EDTC 6030 Showcase

I recommend that people who want to gain famliiarity with and understanding of a new language use Duolingo. If I were to recommend an improvement to the developer, it would be to enhance the grammatical explanations. Immediate feedback is offered, by way of showing the correct answer, but I sometimes find myself unsure of why an answer is correct and would like to read a grammatical explanation.

I think one of the most effective aspects of Duolingo's instruction is this simple gamification: keeping count of how many days in a row the user completes an instructional unit. Keeping this count has been very effective (shockingly so) at keeping me motivated to return to the software daily. This sort of inducement to daily practice is something I think would benefit my Latin students; I’d be interested in creating something along these lines.

When the learner is ready to scan a line of a text, they are presented with a choice of lines from four Latin poets, the AP Latin syllabus, a random Latin line, a random Greek line, a line from any Latin author, or “more authors,” which makes visible the full array of texts the app draws from (which is only three more than the starting array). The screen then displays a line of poetry (the author, work and line number are provided for reference), and the learner engages with it by dragging one of six symbols that indicates the metrical phenomena present. There are not instructions to do this, and it is potentially confusing. (I hadn’t used this app in a couple of years, and it took me a moment to remember how to operate it.) Though the learner can mark foot boundaries, and other effects such as elisions, caesurae, and diaereses, the part that is “graded” is whether the syllable lengths have been correctly identified. Again, this is not explained (I was able to tell based on the feedback provided). Instead of dragging long or short marks for each syllable, the learners can type D (for a dactylic foot comprised of a long and two short syllables) or S (for a spondaic one comrpised of two long syllables) in a scansion textbox for the first four feet of the line.

The design is pleasing. It’s simple and there aren’t a lot of unnecessary page elements. The text is large and provides enough space to apply to the symbols comfortably. On a white background, the primary text color is black, with the secondary symbols in blue and three shades of red. The submit button is prominent, and there is a reset button.

After submitting the scansion for a line, the results show whether the input is correct or incorrect, shows the (unmarked) line and its citation, and whether it has any elisions. The elision marking is an optional symbol in the line marking tools, but if the learner used them, or just noted them mentally, they would be able to see if they were correct. The feedback does not, however, indicate where the elisions fall, which may present a challenge for inexperienced users.

Also presented in the feedback are some details: how the user’s rating changed because of the answer (whether they have improved or dropped in the rankings), the notation the user submitted, the correct notation, and the line rating. It is unclear what the measurement units are for the user rating and the line rating without going to the "about" page.

From here, the learner has options to retry the line, "favorite" the line, or try another one. "Try another" is the most prominent of these three buttons.

The set-up of the program is very motivating to continue practicing. The immediate feedback, adaptive technology, and ratings tracking information are all aspects that promote repeating the exercise and improving scansion skills. The competitive component may drive certain users to stay longer than they have time for.

The initial learning curve should not take long thanks to an intuitive setup. The learner has control of whether they scan Latin or Greek hexameter lines, the text they work from (if they choose), how long they spend per line, and how many lines they scan.

A static part of every page is an obscure (too obscure) list of metrical terms with drop-down descriptions, and a link to report problems. Making the terminology more prominent (bringing it above, rather than placing it below the ad that shows below the scansion field) may be a benefit to learners.

If a learner has questions about the ratings, they can access the “about” page and find a link that clearly explains these.

Additional features and other Latin-teaching tools developed by the creator of the site are also available in intuitive links. Hexameter is truly a marvel and boon to Latin teachers. The AP Latin readers claim that Ben Johnson (the creator) has single-handedly improved the scansion rates of AP Latin students with this phenomenal web app.

Picture This is a mobile plant identification app that uses AI technology to identify flowers, leaves, trees, herbs, and other plant life including fungi and bryophytes. This is very helpful to gardeners who want to identify what’s growing in their yards. There is a paid subscription option that gives more details, but even with the free version there are many facts about an identified plant provided (common names, botanical name, whether the plant appears to be healthy, the growth type (vine, shrub, etc.), lifespan (annual, perennial), what season to plant it, characteristics such as height, spread, and leaf color of the mature plant, and information about flowers and fruits. Multiple images of a plant in various stages and locations help the user determine accuracy. A description offers details that a gardener would want to know, such as whether a particular vine would damage a built structure, and what wildlife is supported by the plant. The plant’s native region, along with places where it is cultivated or invasive. Full scientific classification is provided. Care information (temperature range; hardiness zones; sun, soil, and water requirements, and information about fertilizing and pruning are given. The plant identification concludes with cultural information: historical garden use, symbolism, interesting facts, the story of the plant’s name(s), and the appearance of the plant in poetry. You can save the plants you look up to your "garden" for reference. Saved plants are shown on panels with the user-submitted photo, the date it was submitted, and abbreviated name and care information. The user can add personal notes and more pictures to plants added to their garden, and a prompt suggests the kinds of things the user might note such as how it looks, and if there is new growth.

Users can also create care guides and set up reminders in the app.

This app is an excellent tool for plant-interested people. The ability to maintain a "garden" of plants is convenient. Though it is not always accurate, it offers a good starting place for further research. As it collects more data, I imagine it will become only more reliable.

I have used this app off and on for a while. I will often use Google Lens instead because I can do that directly from my phone’s camera with a simple twist of my wrist, without opening any apps manually.

If I were to see this app improved, it would be to extend its functionality to include bug identification, but it is in no way deficient because of its specialization in plants.