Arabic-L:PEDA:CD ROM and Online Course Discussion

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 03 Jun  2004
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:CD ROM and Online Course Discussion

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1)
Date: 03 Jun 2004
From:Iman Soliman <halleluiah3 at yahoo.com>
Subject:CD ROM and Online Course Discussion

Dear David,
I think I have always been skeptical of it myself but I do believe that  
every tool can always add variety, enrich teaching techniques and  
supplement classroom teaching. There are many advanatages for CD  
programmes. CDs are, in my own personal opinion, a very clever  
substitute for old boring language labs as they add an  
interactive dimension as well as  assessment features  which were  
lacking.
 However, having mentioned interactivity, I always like to quote Ann  
Malamah Thomas 1987 who claims that a teachers' plan of action in the  
classroom no matter how detailed or sketchy evokes some sort of student  
reaction. When the teacher allows this reaction to chisel the original  
plan of action then and only then can we say that interaction  
occurs. Well this kind of interaction which leads to real communication  
is slightly different from the stimulus response feedback sort of  
transactions we get in CD programmes.  Again, Cds are cheaper to  
maintain than labs and  can give the students hours of practice to  
grind at difficult material at their own pace (old familiar teacher's  
moto "drill and practice" They can cut on photocopying expenses and  
limit school's use of substitute teachers since they can always assign  
their students to some CD programme if the teacher is absent, provided  
they have the hardware.
  They are also a more familiar medium of learning than books to the new  
Hi-tech generation.
  I do believe they are excellent vocabulary learning boosters and  can  
also serve instead of students' workbooks as they offer immediate  
feedback which can save the teacher hours of marking simple HW  
assignments (non essay type) and allow the learners more practice on  
things they get wrong.
  However, CDs can only address general student needs rather than  
specific and personal needs which does not really lend itself  
to humanistic and natural approaches to teaching (debateable but..) 
They  also teach  students in vacum and isolation which is not really  
the natural medium for using any language. They also add a complex  
dimension to the text versus user authentic conteroversial issue and  
the learners' creativity in language use.
  This brings us back to whether we should make CDs at all. Well my  
answer is yes, variety is important and the more programmes we have on  
CDs the richer Arabic teaching resources will be especially with  
audiovisual material. But whether they are self sufficiant I guess you  
have answered this question yourself when you said "they may be better  
than nothing for someone who has no access to live
teaching, I think that their true utility lies in reinforcement and  
review of things
already learned" which is also an integrative part of succesful  
learning and teaching. 
Well, this is my very subjective,  unresearched opinion, as an Arabic  
teacher.
  Good luck with developing your programme and please let us know when  
it is out.
Iman 

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End of Arabic-L:  03 Jun  2004