Michelle Gallen : Weblog

Possible Multiple Choice Quiz Ban

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:51:23 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/08/possible-multiple-choice-quiz-b

I recently read about Naomi Gadian, a medical student with dyslexia. She's taking legal action to try and prevent the use of multiple choice exams as part of doctors' training.

Naomi believes that multiple choice exams discriminate against dyslexics and wants the General Medical Council to scrap them. If she wins her case, all medical schools might have to drop the exams.

But it's not just medical schools who'll have to change. Institutions across the world rely on simplistic multiple choice quizzes to test learner's knowledge. It's how the UK government tests learner drivers. So as Naomi Gadian's solicitor, John MacKenzie, has pointed out, "Every professional body or employer who relies for a professional qualification, or as a promotional gateway, on multiple choice questions is heading for a fall."

Is it true that students with dyslexia are discriminated against in multiple choice quizzes? I'm not sure.

Students with dyslexia are usually allowed extra time in written exams. Multiple choice quizzes are no different. Students with dyslexia get extra time to complete these. However, a student with dyslexia may struggle in particular with multiple choice exams due to the particular eye control it takes to read AND select the correct option.

It doesn't state anywhere if Naomi is struggling with a paper exam or a PC exam. But I'm assuming it's e-learning. Today, most e-learning content produced by professional bodies or employers is screenreader compatible. It's designed to be accessible to blind or visually impaired students. In fact, any learner can choose to read text with the assistance of a screen reader. The correct answer can be typed in. There are lots of ways in which a student with dyslexia can get assistance in completing a multiple choice exam to the best of their ability, so I'm not sure how this case will proceed.

However, Naomi doesn't just seem to be questioning how the questions are delivered. She's also questioning whether testing a doctor's knowledge using multiple choice questions is valid.

The BBC quoted Naomi as saying "In normal day life, you don't get given multiple choice questions to sit. Your patients aren't going to ask you 'here's an option and four answers. Which one is right?'"

I hope not. Any time I've been to hospital or my doctor's surgery, I've given the doctor as much information as I can about my problem. Then I've expected the doctor to generate a list of possible options, which they may or may not share with me. I get to wait as they select the option they think is the most likely one.

So it seems to me that multiple choice questions are not the best way to test doctors for this type of knowledge. Multiple choice questions ask a question and provide the user with a list of possible answers.

However, user input quizzes (whether spoken or typed) more accurately reflect the situation Naomi describes. But would she be happier if user input questions were used? User input questions simply ask a question and require the user to come up with an answer. User input questions are an awful lot harder than multiple choice questions. It's sometimes hard to find the right answer when staring at a blank sheet, or at an empty screen. User input questions reflect real life.

I think that the real reason much e-learning relies on the multiple choice question format is that it's easy to write. And it's easy to assess. And I think multiple choice questions are easier for learners to pass - the odds of getting it right are usually 1/4. Much e-learning is over-reliant on multiple choice quizzes. It's easy. It's sometimes lazy.

But ban them and what happens?

100 useful web tools for different kinds of learners

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:12:13 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/06/100-useful-web-tools-for-differ

You might not need 100 useful web tools, but you'll probably find one or two little gems on this list sent to me by Fiona King.

The list groups tools according to the type of task in hand (podcasting, mindmapping, notetaking), but has also organised them for various learning styles.

If you're an auditory learner who learns best hearing text rather than reading it, you can scoot down the list and check out sites like readplease.com, which can read aloud text for you (and is apparently also a great proof-hearing tool).

An tÚll Mhór - Learning Irish in New York

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:11:37 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/04/ll-mhr-learning-irish-in-new-yo

I'm in New York from tomorrow for 8 days. I'm there to talk to Irish language learners and teachers about what they use to learn Irish outside of Ireland. I've been working really hard to get the podcasts, flashcards and quizzes ready for launch on www.talkirish.com - I haven't got an official launch date just yet, but I'll email everyone who's already signed up and post here as soon as I do!

Seems like Irish is a hot topic now, and Des Bishop, the Irish-American comedian, has a great show called 'In the name of the Fada' which tackles the national problem with the national language. Catch up with the show online at RTE.

Des's website, www.desbishop.com, has a link to some interactive Irish learning materials. The materials certainly look good, but I haven't had a chance to test the content out yet, and I'm not sure at what level it's aimed at. If anyone else has tried it out, let me know!

Lingro.com - open source language learning

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:11:37 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2007/11/lingrocom-open-source-language-

lingro.com is a cool new language-learning website I've been using this week.

lingro is different from other language-learning sites I've seen. First of all, it's free. Working with an open-source philosophy, lingro has created dictionaries for learners of English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Polish.

The dictionaries are open-source - if you don't find a word, you can add it. Or if you're using a derivative of a root word, you can link to the root word (not sure if what I link to affects what other people see, or if it's just my dictionary).

But lingro isn't just a collection of open-source dictionaries. The lingro team have cleverly linked together a series of tools. First you can look up a word in the dictionary. You'll get a definition(s), perhaps a phrase, and in some cases audio.

