Mobile Character Trainer App for First-Year Chinese

Mobile Character Trainer App for First-Year Chinese

Grant:
Instructional Development Fund (IDF)
Academic Year:
2011 - 2012 (June 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012)
Funding Requested:
$500.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
dporter
lsgrande
Overview of the Project:
I am requesting a grant of $500 to adapt instructional software I have already createdon my own for use in first-year Chinese language courses at the University of Michigan. The software is a mobile app to help students learn to write Chinese characters.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:
1) Adapt character trainer app for beta testing with Chinese 101 / 102 students2) Gather preliminary feedback on student experience with app3) Plan for further development of app based on student feedback
Project Achievements:
In November 2011 we were awarded a $500 grant to develop a mobile app to help first-year students of Chinese learn to write characters. We are pleased to report that the funding enabled us to complete and field-test the initial version of the app that we had planned. We set up the app on the iOS and Android platforms to teach the (approximately 75) characters required for three lessons taught at the beginning of the second-semester course (Chinese 102). We demonstrated the app in several class sessions, made it available for student use, and collected student feedback on their experience with the software.Early in the project, we entered into discussion with staff at the Language Resource Center about the app. They proved very supportive and purchased two iPads for the LRC so that students who didn’t own appropriate devices could try out the app at that facility. They also helped us design appropriate survey instruments and interpret survey results.Because we introduced the app midway through the course and because we only had a few lessons available for testing, fewer students actually tried out the app than we had hoped. The reports from those who used the app (probably a couple dozen altogether) were generally very encouraging. They offered some helpful suggestions for improving the user interface, but on balance indicated that the app was a very helpful and effective learning tool.
Continuation:
For the next phase of the project (for which we have applied for further funding), we intend over the summer to prepare all of the lessons in the first-semester course so that we can introduce the app to students when they begin Chinese 101 in the fall. Our hope is that if students are encouraged to use the app from the very beginning and are assured that all the required characters are available on the app, they will more inclined to use it. As smartphones and tablets become cheaper and more ubiquitous, course-dedicated apps like this are bound to become more commonplace and their advantages more immediately apparent to students.We are grateful for the CRLT grant that made this initial test version possible and look forward to continuing with the development of this project.
Dissemination:
Once we have successfully deployed the completed app in the first-year course sequence, we will explore the possibility of making it available for students in second-year Chinese courses as well.Also, the original app was recognized for its technological and pedagogical innovation in the Fall 2011 UM Mobile App Challenge.
Advice to your Colleagues:
It's probably helpful, in many respects, to introduce even the test version of an IT innovation at the beginning of a course or course sequence in order to encourage student buy-in. Also, build in lots of extra time for testing, debugging, and unexpected development snafus. Mobile app development and deployment is much more time-consuming than, say, building an equivalent website.
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