Emerging

Technologie
s Project
ITEC 7445
Andrea Radford
 Duolingo for Schools

DUOLINGO IS A WEBSITE AND 19+ LANGUAGES ARE TAUGHT OVER 300 MILLION USERS ARE A GAMING ATMOSPHERE WITH
MOBILE APP THAT TEACHES ACROSS THE ONLINE USING DUOLINGO TO REACH SOUND AND IMAGES
LANGUAGE SKILLS. PLATFORM. ADVANCED PROFICIENCY MOTIVATES THE LEARNER TO
LANGUAGE LEVELS. COMPLETE PRACTICE DRILLS.
Why should teachers consider using
Duolingo for Schools in their classrooms?
Connection to District Vision
The Cobb County School District (CCSD) Vision sets the priorities of

1. “Making Cobb the best place to Teach, Lead, and Learn”.

2. “Simplifying and Strengthening the Foundation for Teaching and Learning to
prepare for Innovation.”
3. “Using Data to make Decisions.”

Duolingo connects to this vision because it provides an innovative technology tool for teachers and
students to use and apply to everyday learning in any environment. Teachers can set up classrooms
in Duolingo to track and assign lessons. The data of the Checkpoint Quizzes can determine
differentiation or remediation needed for the students.
Connection to District’s
Technology Vision
• The Cobb County School District’s (CCSD)
Technology Vision sets the priority that
technology is used to enhance instruction in Cobb
County schools and to make the workload on
teachers lighter as more support and classroom
resources are provided to impact student success.
• Duolingo is an online resource that compliments
any teaching platform. It provides freedom of
time because of its accessibility anytime and
anywhere. It lessons the teachers’ load as an easy
platform to navigate and assign activities.
 • Cobb County School District students who
are enrolled in a Dual Immersion program
(currently elementary schools,
Kindergarten through 5th grade), middle
school students enrolled in level 1 of a
World Language, and high school students
Target who are enrolled in any level of a World
Language are the target focus group of
Groups Duolingo.
• Ideally, a 1: 1 device ratio works best with
Duolingo. Each student can work
independently and record their own
progress through the curriculum.
 • Many Cobb County Elementary and Middle
schools have computers in the classrooms,
media center, and a designated computer lab.
• Most of the Cobb County High schools have at
least 2 computer labs, multiple laptop and/or i-

Target pad carts, and computers in their media

centers.

Groups • Many high school students have personal

devices that they bring to school and use on the

Continued BYOD wi-fi.

• All Cobb County teachers are provided with a
laptop or Mac notebook depending on the
content area.
 Hardware/Software Required

SINCE DUOLINGO IS AN INTERNET-BASED
PLATFORM, ACCESSIBILITY TO WI-FI OR THE
INTERNET IS REQUIRED.
FOR STUDENTS USING A DEVICE SUCH AS A
PHONE OR I-PAD, THE MOBILE APP WILL NEED
TO BE DOWNLOADED TO THE DEVICE.
FOR THE LISTENING/SPEAKING ACTIVITIES, A
HEADSET OR EAR BUDS WILL BE NEEDED.
STUDENTS WILL BE AT THEIR OWN PACE AND
THIS WILL LIMIT THE DISTRACTION TO
OTHER STUDENTS.
Technology Support Provided
by the School District
• BYOD support is provided through the Cobb
County Technology Department and at most
schools, the media specialist are technology
support team members.
• Laptop, Computer, and any other school
provided devices are supported through the Cobb
County Technology Department.
• All schools have a team member from the
Technology Department that provides software
support to staff members.
• All these support systems are requested through
email or by completing a “Help Desk” ticket.
Technology Support
Provided by Duolingo
• Duolingo provides an Educator’s Forum where
teachers can share ideas and information.
• The Duolingo Help Center provides a Q & A
support for General Questions, categories for
students and for teachers, and question
submission capabilities for support.
• The Duolingo Guide for Leaders in Education
provides support for teachers to setup the
Duolingo Classroom and techniques for
maintaining student motivation.
 Potential Limitations/Issues
If a student or teacher is using Duolingo at home, internet connectivity is
required. This is a situation of potential limitation for the usage of the web-
based learning application.

An issue of accessibility for students could be if there is not enough

devices or computers for students to use Duolingo at the same time in the
classroom.

