Embedded Files
This project applies Prof. Rose Luckin's Ecology of Resources Framework in participatory "design in the wild" that explores opportunities and develops designs for foreign language vocabulary learning in technology rich settings.
miLexicon - mobile probe/app for Android
Screenshots from vocab item record (click image for larger version)
miLexicon (*pronounced my lexicon) - is a probe for exploring ways that mobile apps might help people collect and connect the words and experiences they encounter and want to get into their mental lexicons
miLexicon Research Summary
Findings:
mobile apps can promote & support effective self-directed vocabulary learning practices, for example helping learners to easily collect & initiate inquiries into words and phrases that interest them, and providing access to social and other resources that can help with these inquiries, anywhere, anytime.
but many learners will require extra help to engage in the sustained personal & social activity likely necessary to bring new vocabulary into their active lexicons; for example prompts to review, make associations with, share & creatively use the words and meanings they collect.
learners differ: in the resources they like to use; the vocabulary learning strategies they prefer to adopt; their preferred patterns of use (e.g. studying a word-a-day, adding several words at a time after reading).
Recommendations:
Apps for vocabulary learning should prompt or otherwise nudge users to use them, particularly to review and do things with words, as opposed to just adding words and looking them up.
However, the ways users are prompted (frequency, when, where, how) and the actions they are prompted to take (e.g. test yourself, write a sentence with this word, find an image to illustrate it, try using this word, etc) should be highly-configurable and easy for end users to change.
Similarly, the resources directly available through an app (e.g. dictionaries to look words up with, people to ask for help, social environments in which to practice using words, etc.) should be easily configurable by end-users to match their preferences.
Products:
miLexicon, an android app/probe for exploring opportunities for personal and social vocabulary learning.
various ideas & design sketches for improving similar apps so as to motivate and otherwise scaffold better self-regulation of vocabulary learning and accomodate individual preferences (see forthcoming thesis for details). These ideas and designs were generated and elaborated through participatory design, grounded in participants' self-motivated experiences of using miLexicon in authentic settings over extended periods.
Design framework & methods (towards improving learner centred design innovation efficiency):
The approach to design adopted in miLexicon can be an effective way of exploring learners' perspectives on new opportunities for learning in technology-rich settings and generating learner centred designs.
Narrative accounts of learning and autoethnography can provide insights into learner perspectives of context and contingencies that successful learning may be dependent on. These insights reveal opportunities for using technology to change context and contingencies and support learning.
Probes can be used to explore the effect of new technology on learner context 'in the wild' and provide stimuli and experiences to ground user/designer/developer design dialogue.
Collaborative sketching can help draw out and elucidate participatory (re-)design of educational technologies grounded in 'authentic' experiences with technology probes.
Improved processes & tools for collecting and reflecting on 'in the wild' experiences, and supporting design teams and users in collaborating around these, could improve the efficiency of this approach.
miLexicon Design Phases
1) Mapping resource ecologies, analysing vocabulary learning narratives, and identifying opportunities
My analysis of narrative accounts of vocabulary learning resulted in the observation that learning vocabulary often involves connecting different kinds of activity across episodes, settings and media. This led to the idea that mobile phones could help learners connect (formal or informal) encounters with new vocabulary with later opportunities for reflection, inquiry and practice, and the social and technological resources that can support these activities. My own experiences using a mobile phone to support vocabulary learning supported this idea. The story below, drawn from my own experience, provides an example of the kinds of activity and the resources that can be involved.
Using mobile & social media for language learning (click image for larger version)
2) Exploratory opportunities: development & deployment of miLexicon app/technology probe
In this phase I designed and developed an app to explore opportunities for self-directed vocabulary learning assisted by a mobile phone (miLexicon, see below). This app aimed to help people collect and connect vocab.
miLexicon is software for (Android) mobile phones that aims to better connect learners, their experiences of language in the world, and ubiquitous Personal Language Learning Environments (PLE). miLexicon aims to make the kind of personal and collaborative language investigation, illustrated in the story above, easier by providing structure and prompts and bringing the relevant resources closer (one tap away ;-).
miLexicon consists of two connected, extensible and shareable collections: 1) one contains words, phrases or cultural/linguistic observations the learner collects, 2) the other contains the resources that form a PLE/PLN that supports the learner's inquiry into meaning, use and production of language in the first list.
