Using iPad to Make E-Flashcards and Sharing the E-Cards Through Doceri

Abstract

Chinese is logographic and its non-alphabetical nature poses extra difficulties for Chinese language learners to recognize and memorize Chinese characters. To help the learners effectively learn and memorize Chinese words, flashcards serve as an effective strategy for vocabulary development for Chinese language learners. In addition, researchers have found that flashcard drills have positive effects on the accuracy of word reading and the growth of vocabulary size. In this study, however, the main instrument was not traditional flashcards, but e-flashcards. E-flashcards were created to incorporate textual hints, visual aids such as images, and audio recordings. Students rely on visual resources to build word-image association, and video and audio resources to learn Chinese pronunciation. Forty-seven students from fourth and fifth grade in a Basic Chinese Class participated in this study. The participants used Doceri, an interactive whiteboard for iPad, to make e-flashcards. Students were encouraged to find visual resources online, and record their own pronunciation using the microphones on their iPad to add to the flashcards. At the final stage of the e-flashcard activity, students were asked to share their e-flashcards using Doceri. Doceri provided the students and the teacher a stage to share their work by using their own iPads. Over 90 % of students had positive feedback when they were interviewed about their perceptions of the use of e-flashcards and Doceri. According to the results of survey, they suggested that students who found Doceri to be technically easily to use are more likely to have confidence of understanding the instructional contents and a sense of accomplishment, and would like to do this activity again. However, a few students found it frustrating to use Doceri to make e-flashcards, indicating that teachers need to lower the technical threshold before introducing a technology assisted learning strategy.