You can then add this word to your wordlist. From your wordlist you can then review words, or go to the games section to learn them. At the moment, the only game is a basic flashcard game, but the team are working on putting more together.

Apart from the dictionaries, you can also use their web viewer. The web viewer doesn't translate an entire page from one language to the next - it enables you to click individual words for a translation. I know I've used something like this in Firefox before - it's a great little tool for someone who's trying to improve their understanding, but is lacking key words. You can add the words you look up to your wordlist - giving you a list of vocab you need to work on.

Lastly, lingro has a file viewer, which enables you to open a file (.txt, .doc, or .pdf) in your web browser. You can then click each individual word in that doc for a translation, and add words to your word list for further learning.

For a test, I tried opening my 60 page word doc of 'Le Petit Prince' with images. Lingro's file viewer was able to cope with this long, image-heavy doc and quickly opened the file ready for use. Pretty cool.

Essentially, a lot of what lingro offers is not new. Language dictionaries aren't. Word lists aren't. Page viewers and integrated translators aren't. Flashcards certainly aren't. But what lingro does is it joins the dots...everything is integrated. It streamlines the process. It's pretty simple to use. And it's free.

The lingro.com team is made up of Artur Janc, Paul Kastner and Holmes Wilson who are all lingotechnophiles (I just made that word up!). They seem to be a pretty cool bunch, who are all for making it easy for people to learn and be creative using opensource technologies.

But guys...here's a question from someone who's trying to create online language learning resources, who loves opensource, who loves web 2.0, who believes learning shoudl be free and open to everyone...how are you funding your work??? I'd love to be creating free language learning materials for Irish, but can't get a model that enables me to create quality materials and interesting learning engines while not starving...and certainly no model that interests the funders!

Lingro launches new free language learning tools

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:20:58 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/03/lingro-launches-new-free-langua

Lingro have translated their site into French, Spanish, German, Italian and Polish, so massively expanding their targe user base.

And they've launched some brand new FREE language learning tools (again I ask, HOW are they doing it???). I've not had a chance to play properly with everything, but I've grabbed two of their widgets to help ESL readers of my blog.

The first of these is a badge that enables users to open my page in Lingro. This means they can then translate it to the language of their choice. If this is helpful for any of my readers who have English as a second language, please please let me know! It's near the bottom of the right-hand column - try it out now.

The second widget for your blog or website displays a real depth of thought from the Lingro team. When users find a translation missing in Lingro, they can use the widget to contribute a translation for the missing word. This is clever because although the Lingro team have put a huge up-front effort into creating their tools and resources before launching, the Web 2.0 model of their ongoing project requires user-generated content to continually add value. Disseminating widgets to where their people might need them most is a great idea.

I haven't had time to check out the other tools, so if anyone has a go and wants to feedback here, they're more than welcome!

New FREE Lingro language learning tools include:

- a "sentence history" page that lets you see the sites you've visited through Lingro, the words you clicked on and the sentences they were in.
- A new dictionary building tool that lets people enter translations of missing words.
- A Swedish dictionary which translates back and forth between all the other languages on Lingro (Lingro say they've had loads of requests for it from users).

I'm a fan of Lingro...but I'd love to know what other people think! Post a comment with what you think of Lingro's new tools.

Check out my previous post on Lingro for more info on the website and tools.

A Model explains how to Use a Mobile phone

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:20:58 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/02/model-explains-how-to-use-mobil

This is an old video on mobile technology, but it's quite interesting. It features American model, Anina, who has been named Nokia Champion the last two years in a row for her innovation in the mobile space.

The interview was NERDTV's first interview with a woman. And it shows. The interviewer, Robert Cringly, seems mostly pleased that he is interviewing a model, rather than being engaged in Anina's talk. But the video's well worth the watch.

Couldn't find it on youtube to embed here, so you'll have to visit PBS.

Smartphones vs Stupid Operators

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:20:58 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/02/smartphones-vs-stupid-operators

Up until May 2007, I was a very basic mobile user. I had an old Sony Ericsson that I used mostly for texting. I didn't ring on it much because after a few minutes, the phone hurt my head. I didn't use the built-in camera as my digital camera was much better.

I didn't invest money in a new phone because I never really knew what a phone could do for me. I knew what my needs were, but the ads and shops were just plain confusing. And even though mobile operators only had to provide text and talk packages that made them loads of money, the packages were always so convoluted that I only ever felt like I was signing up to be ripped off. So I just stuck to my old O2 pay as you go, 200 free texts a month sim.

Buying a new phone always seemed to be about how it looked. How pretty it was. The ringtone. And for some people, the camera. I'm not big into brands or the latest gizmo, and couldn’t care less about what my phone looks like.

But then my boyfriend introduced me to the world of smartphones. He explained what the different phones and operating systems could do. And with his advice, I quickly bought a nokia n73 and changed from O2 to T-mobile to get a decent data plan, although I got ripped off on T-mobile's roaming charges (not cost effective if you live between Derry and Donegal).

But with the dataplan, I could access the web all day for the flat rate of £1. So suddenly I was able to check gmail through the gmail app, check google maps, browse the web etc.

