The multiDICO project, a collaborative Internet multimedia work between Belgian and Italian students

André Rombauts and Rossella Campari

Contents:

1.1 Abstract
1.2 Keywords
1.3 The multiDICO project
1.4 The authors
1.5 The presentation
Joint presentation by

Mr. André Rombauts,
French language teacher,
Multimedia School Network manager at

Athénée royal d'Alleur,
Rue Georges Truffaut, 37
B 4432 Alleur (Belgium)
Phone: 00 32 04 263.60.56
Fax: 00 32 04 246.48.23
e-mail:
dir.e4432aaa1@win.be (Principal)
adm.e4432aaa1@win.be (Administration)
ar.alleur@win.be (Students & Teachers)
pr.e4432aaa1@win.be (MSN manager)

Mrs Rossella Campari,
French language teacher at
SMS Leonardo da Vinci,
Via Gramsci, 5
I 42049 Sant Ilario d'Enza (RE), Italy
Phone: 00 39 0522 672.291
Fax: 0039 0522 472.650
e-mail:
vin0258@comune.re.it

1. Abstract

During school year 98-99 the Kidlink community (http://www.kidlink.org) launched the Who-Am-I? Internet teaching support program (http://www.kidlink.org/kie/nls). Using some modules of this program for 12-14 years old students e-mail exchanges in French, the authors developed strong links between their classes. Searching for another type of collaborative work they faced the knowledge gap problem: for the Belgian students it is their mother tongue; for the Italian ones it is a foreign language. How can we make it possible for those students to work together? The multiDICO project is a solution to this.

In the multiDICO project, Belgian and Italian students are building a multimedia basic French dictionary (around 4,000 words). The dictionary contains texts, drawings and sounds. Belgian students – in charge of the most difficult words – are helping their Italian schoolmates to achieve their work. Such a work is of course a long term project in which many classes or individuals will have to jump in to give the project its full real life. In an unpredictable future, the project will evolve to a CD-ROM version with an on-line update.

2. Keywords

DICTIONARY – COLLABORATIVE WORK – MULTIMEDIA – KIDLINK – LONG TERM PROJECT.

3. The multiDICO project

Origin of the project

The Kidlink community offers a vast series of topics and thematic modules to teachers looking for new supports for their courses. Generally activities are taking place between students from the same language area but living in a different environment, between students studying the same language or using the common standard language, English. It is also easy to build bilingual exchanges when participants are using the other’s language. However, when French Belgium students are in touch with Italians things become more difficult. For the “learning ones” writing a short letter is time consuming. So what activity can be chosen to launch a balanced collaborative work?

Rather naturally one can think of Belgian students, mastering more or less their mother tongue, acting as mentors with their Italian schoolmates. Short projects are important because they can give to the students a rather immediate feedback and thus strengthen the motivation. But in a society already putting forward how easy it should be to get something quickly, participating in medium or long term projects is also something to learn… Practically, in a long term project and large project – thus cut into pieces – it is easy to jump in and out at any time. This is often required by teachers.

Building together a dictionary is a good example. No one can achieve such a work alone. Even a small team cannot in a short period of time. The work really exists only when a certain number of participants have sent their contribution but in the same time the part of work they were in charge of has been completed and already published; there will be no frustration. We are hearing about global learning, global work. Let’s do it!

The existing on-line dictionaries and encyclopaedias

Apart from commercial sites from “classical” publishers uploading their dictionaries or encyclopaedias on the web, there have been several attempts to gather students around collaborative projects. To our present knowledge one, in French, is still operational:

http://www.momes.net/dictionnaire

Another similar concept, multilingual – but essentially in English, Kidopedia seems not to be upgraded anymore: http://www.kidlib.org/kidopedia

These two examples show how difficult maintaining such a project is. On-line dictionaries and encyclopaedias require a large staff to run the project… and – since they are based on a voluntary basis from youngsters – an even greater number of users and workers.

The Kidlink community offers such a vast number of users. After the testing period between Belgian and Italian students the project will be extended to the whole Kidlink community.

The project in progress

multiDICO entries are ordered alphabetically and on a thematic level. Each entry can contain texts, images and sounds. A short word definition or description is followed by example-sentences. Everything is written by students using the basic 4;000 French words. In the Tools area links to on-line dictionaries and encyclopaedias (either commercial or public domain) help the students to achieve their work.

When appropriate the word is illustrated by a drawing or a picture all made or shot by the students. Youngsters can easily participate through drawings even if they do not master the language yet.

A great plus of multiDICO is the sound portion. Our aim is not to propose a model for the “perfect way to pronounce”. On the contrary, several entries will be accepted, allowing the diversity of accents to be presented.

Words to be defined, to illustrated or recorded are chosen by kids among the list proposed (at the beginning, in order to present a quickly usable dictionary, only very frequent words will be listed). When the work is done – or nearly done – the student present it in the Kidlink KIDCAFE-FRENCH mailing list. Comments are welcomed; mistakes are pointed out. Everything is OK? The work is uploaded to the web site and an announcement is made once again in KIDCAFE-FRENCH.

When a foreigner uses the multiDICO, he can add the translation of the French word in his language. Multi stands for multimedia; multi also stands for multilingual and multicultural.

The concept is rather simple. The setting up is a real challenge for teachers and kids around the world!

The future

multiDICO has started as a French only project between Belgian and Italian students. After a 6 months testing period, when the interface will have been validated, progressively entries will be added in Italian, creating the first step toward a multilingual dictionary.

If the awaited success of multiDICO is confirmed, the release of a CD-ROM version including an on-line upgrading system will be programmed in the future (not before 2 years).

URL address

At time of writing, the multiDICO public site is not yet available; it will be opened in early April 2000; the official URL will be: http://www.kidlink.org/francais/projets/multidico

4. The authors

André Rombauts (47) has been teaching the French language to 12-15 years old students for 25 years now. Involved in CAL experiences since 1980 he devoted his research work to the use of telematics in language art activities in the mid 80'. He took part in the launching of the DIDACnet project, a Belgian experimental network using the Fidonet technology. In the early 90' he approached the collaborative dimension of global learning with the US K12net newsgroups in which he assumed the moderation for 2 years. In 1998, he then joined the Kidlink community in which he is in charge of the French section projects. From 1993 to 1999 he was the president of EDUbel (promotion of new technologies in teaching and learning). In his school, he is the technical and didactical manager of the Multimedia Network Center (CCM) since May 1999. Currently he is working with the University of Liege (Education Technologies department) on UPIfran, a research on New Technologies applications inside the French course.

Rossella Campari (45) got her Diploma Magistrale (primary school teaching level) and then went on studying to get her doctors’s degree for the French language (laurea in lingue e letterature straniere, specializzazione in lingua francese). She has been teaching French since 1980. During school year 1998-99, searching for new methods to motivate her students she got in touch with the Kidlink community and started using the Who Am? program with André Rombauts’ students. For a woman rather reluctant to use informatics it was a real discover of the Internet classroom projects tremendous power. Now she is deeply involved in several on-line activities, mainly through Kidlink (she is now moderator for KIDCAFE-FRENCH mailing list) and EU Comernius scientific projects.

5. The presentation

The presentation itself will last about 45 minutes. An extra 20 minutes can be devoted to a questions-answers session between the participants and the authors. The presentation will be done with the support of a multimedia show requiring a PC and LCD display projector. A CD-ROM containing this presentation will be distributed to each participant.