Abstract
In the previous round of TDLEG, we developed the tool called uReply Lingua which is a platform that focused on language oral practice through cleverly integrating cloud technology, mobile technology and artificial intelligence (in the form of speech recognition). The result of the product was a web-based teaching-oriented system in which every teacher can easily customize own oral drilling exercises. In the platform, students listen to model pronunciations, and then repeatedly practice, record, submit their oral drillings and receive feedback from either the AI engine or from teachers.
We would like to solicit funding to work on important enhancement of the platform in the following ways: (1) Add self-learning component into the platform by building ready-made learning packages on Putonghua, Cantonese and English. (2) Extend AI engine to cope with more challenging oral practices involving longer speeches. (3) Add student-oriented learning component by allowing students to build and publicize oral learning packages in a new peer sharing site. (4) Further strengthen the teacher functions including allowing teachers to give richer comments to students’ submission. (5) Actively promote the platform to more teachers and students and investigate teaching and learning gains.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
The proposed project is a further development of project funded by TDLEG in 2016-19. The previous project developed the tool called uReply Lingua which is a platform that focused on language oral practice. The project would like to take this funding opportunity to work on the important enhancement of the platform in various ways.
Activities, process and outcomes
We enhanced and further developed the platform. These new features and improvements of the system included the following 5 items: 1) Long speech: Strengthen the system including the AI engine to support drilling of longer speech and open-ended productions. 2) Richer teacher functions: Strengthen the teacher-marking interface for teachers to give richer comments on individual students’ work. 3) Self-learning functions: Build ready-made self-learning resources on the three languages such that the system can also be self-contained learning resources. 4) Self-oriented learning: Build a public sharing bank to allow students to create their own learning materials for sharing. 5) Promotion and investigation: Actively promote the system and the learning packages to teachers and students with effort to evaluate the usages.
Deliverables and evaluation
The deliverables are below:
1)
Long speech (interview-mode): Strengthen the system including the AI engine to support drilling of longer speech and open-ended productions.
Progress: longer speech has been deployed (more than 1 min audio is now supported to upload to the system, the AI engine has been fine-tuned to check if the audio is longer than the limit)
2)
Richer teacher functions: Strengthen the teacher-marking interface for teachers to give richer comments on individual students’ work.
Progress: The enhancement of the marking interface has been launched in early 2021.
3)
Self-learning functions: Build ready-made self-learning resources on the three languages such that the system can also be self-contained learning resources.
Progress: More than 40 Ready-made learning modules are prepared by CUHK teachers and students during summer period of 2021. Also, the content has been successfully converted into the system and ready to use.
4)
Self-oriented learning: Build a public sharing bank to allow students to create their own learning materials for sharing.
Progress: The module has been deployed during the semester break in Dec 2021 to prevent service interruption and has been launched in Jan 2022.
5)
Promotion and investigation: Actively promote the system and the learning packages to teachers and students with effort to evaluate the usages.
Progress: We have promoted the platform via various methods including individual teacher consultations/requests. New Guidelines for teacher and students have been created for better understanding and use of the system.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
The platform (Lingua) has been presented in several uReply workshops organized by the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) in 2021. Promotion has also been conducted in individual teaching eLearning consultations and now we recorded 6 CUHK teachers have been used the tool in their teaching. The supervisor and co-supervisors took effort in promoting the use of these new tools in their own departments. Team members took opportunities in various online events or seminars to disseminate the project.
Impact on teaching and learning
We have conducted several improvements (including workflow, interface, Apps) regarding the platform as well as the ready-made content via interviews with teachers and students. There are a total of 14 sessions created by 6 CUHK teachers during the project period. A student’s meeting has been conducted in Jan 2022 to capture student’s feedback on the use of the system for further improving the system. More impact related to the self-learning module from teachers and students will be received after the promotion period.
