What is iFlashBook?

I was first introduced to iFlashBook last year during its launch at Creative Technology. My first impression was that iFlashBook is an electronic version of the Singapore Primary Chinese language textbooks. This year I decided to purchase it and try it out in my classroom.

So, has iFlashBook revolutionize the teaching and learning of Primary Chinese language? Let’s take a look at its product description from the iFlashBook homepage.

iFlashBook technical platform incorporates multimedia, speech recognition and a library rich in content. Different ways, channels and three-dimensional effects are used to present the traditional content of a book on the Internet, helping students to learn Chinese with fun in an easier and more effective way.

iFlashBook technical platform is rich in learning features, comprising of “Phonics”, “Dictionary”, “Hanyu Pinyin”, “Character Strokes” etc., simple yet effective learning functions.

Installation

To get iFlashBook working on the PC, you need to go through several steps.

Step 1: Register an account and login
Step 2: Subscribe to textbooks you desire
Step 3: Download and install the client
Step 4: Purchase an e-Prepaid card, either online or from Creative stores
Step 5: Enter the prepaid card information (Card Number & PIN) and security code in order to activate the online book subscription.

As you can see, this process could be a little tricky for users who are used to buying software CD-ROMs.

Using iFlashBook

One important thing to note is, you MUST be connected to the Internet in order to use iFlashBook. I have been using my school’s network and loading speed has been satisfactory, although there were a few times when my login was denied due to some unknown reasons.

In a typical lesson using iFlashBook, I would fire up the client and ‘flip’ to the page I wanted to teach. After my pupils practised slient reading, I would click on the small loudspeakers icons on each paragraph to play the pre-recorded audio. I would then click on the cartoon animations to enthuse my pupils. Afterwhich I would ask comprehension questions and explain meanings of phrases.

I must say there is nothing really revolutionary in my teaching, however iFlashBook has certainly increased the attention span of lower ability pupils based on my observation.

Revolutionary Chinese language teaching?

Basically, there are 4 main features in iFlashBook.

1. Cartoon Animation:

My pupils’ reaction to cartoon animation has been overwhelming. They would ask me to click on the animations without fail when I used iFlashBook. For visual learners, this feature certainly helps them to understand the passage better.

2. Phonics:

This is a feature I rarely utilized since I used iFlashBook mainly for classroom presentation. It is geared more towards self evaluation of reading.

First you record your reading, then the built-in speech recognition feature will help to evaluate your pronounciation. I have tried it with my web cam microphone and it worked pretty decently. It would be great if iFlashBook could be use in a computer lab environment, with noise-cancelling headsets provided for every pupil.

3. Dictionary:

This is one feature I used most frequently, yet with the least success. It is fine if you view the ‘floating’ E-Dictionary on a PC monitor, however the characters are way too small on a projector screen. My pupils sitting at the back of the classroom often complained they cannot see the characters clearly.

I feel It would be better to open a movable and resizable new window with larger characters instead of the gimmicky floating type.

4. Reading and writing of Chinese characters:

This feature is only used when I teach more complex characters. It worked well, perhaps the only complaint is, the strokes display are on the slow side even at the fastest setting.

Conclusion

The iFlashBook is great multimedia software to complement the existing Primary Chinese language textbooks. It has somehow brought textbooks to life (Second Life!) with the E-Textbook interface. The features are also pretty useful for pupils to engage in self-paced learning of Chinese language.

I would not say iFlashBook has revolutionized teaching of Chinese language, but it has the potential to inspire newer teaching pedagogies and practices in Chinese language.

Some of the challenges faced by Chinese language teachers who wish to use iFlashBook in classroom are the must-have Internet connection and small size of the Chinese characters. Developers can look into an educator version to improve usability of iFlashBook in classrooms.

Pros
Interesting multimedia E-Textbook interface
Excellent audio and visual features

Cons
Purchase process can be tedious
Internet connection is a must
Not ideal for projector screen presentation due to small sized characters