LangLang Learning
Milestone 3:
Experience Prototype and Demo Plan
How might we make learning any new language a meaningful experience through cultural connections?
Introduction:
In our second milestone, our team more clearly defined the concept we wanted to achieve, as well as exploring through different methods of doing so. This time, we will formulate a plan of action to prototyping our ideas and show a brief attempt at that plan of action.
We decided to choose this route for our concept:
Virtual Reality system as main focus with lesson plans and applications for users to learn a language within their own space.
The idea of Augmented Reality was very deeply discussed and considered, but would be more of an extension of the VR system. Given the ability to successfully launch the VR program, we would add AR elements further down the road. For now, our team has decided to fully realize the Virtual Reality immersive system first.
Design and enactments:
Part 1 = Cultural lesson with labels and characters/ writing as a tour guide
Part 2 = Implicated test with user as a difference in comprehension
9 Enactments: (Different Environments)
1-Pagoda 1
2-Pagoda 2
3-Pagoda 3
4-Tea Ceremony 1
5-Tea Ceremony 2
6-Tea Ceremony 3
7-Kyoto Gate 1
8-Kyoto Gate 2
9-Kyoto Gate 3
Interpretation and findings:
During our whole process when working on this milestone, the steps we worked on became altered, and we had to adapt to the current situation. So when we started to get feedback, we couldn't apply the full speed dating matrix design method but tried our best to test out the elements that would have been incorporated into the scenario.
Google Cardboard Experience
Google Cardboard Experience
Feedback - Nikki
Cardboard Experience - Nathan
Cardboard Experience - Carolina
The brain
Young vs. Adult
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~hmcbride/1238Giedd%20adol.%20brain%20dev09.pdf
[6. Brain-behavior relationships]
In humans also, correlations between memory for stories and left hippocampal volume have been noted (Goldberg et al., 1994; Lencz et al., 1992). A study of taxi drivers in London found that they had larger posterior hippocampi than controls, thought to be related to their extensive amount of navigational memory required for their work (Maguire et al., 2000).
http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000158
As has been observed in older adults, both children and young adults manifested a “small world” type of functional architecture throughout the brain, with lots of densely connected local clusters of activity and short distances between most pairs of interacting structures. This type of connectivity is thought to increase local information processing efficiency. But beyond the structure of the local cluster, the two age groups differed significantly. The brains of young adults were more hierarchical and had more regions involved in larger and longer-distance clusters of activity. In a variety of information processing systems, hierarchy is thought to increase the ability of some structures to control others, but it comes with heightened vulnerability to a breakdown in communication. The lesser degree of hierarchy in children's brains may protect them from this vulnerability in these middle stages of the brain's development.
https://www.quora.com/How-do-the-brains-of-children-and-adults-differ
(pretty good answer that can be referred and checked even if it's not scholarly)
Long-term memorization (retention)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=11jNTXsr-VoRO8ZQ_WvvrSVS_BsQONMsc
[Memory formation, consolidation, and transformation]
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BGdIg8WWzv-RH5gJ1z0XQrn9ggNsDYJm
[Function of the Hippocampus in Memory Formation: Desperately Seeking Resolution]
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dycK7zi7w6QyBPwI7ReY1go9B_PO0XVc
[Memory engram storage and retrieval]
Lasting memories have long been hypothesized to be encoded as structural changes at synaptic junctions of sparse neuronal assemblies [16]. Ramón y Cajal originally proposed that the strengthening of synaptic connections of existing neurons might be a mechanism of memory storage [17], but it was Donald Hebb's theoretical integration of neurophysiology and psychology that created the modern paradigm for memory research [16]. Hebb proposed that neuronal assemblies linked by adaptable synaptic connections could encode informational content in the brain.
http://neatoday.org/2014/11/25/deeper-learning-moving-students-beyond-memorization-2/
“It’s really hard to motivate yourself to become something if you don’t know what it looks like,” explains McComb, an English teacher at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts in Baltimore County. “Deeper learning recognizes both sides: that we have to attend to the person and his or her personal development as well as their academic development.”
“I saw students become engulfed in the issues and they came to class telling me what they wanted to learn. It was something that they were deeply invested in,” McComb said.
https://linguisticator.com/memory-techniques-and-language-learning/
Memory as an active tool often requires the use of mnemonics or memory hooks. On their own, however, these mnemonics are extremely limited in use. When placed within an organizational structure, however, they can become incredibly powerful. The structure is key. These structures usually consist of locations in a kind of mental journey, which can be a mental version of an actual journey.
One thing remains common, though, and it is vitally important for the effective use of memory as a conscious tool: you must know how many stops you need in your journey. In other words, you must know exactly how many pieces of information you are going to need to store.
"The myth of 'fun, immersive language learning' usually takes on this narrative: 'Children learn their first language nearly effortlessly. They do this by being constantly surrounded by the new language. So when learning a second language, you must surround yourself with that second language, with emphasis on a lot of listening and speaking. (Because children do not pick up their first language from books.) Once you are immersed the second language, you will pick up that language as if through osmosis.'"
