Developing a Multi-Lingual Process-Oriented Feedback Programme.

This paper describes work in progress on a multilingual, interactive, Web-based learning tool for writers, which is run collaboratively by staff from two Dutch universities. The site is part of a larger package that links the editing and word processing capabilities of Word and the communication and document exchange features of an e-learning platform like Blackboard to the comprehensive feedback categories of Alexis. The project provides process-oriented feedback during and after the writing process, improving cooperation between students to enable collaborative learning, allowing teachers and students to add their feedback to the Alexis grid, and combining all tools needed to write (e.g., dictionaries, style sheets, and online databases). This paper discusses project setup and describes genres and feedback options, such as an updated and integrated version of the Alexis program and a student-centered space structured by a series of assignments and cases intended to maximize student motivation. It also identifies various challenges in designing and developing the computer environment and discusses how these have been addressed. Data from student surveys and interviews indicated that half of the respondents had used the tool during their course assignments. Most were positive about their use of this tool and.felt that the feedback improved their text. (Contains 11 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Ton Ammerlaan University of Professional Education of Arnhem & Nijmegen [email protected] www.WorldWideWriting.com: Developing a Multi-Lingual Process-Oriented Feedback Programme During the past few years there has been a proliferation of CMC-inspired [Computer Mediated Courseware? afkorting even uitschrijven] tools intended to improve writing skills within an academic context. These have often focused on individual languages and a limited range of text-types, such as the business letter in English. Although programmes and sites such as these have provided a wealth of information of use both to students and teachers/trainers alike, there are as yet few resources available that not only provide comprehensive details on a variety of languages and genres, but that also include a feedback facility for students and the means for them to critique each other’s work in a computer environment. This paper reports on work-in-progress on a multi-lingual project run jointly by staff from Nijmegen University and the University of Professional Education of Arnhem & Nijmegen to develop a processoriented feedback programme for writing. It will discuss the set-up of the project, and the genres and feedback options within the programme, such as an updated and integrated version of the acclaimed Alexis programme and a student-centered space structured by a series of assignments and cases intended to maximise student motivation. It will also identify a number of the challenges faced by the Nijmegen-Arnhem team in their design and development of the computer environment, including a number of pedagogical issues, and it will detail some of the ways in which these have been addressed.