CyberBuch is an interactive multimedia program designed to improve the reading skills of American students learning German. We incorporate multimedia into our CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) software to fulfill the following pedagogical goals: 1) to help learners develop higher level reading skills (top-down processes) for reading comprehension and 2) to provide readers with information on individual vocabulary words (bottom-up strategies) in multiple modalities and 3) to allow them to select the kind of help and information they need in accordance with their individual cognitive or learning styles. Reading comprehension exercises as well as two types of vocabulary tests are also included.

Materials available:

CyberBuch Web Site at UCSB (CD-ROM)
CyberBuch: Online Version at NYU

Project Directors : Dorothy Chun, UCSB, Jan L. Plass, NYU
Funding received from UCSB, Nonce Publishing
Online Version Developed by ITS Humanities Group, NYU

Doctoral Student Collaborators: Eduardo Lage Otero (NYU)

References

Plass, J.L. (1998). Design and evaluation of the user interface of foreign language multimedia software: A cognitive approach. Language Learning and Technology [On-line serial], 2 (1), 35-45. Available http://polyglot.cal.msu.edu/llt/vol2num1/article2/index.html

Plass, J.L., Chun, D.M., Mayer, R.E., & Leutner, D. (1998). Supporting visual and verbal learning preferences in a second language multimedia learning environment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 25-36.

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1997). Research on text comprehension with multimedia. Language Learning and Technology [On-line serial], 1 (1), 60-81.
Available http://polyglot.cal.msu.edu/llt/vol1num1/chun_plass/default.html

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1996a). Effects of multimedia annotations on vocabulary acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, 80, 183-198.

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1996b). Facilitating reading comprehension with multimedia. System, 24, 503-519.

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1995). Project CyberBuch: A hypermedia approach to computer-assisted language learning. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 4, 95-116.

CD Titles

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1999). Ciberteca [Computer Software, CD-ROM]. New York: Nonce.

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1998). Ciberteca [Computer Software, CD-ROM]. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Chun, D.M., & Plass, J.L. (1997). CyberBuch [Computer Software, CD-ROM]. New York: St. Martin's Press.