In the first list learners add words, notes and multi-modal media linked to their language experiences. Vocabulary items in this list can be revisited, revised and updated to reflect a learner's growing understanding. In the second list learners add their own favourite online resources (e.g. Forvo, WordReference, Wiktionary, Wordnik, etc). Once added, these resources are directly available from a menu in vocabulary item records and can be used to support investigation into meaning and use. Searchable "on-device" resources, such as downloaded dictionaries or email, can also be accessed directly from vocabulary item records. Vocabulary items can also be 'shared' with collaborators, or more broadly, using whichever social media the learner uses on the phone (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, SMS or MMS, etc.).
I used miLexicon myself for several months and then recruited six other language learners who also used miLexicon for self-motivated vocabulary learning over periods ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months.
3) Participatory (re-)design of support for, and self-regulation of personal & social vocabulary learning in technology-rich settings
I then invited users of miLexicon to take part in two workshops where we used collaborative sketching to draw out and elucidate ideas for apps to better support vocabulary learning. My analysis of these designs and my own and others experiences of using miLexicon leads to recommendations for features for apps to support vocabulary learning (see forthcoming thesis).
Recommendations
Early findings suggest that miLexicon can very successfully prompt and structure learners' capture of new language and facilitate access to resources that help learners make sense of and potentially use this language. However, future designs need to better prompt and support learner self-regulation. This might involve 'nudging' learners to revisit, revise, practise and deepen inquiries into vocabulary added in the past and prompting learners to try using this language.
+Social Learning
Also, many learners do not have access to social spaces in which they feel comfortable sharing inquiries into language and culture. In such situations, use of miLexicon needs to be coupled with direct access to supportive and appropriate social media spaces. Such spaces may need to combine support for anonymous contributions and question asking, with authoritative feedback.
Two key areas for future investigation are:
1) Exploration of the ways teachers (or other collaborators) might help prompt and structure learners' use of miLexicon. For example, by challenging learners to find 5 new words a week and to share their inquiries into these, or by sending learners key target vocabulary as prompts for investigation. Teachers and other collaborators might also suggest and/or pre-load miLexicon resource list with useful resources. Current versions of miLexicon do allow 'sharing' of resources using social media but this feature has not been well used. Investigation is required into appropriate ways of prompting, promoting and supporting resource sharing.
2) Exploration of the ways miLexicon might 'nudge' learners to revisit vocabulary and support revision. This might involve appropriately spaced spoken and written reminders delivered through the phone notification system. Even if learners do not follow up links from notifications to vocab item records hearing and seeing the notifications may prompt and strengthen recall. Other technical developments might include adaptive prompts to complete investigation into incomplete vocab records; e.g. if the learner has not added an image/looked up in reference material/'shared' the vocab item in period x, prompt the user to take the corresponding action. Revision should also be better supported, perhaps through incorporation of flashcard facilities or practice tests/games within miLexicon or through better integration with external software - e.g. export of word lists from miLexicon in a format that can be used with existing phone based Flashcard software (e.g. Vocabulary Trainer for Google Docs).
More information
On Scribd: miLexicon 3 page brochure - miLexicon 1 page research outline
On Slideshare
Related Publications
Underwood, J., Luckin, R., Winters, N (2012) Managing resource ecologies for mobile, personal and collaborative self-directed language learning In Proceedings of EuroCALL 2010 - Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Underwood, J., Luckin, R., Winters, N (2011) Context & Connections: Designing a Vocab App, Context and Technology Enhanced Learning (ConTEL): Theory, methodology and design workshop, at EC-TEL 2011, Palermo, Sicily
Underwood, J., Luckin, R., Winters, N (2011) miLexicon: Harnessing Resources for Personal and Collaborative Language Inquiry. In Wannemacker, G. Clarebout, P. De Causmaecker (Eds.): ITEC 2010, CCIS 126, pp. 87–98, Springer
Underwood, J., Luckin, R., Winters, N (2011) Retelling Stories: Setting Learner Narratives in Resource Ecologies. In proceedings of CSCL 2011
Underwood, J., Luckin, R., Winters, N (2010) Modeling Context to Provide Adaptive Support for Inquiry-based Foreign Language & Culture Learning. unpublished - available online.
Underwood, J (2009) Designing Technology Enhanced Learning Contexts, In: Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Computer supported collaborative learning, Pages 270-272, ISLS.
Google Sites
Report abuse