Additional Articles
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SnqQ5XhohParN1iQcW9pNQJZjCX783iJ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1D75QbDx8vKB9FSHzZVQm0HtW65i3igc-
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pRN1Tw9l4CDkbTcmhNBWX3Yvv6UwL_zs
New ideas to develop Our Concept:
Gamification = rewards system to entice users into being more proactive with language learning
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Titles: earned when completing a certain number of lessons in a language course (also defines what level of proficiency they are within the language)
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With each title, they gain access to environments and videos pertaining to that title
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“Secret lessons” given to better understand their title
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Achievement badges: given when completing certain types of lessons
Updated Concept Map
Criteria:
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Language Retention
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Creating a long-lasting resource that users will continually refer back to in learning lessons in an immersive way without becoming bored
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Language Expression
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Using the learned speech in everyday life/implementation of the language
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Enjoyable experience
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Make sure that users aren't stressed from using the platform and that they want to return to it due to its fun nature
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Cultural Connections established
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Knowledge of not just language, but formal and informal situations or customs with an appreciation for multiple aspects of language and the culture that surrounds it
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Accuracy of language translations
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The user is properly being taught a language, so they don't retain or express incorrect forms. Without successfully achieving this criterion, the concept will be counterproductive to its main purpose.
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system concept:
System Description
Creating a Virtual Reality program that teaches lessons and pieces of languages to use in multiple situations or scenarios. This is to be a controlled program that is casually used by a consumer. The system will contain hard-coded voice coaches with lessons in fabricated environments that can be applied to real-life scenarios through conversation. Each language will be broken up into reliability by the user from their native language and enhanced to understand the makings of another language.
Timeframe
8 years from now, this could be more fully developed.
With the capabilities of integrating each and every language into complex and exact formats, this idea could be entirely conceived. As of now, there are limited resources to demo virtual reality elements of our concept into a realized state that would be applicable to prototype. With an increase of expansion into VR in the near future and more usage of systems to have free mock-ups of this, the completion of a project like this could be plausible.
And if the concept could become fully developed, we'd then incorporate hand gestures to increase interactivity. In the future, after the system has been standing successfully by itself, we would like to take a look at using AR as an additional feature.
Demo development Plan:
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Time: Two weeks left
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Tech: Limited to Google Cardboard and Occulus rental
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Cost: Little to none
The team had trouble merging all components of the system into one demo. And it was difficult to collect our own resources due to the inability to capture video of a foreign environment. When talking about translating items, the accuracy of work is low because none of our members are fluent in the Japanese language. (Japan and Japanese is the culture/language we focused on when building this demo.) We relied on Google translate and sadly, Wikipedia for material.
The main difficulty we had when testing demos was being able to produce our own edited content for testers to experience. In the timeframe we gave ourselves, we first took a look at utilizing 360 videos to emit the immersive VR environment we wanted. The issue by using pre-made videos is the user isn’t allowed freedom of mobility and can only view what has been recorded. But we continued with that route only to hit an obstacle on finding a feasible 360 editing program that we needed to become proficient in before applying it to our video sources.
In the end, we tested out a basic prototype with the Google Cardboard to get feedback on how it felt as a VR system, if a VR system felt immersive, and the format information would be given in the video. The videos shown to our testers were videos we drew inspiration on.
We finished developing our own edited video through the Movavi 360 Video Editor about a Japanese Tea Ceremony. The activity would reflect a significant cultural aspect of Japan as well as incorporate basic vocab comprehension.
Tea Ceremony 360 Video Link: https://youtu.be/fofNN3gImLA
*video has been set to unlisted to protect it from being flagged due to its nature of having borrowed content
Based on the feedback we received, there was a definite lack of interactivity in the prototype. So towards the end of this process, we developed a sample of interactive screens to mimic what the visuals and interactivity would look like. The downside is that it’s not implemented in a VR format.
Link for convenience: https://marvelapp.com/28dih4d
We will need to figure out a way to merge these components together in a highly presentable manner.
In discovering how 360 videos can be uploaded to YouTube, be converted to the correct format for motion response, and conversion to Google Cardboard. We know the steps to uploading for use once completed and must keep that in mind for the final stages.
Additionally, in order to develop an overall higher quality experience, we will need to look at programs that work with Google Cardboard to create a more customizable VR applications (Ex. Unity).
And compare how our concept differs from pre-existing and successful learning programs...
Has app and online platform
Also has both app and online platform
P.S. One fun thing about Duolingo is that they have lessons for fantasy languages like High Valyrian.
Has online platform, really fun
Strong immersion by teaching without any foundation of using a base language. "Instead of memorising rules, you'll discover patterns." They've also created multiple communities such as real-life speaking sessions and gaming.