Of course, checking mail meant needing to reply to mail...needing to reply to mail meant a data input problem, so I bought a bluetooth igo Stowaway fold-out keyboard for £40.

Having solved my data input problem, I installed quickoffice - so now I can view and edit word docs, excel sheets and powerpoint presentations. I've got the 85,000 words of my unfinished novel on my phone. That's where I edit it these days.

When I wake with great blog or game ideas in the middle of the night, I input them into my phone. It's where I do my shopping list. My expenses. I use the calcium calculator app.

I've stored music and podcasts on my phone. I've used the camera instead of my usual camera. I've taken pictures and videos of the neices and nephews. And pictures of the wine labels I've enjoyed so next time I'm in the offie, I can browse my wine label collection for one I liked.

And for learning French, I use my slovoed French dictionary - with thousands of text and audio entries, I can translate and learn on the go.

When the iphone arrived, I couldn't understand the fuss to be honest. Yes it is soooooo pretty. And touchscreens are where it's at (no more figuring out what buttons to put where – just produce one really nicely designed device and let the software do the work. When you've figured out how to do something better, you just upgrade the software).

But I'd been using my phone to do pretty much anything the iPhone can do, and maybe a bit more. So when I read in this Guardian article yesterday that 'The launch last year of Apple's iPhone proved that people will use the internet on a mobile phone' I got a bit annoyed.

The iPhone did not prove that people will use the Internet on a mobile phone. However, the iPhone ad campaign was the first mobile campaign that took time to teach people how they could use their phone.

The iPhone, ironically, is the first phone that I can think of that wasn't sold on its looks. No sexy models caressing the casing. No hot young dudes connecting with their equally hot friends on the latest must-have phone.

Apple didn’t have to sell the phone on how sexy it looked. It was an Apple product. Looking sexy was a given.

What they did instead was use their 30 second ad to give the consumer a brief tutorial in how to use your mobile. They showed us how to send an email. How to browse the web. How to check the weather on your phone.

Irritatingly, this does mean that proud new iphone owners spend their time giving me tutorials in how to send an email or browse the web. I have to say, Apple do it better. And quicker - check out their ads here.

The same Guardian article has quoted Scott Horn, general manager of Microsoft's mobile communications business group as saying "Our goal is to put a smartphone in every person's pocket."

First things first, for advertising, communications and learning, mobile technology's where it's at. More people have mobiles than have PCS. Smartphones are a stepping stone. Google and Microsoft are both throwing lots of time and money at the mobile market.

But the big problem I find here is not the phone or the software. It's the data plans. Scott Horn can put a smartphone in everyone's pocket, but what's he going to do about the rip-off data plans?

The mobile phone operators have realised that consumers want more than just text and talk. And that if we want to talk, we might want to use VoiP. Instead of texting, we want IM. And they don't want that.

I’ve got an O2 web bolt-on on my phone. O2 describe this as being ‘Unlimited Internet Access’.

What it really means is that I can browse the web and get email. I can use no more than 200MB of data per month. I can’t use internet radio, audio streaming, video streaming, skype, msn or any other instant messaging, no VoIP, no P2P, no FTP, no remote desktop, no remote access of any sort, no modem use.

And this wonderful deal only applies to UK usage…if I go abroad (which for a Northern Irish consumer means if I visit sunny sunny Cavan) I’ll be charged £8/MB.

Mobile operators used to only have to figure out ways of selling incredibly lucrative talk and text packages to consumers. Now they have to deal with all the different types of demands that mobile web brings with it.

And I get the feeling that until the mobile operators can figure out a way to truly fleece me on each individual mobile need I have (which might take them years), or until Google become a network provider, I’ll have the endure the joys of ‘Unlimited Internet Access’.

Irish Blog Awards Shortlists

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:20:58 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/02/irish-blog-awards-shortlists.ht

The shortlists are out...and www.liquidelearning.com is on it - very pleased! Check out the shortlisted blogs here.

The award ceremony will take place on 1 March in the Alexander hotel in Dublin.

My top ten e-learning tools

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:27:57 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/01/my-top-ten-e-learning-tools.htm

I listed my top ten e-learning tools on the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. Check out the post here. Ignore the fact I look as though I am flexing muscles only an e-learning consultant could be proud of.

Get fit with e-Exercising

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:52:06 GMT

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2007/09/get-fit-with-e-exercising.html

In schools, obesity levels are rapidly rising and teachers face pupils hostile to traditional competitive sports.

The solution? Dance Revolution!

According to the BBC, this computer dance programme has got teenage girls in Luton into the gym and working out.

I can't see how the actual idea is all that different from me following my yoga dvd at home, rather than in a guru-directed class, except that the pupils dance on individual mats, that score their performance.

Students can compete against each other, or simply work towards a personal best.

Now, wouldn't it be interesting if we could create a great big touch-sensitive gym floor, that enabled us to load a variety of exercise programmes into its system, rather than using a series of dance mats?

Or if we could create an interactive multi-angled camera system that films and interprets your 3D performance, rather than just your foot position?

Although, I'm not sure I really need the computer saying 'Michelle, you need to stretch 22% more into the Plough Pose to achieve maximum flexibility'.