Dear Examiner,
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read over my assignment. This page is for your convenience, and it will not be accessible to students. This webpage is my project report. You will find the required headings below that follows the project report requirments.
Declaration: I used Blocs website builder to create this project and I am housing this site on one of my spare domains. It will live on the site until the end of the Trimester. I did not use coding language to build the website, nor did I use GenAI to provide any code for this website.
This website is usable on all breakpoints, but it is optimised for viewing it on a computer.
This is a full build. I have buiilt my entire lesson using this website including my project report. Please read through this report and view the project on the other page.
Previous Tasks Leading up to the Project
Below are the mini tasks that I completed leading up to this project. Please click on the images to enlarge them.
Introduction
The site is designed so that students can work through the lesson independently while I (or another teacher) move around the room and support them. The main technologies I use are embedded audio, interactive games created with tools such as Wordwall and listening based speaking activities. I draw on sociocultural learning theory as my key framework because it views learning as social, mediated and culturally situated, which fits well with language learning and with the diverse Australian classroom (Vygotsky, 1978; Huff, 2024). I also refer to technology integration models such as the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition Model (SAMR) to explain how the website moves beyond simply digitising worksheets and instead reshapes the learning experience (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).
Original Lesson
My original Year 8 Mandarin lesson teaches students how to introduce themselves by saying their name, favourite hobbies and nationality in accurate Mandarin using the correct tones. It also reviews and reinforces other vocabulary and content that they have previously learned such as numbers. After a brief warm up reviewing greetings, numbers and tone recognition, the teacher models three key question and answer structures for self-introduction, with students repeating aloud and recording the sentences in characters and Pinyin. Students then rotate through learning stations where they match characters, Pinyin and English meanings, connect countries to nationality words and practise tone pronunciation with immediate feedback. After the learning stations, the stuents move on to partner interviews using a dialogue sheet, taking turns asking and answering the target questions while the teacher assesses fluency and tone accuracy. The lesson ends with students writing one Mandarin sentence introducing themselves as an exit ticket, demonstrating their ability to apply the structures independently. The original lesson focuses on enabling Year 8 students to confidently introduce themselves in Mandarin by stating their name, age and nationality, which is reflected in the learning outcomes, lesson objectives and success criteria that emphasise accurate pronunciation, correct sentence structures and the ability to ask and answer personal questions. These same core goals are kept in the digitised version of the lesson, but the website enhances access to them by providing embedded audio models, interactive matching tasks and repeatable practice activities that reinforce tones, vocabulary and sentence patterns in a more individualised and self-paced way. While the original classroom lesson relied on teacher modelling, physical flashcards and peer interviews, the digital lesson replicates each component through multimodal tools that support visual, auditory and interactive engagement. The only pitfall I found was trying to incorporate the collaborative aspect of the group rotations in the original lesson into the digital lesson. I supplemented this with interactive games that I created. As a result, the digital format maintains the fundamental intentions of the lesson while expanding opportunities for practice, feedback and differentiation without altering the core language skills students are expected to demonstrate. This lesson also maintains that same learning outcome of ML4-INT-01 – Exchanges information and opinions in familiar contexts using culturally appropriate language (NESA, 2024).
Remixed Lesson
My Year 8 class includes students with a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds including EAL D learners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. When I designed the site, I wanted to ensure the technology supported these students rather than creating additional barriers. For EAL D learners, the combination of images, audio, Pinyin and minimal English text is important. Many Mandarin learning resources assume strong English literacy, which can disadvantage students who are still developing English. NALDIC (2005) stresses that digital tools can provide valuable scaffolds for EAL D students through multimodal input, repetition and reduced pressure. On my website learners can listen directly to the Mandarin, view the image and read the Pinyin without needing extensive English explanations. Game based tasks also create a safe space for mistakes, which research shows increases willingness to take risks in speaking (Chen & Jang, 2010).Moreover, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students I am mindful of the strengths in oral learning and storytelling. The site places a strong emphasis on listening and speaking, and the Exit Ticket encourages learners to tell their own story in Mandarin. This allows them to connect the language to identity and experience, which aligns with culturally responsive pedagogy discussed in the Australian context (Huff, 2024). The structure also allows space for face-to-face discussions about identity and belonging with the teacher if needed. I believe that this style of classroom supports equity of access and aligns with the Australian Curriculum’s aim to provide inclusive and high-quality learning experiences for all students.
Technology / Technologies
The core digital feature of the website is embedded audio. Every key word and sentence has a clear recording so students can hear accurate tones and pronunciation, then repeat aloud. This is essential for Mandarin because tones change meaning and are difficult for beginners to hear and produce. Audio gives students their own on demand model that they can replay as often as they need. This supports self-paced learning and mirrors the idea in sociocultural theory that tools mediate learning between teacher and student (Vygotsky, 1978). Moreover, as the audio lives on the site, the students are able to access the recordings at any time, supporting their learning out of the classroom as well. In addition, I also used interactive games that I created using Wordwall. Game based learning research shows that interactive digital tasks increase motivation and provide repeated, low risk practice that strengthens language retention (Masrom et al., 2025). For my students, these games turn the repetitive and mechanical task of memorising vocabulary and sentence structure into a fun and interactive practice. They receive immediate feedback, can try again and can visualise their progress, which aligns strongly with sociocultural ideas of mediated learning (Huff, 2024). Furthermore, they are tasked with a non-digital activity after each game to ensure they are practicing core skills such as writing and to test their understanding of the content.