Some schools might have periods of time when the wi-fi is down and not
accessible.
 • Duolingo and Duolingo for Schools is
completely free to students and teachers.
• A 1:1 device to student ratio is desirable but not
necessary as students would not use the
Duolingo website for the entire class time. So,
Cost of classes could share laptop carts, media centers,
computer labs, etc. to give everyone time on the
Duolingo for app.
Schools • If the school decides to purchase more devices,
devices that provide online accessibility would
be desirable.
• The cost of a Chromebook averages $200 so the
total for a classroom of 25 students would be
$5000.
 Potential Funding Sources

Funding for extra devices can

Most Cobb County schools
be provided through the Cobb Teachers and Team Leaders
have Foundations which
Schools Foundation, each can apply to grants from
provide funds for facility
school’s PTA/PTSA, district corporations.
upgrades and hardware.
and school Technology Funds.

Community members and Partners in Education

businesses can fund school businesses can help raise
purchases. funds and make donations.
 Application to Classroom
Content & Technology Standards
o Duolingo courses are aligned with the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This
framework describes how learners use language at
different proficiency levels.
o Content of Duolingo units is composed by language
educators and is consistently updated by new trends in
languages and in language learning.
o The use of a web-based website and app supports the
student technology standard of Empowered Learner. The
student takes an active part in learning, they make their
own learning goals, and receive feedback.
Student Learning Goals
o Students move at their own pace through units.
They complete a skill tree. More branches on the
tree are unlocked once the student shows
proficiency at the lower branches.
o Learning Goals are based on language in context
which Duolingo strives for as it teaches vocabulary
embedded in sentence structure.
o Language Learning Goals are supported with the
four language skills-reading, writing, listening, and
speaking.
Application to Classroom
Differentiation
o Duolingo data and feedback provides the teacher
with information to make curriculum decisions for
differentiation.
o Duolingo can be the activity for those students who
are ready for enrichment or remediation.
o Duolingo can be the 5-minute warm-up that is
differentiated because every student is at a different
level on the app.
o Duolingo differentiates every unit by containing at
least one higher order thinking skill for students.
o Students can choose various routes through the skill
tree.
Local & Global Communication
o Duolingo is a language learning resource which
incorporates all communication skills.
o Duolingo uses collaboration between educators to improve
and create the curriculum units.
o Duolingo encourages students and teachers to share ideas
through the Duolingo Chat groups and forums. Many
students and teachers are from countries outside the
U.S.A.
o Duolingo is based on the belief that language should be
free to everyone in order to connect across the world.
o Duolingo can be used by all ages, in any environment, and
in any country.
o Students can create Duolingo Stories and podcasts to share
with others.
 Research Based

IN A DUOLINGO EFFICACY STUDY, DUOLINGO A DUOLINGO SPANISH STUDY CONCLUDED THAT IT

STUDENTS ACHIEVED THE SAME PROFICIENCY WOULD TAKE 26-49 HOURS OF DUOLINGO USE TO
LEVELS AS 4TH SEMESTER LANGUAGE COLLEGE LEARN THE MATERIAL COVERED IN ONE SEMESTER
STUDENTS IN HALF THE TIME (JIANG, ROLLINSON, OF COLLEGE SPANISH (GREGO, 2012).
PLONSKY, & PAJAK, 2020).
A Teacher’s Reflection on Using Duolingo
Implementation Plan
• Teachers will need minimum training on the
Duolingo website and app.
• Training can be completed or included in
Professional Learning sessions.
• Training should be based on the Duolingo Guide
for Leaders in Education that is located on the
schools.duolingo.com website.
• Most teachers can teach themselves how to use
Duolingo. Another option is to appoint a
Duolingo “expert” leader for school with more
than one language teacher.
 • Based on my research on Duolingo for Schools, I
plan on adding it to my online resources. In the
current state of the pandemic, most of my students
are virtual learners. Adding this website to my other
“game” websites will create motivation for students
to try something new.
• My students like to be challenged and to compete. I
see them learning at a pace which will enhance the

Reflection time we have lost due to a 4-day class week. This is

a tool that can help us close the learning gap created
by virtual learning and less instructional time of the
pandemic year and a half.
• Even when all students are back face-to-face,
Duolingo will be a resource that I am excited to add
to the toolbox!
References
• Duolingo Help Center. (n.d.). Support.duolingo.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from
https://support.duolingo.com/hc/en-us

• Grego, J. (2012). Duolingo Effectiveness Study FINAL REPORT. http://static.duolingo.com/s3/DuolingoReport_Final.pdf

• Guide for leaders in education. (n.d.).

https://duolingo-data.s3.amazonaws.com/s3/schools/active/Duolingo_for_Schools_Guide.pdf

• Jiang, X., Rollinson, J., Plonsky, L., & Pajak, B. (n.d.). Duolingo efficacy study: Beginning-level courses equivalent to four
university semesters. https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/duolingo-efficacy-whitepaper.pdf

• T‌ he nuts and bolts of course creation at Duolingo. (2020, June 11). Duolingo Blog.
https://blog.duolingo.com/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-course-creation-at-duolingo/