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

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu  16 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: 16 Jun 2004
From:sanaa at arabacademy.com
Subject:CD ROM and Online Course Discussion

Dear David
I agree with Iman on most of what she says and just want to add that
online
learning is as good as the quality of the web based material that is
presented, as well as the quality of teacher's online follow up and
supervision.  The more interactive the material is, the better.  The
more
diversified teacher's interaction is and the faster it is given, the
better.
Ideally, online teaching should include 'real time' interaction in both
voice and text formats.

If the web based material was highly interactive, and teacher's
feedback was
prompt, then there is no doubt that online learning would be highly
effective.  I fully understand the concerns of David, and even though
the
Arab Academy was launched in September 2000, yet I continue to be
suprised
at the positive reaction we get from our learners.  In other words,
learning
and teaching Arabic online already has a track record of success.
Visit:
http://www.arabacademy.com/feedback_e.htm

Recently, we have added the following question to the evaluation forms
that
our students fill at the end of an online course:  "How does your online
experience at learning Arabic compare to your previous attempts at
learning
Arabic in real classroom environments or with tutors? In what ways was
it
better or worse?"  Surprisingly, none of the learners have stated that
online learning was inferior to classroom learning.  Their comparisons
are
quite interesting.  We continue to compile and analyze such data!

Good Luck David, with the development of an online program,
Sanaa Ghanem

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End of Arabic-L:  16 Jun  2004