New Media Portfolio

Scoyo.de – From F to A?

Skoyo.de is a learning platform on the internet. It claims to be Germany’s biggest so far. The Slogan “Spielen, Lernen, gute Noten” sums up the general concept of the site. The program covers grades 1-7 and was created and based on the curricula of all German states. The goal of the platform is to combine learning with games to make it more interesting (“spielendes Lernen”).

Scoyo Overview English grade 6

I had the opportunity to take a look at the program in a test-version. My first impression was, that the site is VERY colourful. It contains a lot of pictures and comics.

The program for English, is divided into units namely “Vocabulary, Grammar and Pronunciation”.The tasks contain gap-texts, vocab-games and inter-textual exercises.

Scoyo English Vocab Game

Although the students listen and read new words for example the gaming approach is (earning credit points to improve level, a lot of games) too strong in this program. It is likely that the learners only concentrate on winning and not on the actual context. Furthermore, the grammar exercises do not contain an explanation of the rules or the context. The students are not asked to produce any texts and the interaction between learners is not given through the program.

Scoyo English Grammar Exercise "Present Progressive"

The fee for the program is 15 € per month and in my opinion parents have to closely observe children when using this program, because they can’t know at this age which exercises are suitable for them.

All in all I think it is rather difficult for young learners to stay focused when using this platform, because there are so many things that distract you. The program is useful for learners who are relatively independent and prefer the audio-visual learning approach. Students with problems in the subjects should rather not use the platform because it does not support such learners. It is a program to practice and improve your English if you’re already a good student.