The Moodle Reader Module for Extensive Reading: Progress Report

1. The Moodle Reader Module for Extensive Reading: Progress Report Thomas N. Robb Kyoto Sangyo University trobb@cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp

2. Purpose of the Reader Module • To provide an efficient, easily manageable means of testing the comprehension of texts used for extensive reading (and thus the ability to assess whether students have read the books they claim to have read). • To ensure that students only select books at their own reading level in order to prevent frustration and overuse of the dictionary. • To encourage regular reading by pacing the quiz-taking times • To provide a mild sense of competition and an additional incentive to reading through the cover "stamp collection"

3. San-Dai’s Previous System Orientation PPT slides for The Accelerated Reader Module

4. Borrow a book from the reserved book section of the library.

5. How to succeed with Accelerated Reading

6. Choose a book that is easy to read and interesting.

7. Read a page or two. If there are more than 4 new words a page, it is too difficult for you. Find a different book.

8. There are many kinds of books. Short, easy paperbacks and longer, more challenging hardbacks.

10. When you finish the book, take it to computer room # 31, Building 3, 2nd floor from 12:40 -1:00 p.m.

11. Try the computer quiz. You can use the book and a dictionary. You MUST have your student ID card on the desk.

13. From the CALL ソフト folder, select Accelerated Reader – Student. The program will open automatically.

14. The program looks like this.

15. Follow the instructions to start the program, log in, and select the quiz you plan to take. (To speed things up, type the first few letters of your name and the book’s title and hit <enter>. It will jump to the correct spot.)

16. The quizzes are listed in alphabetical order of the book’s title. “A” and “The” are not counted as the first word of the title.

18. Each quiz has 10 questions. Select the best answer then go on to the next question.

20. You CAN: • use a dictionary • check your answer in the book • change your answer by clicking on a different choice.

21. You CANNOT: • talk to another student while you take the quiz • look at another student’s screen • sit next to a student taking the same quiz • use notes • write or underline words in the book • eat or drink anything in the computer room.

22. When you finish the quiz, your score is shown like this.

24. You must get at least 6 out of 10 answers correct to get any points. If you get only 4 or 5 answers correct, you will get 0 points.

25. Record your score on the AR record sheet in your Learning Diary. Follow the instructions on how to write the summary in your Learning Diary.

26. If you pass the computer quiz, but don’t write the summary, you will get 0 points.

27. The Golden Rules for success are: • Aim to read a book a week • Choose a day to borrow a book each week • Change your book if it is too hard or boring • Read enough pages EVERY DAY to complete the book by your deadline • Take the quiz as soon as possible • Write the summary STRAIGHT AWAY

28. Remember that reading a lot of easy English will help improve ALL your English skills. We wish you fun and success with your reading! [End of Orientation PPT ]

29. Problems with AR Approach (1) • The quizzes assume native language proficiency and often include words in the question items that the students do not know, even though they might know the answer to the question from their reading of the book. • Since graded readers are not included in the quizzes available from the publisher, they must be created locally. The AR program, however, only permits 100 "teacher-made quizzes" and we have reached this limit at Kyoto Sangyo. • There are a fixed number of questions for each book that do not vary from student to student when taking the test. It is therefore possible for students to cheat and tell the answers to other students.

30. Problems with AR Approach (2) • The quizzes can only be taken under controlled conditions (in our case, in the latter half of the lunch break Monday through Friday), since they must be supervised in order to prevent cheating. • The report program is cumbersome to use and relies on the university Joho Center staff for back-up and support. • There is no mechanism for teachers to share "teacher-made quizzes" between schools.

31. Comparison of AR Program and the Reader Module Approach

34. Reading Level Correspondences (Oct. 2008)

35. Question Types • True/False • Multiple Choice • Matching questions • Who said this? • Ordering type

36. Benefits to the Student • Student appreciate the chance to confirm that they understood the book • They enjoy the challenge of using their language ability to successfully pass the quiz • They take pleasure in adding book covers to their “stamp collection” • Promotion to a higher level provides them with a sense of progress

37. Testing vs Learning • The quizzes are not just a testing tool. • There are many opportunities for learning, as well.

38. Learning Opportunites

39. Comparison of Student Accesses – AR vs MR

40. Analysis of AR vs. Reader Module • More books read. 4.7 per students for AR, vs. 8.3 for the Reader Module for the same time period • A more even distribution of reading. (AR students could not take quizzes on weekends and tended to postpone their reading to the end of the reading period.) • Fewer quiz failures: Greater comprehension?

41. Administrative Functions

42. Administrative Functions • Add course quizzes to reader quizzes • Download quizzes • Edit quizzes • Summary report by student(select class) • Full report by student • Summary report by book title • Full report by book title • View and delete attempts • Change student levels • Post message

43. Setting Up the Module (1) • Instructors install the "Reader Module" in their Moodle course. • They import, from a central repository, quizzes for the books that they have in their own ER collection. They may also create their own quizzes for any books for which quizzes are not available. • They determine which reading level the books should be set at (if they wish to depart from the recommended levels in the repository) and set the initial level for each student.

44. Set-up (2) • They set parameters such as • target point goal • the time limit • where quizzes may be accessed • passing percentage, • how frequently quiz taking is to be permitted • They determine a policy for how points gained, or how total points above and below the set target point value are to be integrated into the students’ final class evaluation.

45. Procedure for Students (1) • Students may select any book at their current reading level ("RL") or from those at the RL below their current level. • Students borrow books, read them and when they are ready to take a quiz, they log into the Moodle course. They select the publisher, level and title and take the quiz within the determined time limit. (15 minutes recommended). Students may refer to the book when taking the quiz.

46. Procedure for Students (2) • If students pass the quiz, they are awarded one point, none if they fail. • Books at any level that are considerably longer or shorter than the average graded reader at that level may have a higher or lower point value. • When students have passed a specific number of quizzes at their current level, they are promoted to the next level. They can still read and take quizzes on books at their previous level up to a set number. (Three at Sandai).

47. Publishers & the Reader Module • Graded reader publishers will be offered the opportunity to password-protect the quizzes for their publications. These passwords can then be offered to teachers on request, through a teacher’s club web page or however desired. This will allow the publishers to monitor usage and ascertain that quizzes for their publications are being used only at institutions with legitimate copies of their readers. • Publishers will be asked to provide the quizzes for current (or new) publications that they wish to be included in the system, but for which quizzes are not yet available. A template and guidelines for quiz preparation will be provided. Publishers will also be asked to provide a graphic of the cover of each text as a 100px jpeg image (at 72 dpi).

48. Trial Access URL: http://moodle2.kyoto-su.ac.jp/moodle/course/view.php/id=116 Username: readerlook Password: readerlook Future URL: http://moodlereader.org

49. Thank You! • Questions/Discussion? • Email: tom@tomrobb.com