| URL: | http://netzspannung.org/database/96351/de |
| Last update: | 28.06.2003 |
| Date of print: |
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The Word Watcher |
Kurzdarstellung
Kurzbeschreibung
Word Watcher ist eine Anwendung zur Unterstützung des Sprachunterrichts in weiterführenden Schulen. Indem die Fremdsprache aus dem Blickwinkel einer anderen als der eigenen Sprache entdeckt wird, verstärkt Word Watcher das Interesse der Schüler am Erlernen von Fremdsprachen.
Die Anwendung visualisiert die Sprachen Englisch, Französisch, Deutsch und Holländisch und ermöglicht so einen Überblick über die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede dieser Sprachen. Wenn der Benutzer einen Satz eingibt, ermittelt das Programm, basierend auf den unterschiedlichen verwendeten Einheiten, die Sprache, in der es geschrieben wurde. Der Benutzer wird aufgefordert, Sätze zu finden, die nicht erkannt werden, und entwickelt so ein Grundverständnis für die Schreibweise der verschiedenen Sprachen.
Ein zentraler Punkt bei der Entwicklung dieses Konzepts war die aktive Rolle des Benutzers im Lerngeschehen.
KünstlerInnen / AutorInnen
- Martine Hermsen
Entstehung
Vereinigtes Königreich, 2002-2003
Eingabe des Beitrags
Martine Hermsen, 28.06.2003
Kategorie
- Bildung und Lernen
Schlagworte
- Themen:
- Repräsentation |
- Spiele |
- Design |
- Webdesign |
- E-Learning |
- Interaktivität
- Formate:
- Internet
- Technik:
- Macromedia Director
Ergänzungen zur Schlagwortliste
- language education
Inhalt
Inhaltliche Beschreibung
The Word Watcher is an application designed to support language education in secondary schools. By making pupils look at foreign languages form a different perspective than they are used to, The Word Watcher aims to raise the pupils' interest in learning foreign languages.
The Word Watcher shows the differences and similarities of the languages English, French, German and Dutch by visualising the properties of a sentence. The application runs through a text and checks it for special characteristics as it goes along. The found data is reflected in an animation on the screen.
The Word Watcher looks at the statistics of a language, in the same way a person sees a foreign language. The first thing one notices about a language are the differences of the use of letters, letter combinations, the use of accents and possibly the length of the words of this particular language compared to the mother tongue. Later one starts to recognise the most frequently used words. The Word Watcher shows these characteristics, and questions about the languages are answered. Does German really have the longest words? Are the four languages more different than we think?
The Word Watcher consists of two parts, a demo and an interactive game. In the demo, a part of the French book 'Le Petit Prince' and its translations in English, German and Dutch are shown next to each other on the screen. The juxtaposition gives new insights in the languages. The information from this demo can be used to beat the computer in the interactive game.
In the interactive part, the user can type in a sentence himself / herself. The Word Watcher creates the animation, based on the different units that occur in the sentence. While the user can say whatever he / she wants, in practice the language will conform closely to statistical rules. By researching the statistical properties of the entered sentence, The Word Watcher can conclude which language has been used. During the playback of the animation, points are counted for each of the languages. After that, the application gives its conclusion.
The natural reaction of the user is to try to find sentences that cannot be recognised. The smug responses from the computer make the urge 'to be smarter than The Word Watcher' even stronger. The user can also get some advice about the used language, and gets a better understanding of the outline of this particular language, so he / she might beat the programme the next time. By trying out different possibilities, the user can develop a basic understanding of the spelling in the different languages.
Technik
Technische Beschreibung
The Word Watcher is developed in Macromedia Director MX. The application is coded in Lingo.
The Word Watcher can be used online at www.martinehermsen.net/thewordwatcher.html
Hardware / Software
Macromedia Director MX
Kontext
Hochschule / Fachbereich
Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication
Interactive Digital Media
URL der Hochschule
» http://www.rave.ac.uk
Betreuer des Projekts
Prof. Karel Dudesek
Kommentar des Betreuers
The Word Watcher is an application that gives its users a new view on languages. It visualises the statistical structure of English, French, Dutch and German in an animation, and from these statistics it can conclude in which language a text is written. The user is challenged to create a text that The Word Watcher cannot recognise. By doing that, the user develops an understanding of the similarities and differences in spelling between the used languages. The main focus point in developing the concept was to make the user experience languages in an active and creative way.
People who use the programme do start to experiment with sentences in different languages. Many speakers of other languages have asked if they could be added.
Personally I find it very interesting that it compares languages, it is not often that one thinks of how a language is related to other languages. Another thing what is important, how well it works. It is right over 95% of the time.
Seminar / Kurzbeschreibung
MA Interactive Digital Media at Ravensbourne College, London, is a relatively new course, since 1 year led by Professor Karel Dudesek of Vienna, who brings experience on a wide range of activities from media arts to interactive television to virtual reality. The intention is to offer a much broader horizon for students than that of typical "multimedia courses" The students & staff of MA IDM are involved with creating projects in interactivity, visual and audio mediums, online and networked systems and generally exploring new approaches to technology. This has been realized through the ongoing development of an MA Experimental Resource -<XR>- a studio with a philosophy to develop "space based media", both actual and virtual. What we are developing is a resource for spatial sound installation, a virtual set area, use of tracking and interactive sensing equipment, all linked to computers and software such as Max, MSP, Nato. We are inviting students to use sensors and electronics to make real-time interaction, and to think about presenting their work in a different way. In the first year it has been the introduction of Max software into the curriculum that has kick-started this progression to a new kind of work, and the creation of some exciting projects.
Zuordnung Forschungsbereich
In the current second year, students have realised projects with spatial interaction and sound, using techniques such as video tracking and surround sound positioning. The current interest both from staff and students are works that reflect upon the experience of time based, or real-time art works, and that uses processes available in the software such as Max/MSP/Jitter to make prototypes and presentations of these ideas. Time is certainly a key part of media art installations. Viewers are familiar with works that are immersive, whether by use of VR equipment or large scale projection, and are seemingly looking for works that allow themselves to be immersed in the technology. What is interested in using software that can work in real-time and interactively, is that the "time" element of the work can be played with and thus we have ideas such as the memory recorder. Previous projects and works in progress are showcased on the website at: http://www.ma.rave.ac.uk/xr/
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