Looking around at the new dashboard, I found that we're still looking at bare bones: at present, all I can see are my students' Duolingo levels and XPs in table form. Previously, I took care of this by "following" my students on Duolingo as peers. In his Reddit PSA, von Ahn announced that:
In the near future, The Dashboard will help teachers understand each student’s learning needs at a level of detail previously impossible. By tracking patterns across incorrect answers and moments of hesitation, Duolingo can provide insight into each student’s areas of difficulty and provide immediate feedback in order to maximize in-class productivity. The goal is to provide a personalized learning experience to each student and free up teachers’ time to concentrate on difficult concepts, answer questions, and assist students falling behind.While these state-of-the-art data collection features aren't part of the dashboard yet, one can readily see where all this is going: platforms like Duolingo will add a new layer of augmented reality for teachers. Von Ahn's latest statement makes it clear that he does not see an inherent conflict between autodidaxy and classroom learning, evoking the dearth of qualified language teachers in many regions and the impossibility of offering significant individual attention to every student in growing class sizes. In Von Ahn's refreshingly pragmatic vision of pedagogy, computers enhance teaching rather than replace teachers. With any luck, the teacher dashboard model will help quell any remaining doubts about the benefits of turning at least some repetitive teaching tasks over to well-designed virtual platforms. As one can see from the teacher discussion board that comes as part of the dashboard, those important discussions are already getting underway.
Nice! I am looking forward to the layer of augmented reality for teachers.
RépondreSupprimerI have used duo lingo before and it was fun. I wonder how it will be effectively integrated into the classroom though. Mainly because the curriculum we teach in class does not match what duo lingo teaches. So it's a little bit like conflicts of interest. I guess it could be integrated as extra credit or something to do when you finish an assignment early.
RépondreSupprimerYou do bring up a good point though. Technology is not meant to replace the teacher, it is meant to aid the teacher. I think a lot of fear is based around this idea and in all honesty, yes technology might replace some teachers. Or perhaps create a need for a few less teachers, as a bigger audience can be served through the use of technology.
I have used Duolingo before but didn't think of how to incorporate it in the already busy curriculum of the language classes. However, I see how students can get more engaged with Duolingo than with the online exercises for the textbook. I also see the huge advantage that you pointed out of being selective in what to teach and what not to teach based on the students' results on Duolingo. We have a similar tool with the online workbook assignments and it helps the teacher to focus his/her attention in the areas that are needed.
RépondreSupprimerThis is neat! It reminds me a bit of the teacher tools for Khan academy which I used in my classroom in a similar way. I would offer extra credit and also let kids go on the site in class with our class set of chrome books if they finished their other work early. I think it is important to acknowledge that individualized learning software can be integrated to the classroom, but this transition can be made easier by adding some tools specifically for teachers. I'm glad this is the direction duolingo seems to be going.
RépondreSupprimerSomething I see here that Khan did not do (at least not a few years ago, I know these elements can change quickly!) is the teacher discussion forum. I'd love to know more about how teacher's are using the forum. Do they mainly discuss duolingo software or is it a place to discuss general language pedagogy?