Teaching with Technology
My teaching approach in this lesson is communicative and task based. The lesson moves through modelling, guided practice and independent production. First, students review vocabulary on the website by listening and repeating. This section could also be teacher led. For example, the teacher could lead the students first through the pronunciation of the vocabulary words and then instruct students to pronounce the words again by listening to the audio. This way, the teacher begins the lesson with engagement and allows the students to still have autonomy in their pacing for the class. This reflects King’s constructivist view of teaching, where the professor’s role is to "facilitate students’" interaction with the material and with each other as they build knowledge (1993). In this model, the student is descirbed as a “capenter” who “uses new information” to “construct new knowledge structures,” which mirrors the way students in this Chinese lesson combine audio, written tasks and collaborative activities to develop meaningful uderstanding of Mandarin (King, 1993) .
A short study by the State of Victoria Department of Education found that a set of Mandarin learning students who engaged with digital media when learning benefitted as the "Students demonstrated their learning by producing original audio, video and written texts” (2012). After that, the students are then instructed to complete various online activities including listening to dialogues, writing transcripts, reading a passage and answering questions. They then must complete the Exit Ticket by writing their own self introduction in Chinese in order to leave the classroom. Finally, they are assigned homework. Throughout the lesson they use a notebook to write Chinese characters and Pinyin. This was done purposefully so that the teacher has evidence that the students are interacting nd engaging with the material. Also, Zhang et al. (2021) shows that students benefit when digital activities such as listening and gaming are paired with traditional writing tasks, as this combination strengthens engagement and supports better consolidation of language learning. Furthermore, the SAMR model helps explain the role of technology in this lesson. For example, the augmentation of digitised vocabulary enhances the lesson. Cáceres-Nakiche et al. (2024) explains that augmentation enriches learning by adding functional improvements such as multimedia elements, while modification enables “significant tasks, which could not be performed without the digital resource” (p. 162). This directly aligns with the shift in my digitised lesson, where vocabulary becomes multisensory through audio and images at the augmentation level, matching activities and instant feedback reflect modification, and student-generated Padlet recordings represent true redefinition by creating a learning product only possible through digital means (Cáceres-Nakiche et al., 2024). Other activities help add modification because they reshape the task entirely. Matching activities and immediate feedback significantly change how practice works compared with paper versions. For homework, the students are asked to record their self-introduction (exit ticket) and share it with their peers on Padlet. This demonstrates redefinition by creating a task only possible through digital means (Masrom et al., 2025).
Reflection
Creating this website has taught me a lot about using technology in practical and engaging ways. At the beginning of this project, I explored several applications that I had used in the past. Flipgrid was one of them, but I quickly discovered that it had been discontinued last year when I tried to access it again. Because of this, I switched to Padlet, which offers similar functions for recording and sharing student work. It also embeded seemlessly onto the website which was an added bonus. Although I have not yet taught this digitised lesson, I genuinely believe it will be successful and engaging for my students Yet, I know that I will need to provide very clear and explicit instructions so students understand exactly what to do at each stage. This style of lesson will be exciting for them, but it may also come with challenges. I also expect that this lesson will need a few iterations before it runs smoothly, but I am confident that incorporating technology in this way will increase engagement and make students more willing to learn Mandarin.
References
Cáceres-Nakiche, K., Carcausto-Calla, W., Yabar Arrieta, S. R., & Lino Tupiño, R. M. (2024). The SAMR model in education classrooms: Effects on teaching practice, facilities, and challenges. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v24i2.6816
Chen, K. C., & Jang, S. J. (2010). Motivation in online learning: Testing a model of self determination theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(4), 741–752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.01.011
Huff, T. (2024). Socioculturalism. In Design in progress: A collaborative text on learning theories. University of Technology Sydney.
King, A. (1993). From sage on the stage to guide on the side. College Teaching, 41(1), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.1993.9926781
Masrom, U. K., Ahmad, W. F. W., Shamsuddin, N. H. M., & Hashim, H. (2025). Learners’ experiences in using Moodle Lesson and H5P interactive content in learning public speaking. MEXTESOL Journal, 49(1).
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054.
Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923648909526659
National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum. (2005). Using ICT to support students who have English as an additional language. NALDIC.
NESA. (2024). Modern Languages K–10 - Course overview | NSW Curriculum | NSW Education Standards Authority. Curriculum.nsw.edu.au. https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/languages/modern-languages-k-10-2022/overview
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Zhang, R., Zou, D., Cheng, G., Xie, H., Wang, F. L., & Au, O. T. (2021). Target languages, types of activities, engagement, and effectiveness of Extramural Language Learning. PLOS ONE, 16(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253431
Other Requirements
Note: The audio I used for the website was extracted from these sources:
Sophie Chinese,. (2023). Introduce Yourself in Chinese丨Beginner Chinese. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqsElZwBd-w&t=25s
Everyday Chinese, (2017a). How to Say Your Nationality/Country Name in Mandarin Chinese - Day 5 guó jiā (Free Chinese Lesson). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHV79ZSNzfE
Everyday Chinese, (2017).. “What’s your name?” in Chinese #Day 3 Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi (Free Chinese Lesson). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMebwotqRHg
Everyday Chinese, (2018). 100 Daily Chinese Conversations (Part 1) - Learn Mandarin Chinese Listening & Speaking. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-zIW9s4DFQ&t=604s