Sunday, January 27, 2013

Conjuguemos Website Review


After visiting Merlot to find an activity for my Spanish 1 classroom, I discovered this helpful website: Conjuguemos. Please read on if you would like to discover more about a website for language learners of all levels to practice conjugating verbs or learning vocabulary in a fun way.  

Quality of Content:
  1. Does the software present valid (correct) concepts, models, and skills? Yes, the software presents correct drill practices for conjugating verbs and practicing vocabulary.  I checked with the the Spanish book (Avancemos 1) that I use in my classroom and the vocabulary aligns correctly. 
  2. Does the software present educationally significant concepts, models, and skills for the discipline? Yes, it provides you with drill practice and correct answers for vocabulary and verb conjugations.  It provides a word chart and vocabulary list that students may look at before they complete the practice exercises. 
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool:
  1. What stage(s) in the learning process/cycle could the materials be used? This website should be used for "practice". 
  2. What is(are) the learning objective(s)? What should students be able to do after successfully learning with the materials? Depending on the objectives presented by the teacher, the students should be able to master a certain vocabulary list or verb tense.  
  3. What are the characteristics of the target learner(s)? Prior knowledge of Spanish.
  4. Does the interactive/media-rich presentation of material improve faculty and students' abilities to teach and learn the materials? It doesn't improve the faculty's ability to teach the material because it is a site for practice.  It will improve the students' ability to learn the material.  
  5. Can the use of the software be readily integrated into current curriculum and pedagogy within the discipline? Yes.
  6. Can the software be used in a variety of ways to achieve teaching and learning goals? Yes.
  7. Are the teaching-learning goals easy to identify? No. 
  8. Can good learning assignments for using the software application be written easily? Yes, students would be able to practice their material using this website at home with Internet access.  It has worksheets that can be printed under the Spanish Grammar Lab tab. 
Ease of Use:
  1. Are the labels, buttons, menus, text, and general layout of the computer interface consistent and visually distinct? Yes.
  2. Does the user get trapped in the material? No. 
  3. Can the user get lost easily in the material? No.
  4. Does the module provide feedback about the system status and the user's responses? In order to print results and/or send results to the teacher, the student and teacher need to be a member of the website.   
  5. Does the module provide appropriate flexibility in its use? Yes.
  6. Does the learning material require a lot of documentation, technical support, and/or instruction for most students to successfully use the software? No, the website is very easy to navigate with basic computer skills.
  7. Does the material present information in ways that are familiar for students? Yes.
  8. Does the material present information in ways that would be attractive to students? Yes.  A great feature is that students can time themselves and see their results instantly.  It makes practicing Spanish feel more like a game for the student.  

1 comment:

  1. I am always amazed at the plethora of websites available for language learners. I am glad you found this one. I think that it is important to note (as you did) that you need to have some background knowledge when using these sites. They are not stand alone instructional models without teacher direction and prior knowledge. Thanks for sharing!

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