indeed, while there is a need to
make students enthusiastic about the subject matter, it must be remembered that
depth of learning is a desire to understand. It is not the same as enthusiasm
for the subject. With reference to the above, a considerable percentage
believes that the material of the course is well-organized, aiming at
developing the language skills of listening comprehension, reading and writing.
It is also believed that IT has the capacity to allow for variation in ways of
practicing and getting immediate feedback which would lead to assessment for
deeper learning, while at the same time it promotes autonomous learning. Based on new Language Teaching
methodologies over distance the Hellonet portal gives students the opportunity
to learn a foreign language autonomously, while at the same time they get
familiarized with a new culture.
However, consistently on the
questionnaires, remarks indicate a need for further clarifications mainly about
the objectives of the course and the approaches to learning in order to get the
students to think about how they study, and perhaps then they might adopt a
more responsible approach to assessment. Last but not least, within
our future plans is the building of a forum in order to develop reciprocity and
collaboration among students, encourage more active learning and aim at good
practice in on line learning.
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