Access
- Access & Compatibility
- Cost
- Internet
- Skills Required
Flexibility
- Script Support
- Language Support
- Customizability
- Multi-User Support
Data & Compatibility
- Software Compatibility
- Import
- Export
Access
1. Access & Compatibility
ACORNS requires a user to download the software, which must then be installed on the user’s computer. The software can be downloaded through the ACORNS website, the Windows Store, and the Apple Store. The application is compatible with Windows, macOS (64-bit), and Linux systems.
2. Cost
ACORNS is free to download. However, it is not open source and Dr. Dan Harvey retains full copyright.
The software can only be used non-commercially. This means that an organization cannot sell or install the ACORNS application itself for a profit. This applies only to the ACORNS software, and not the games made with ACORNS.
3. Internet
Internet access is required to download ACORNS and to create the website/app for the final product. However, edits can be made offline. The finished games are accessible on computers, tablets, and mobile phones, and if hosted online, require the internet to use.
4. Skills Required
ACORNS requires minimal computer skills, as the tool is designed to be easy to use for all language teachers.
The user interface is not particularly intuitive, and the instructions from the website are necessary to learn how to use the ACORNS software.
Flexibility
5. Script Support
ACORNS supports Unicode characters in addition to specialized TTF fonts that remap keyboards to match Indigenous language needs.
To select the appropriate Indigenous fonts, users can browse through the edit menu of their project.
6. Language Support
Games created on ACORNS can include up to ten dialects within the same game.
There is also the option to create up to ten versions of annotations for audio, which can include translations into multiple languages. It does not have the GOLD and ISO language code features that some other tools by Dan Harvey offer.
7. Customizability
ACORNS offers a full-featured Sound Editing facility, allowing for audio editing within the software, such as shortening audio files or changing the speed of audio clips.
Additionally, users can customize the layout of games, insert pictures, change colours, choose the number of dialects/languages used, and which games are included.
Games that may be created with ACORNS include flashcards, listen and choose, hear and respond, magnet-connect, fill in the missing word, moving picture, multiple choice, Pictionary, picture and sound matcher, questions and answers, storybook, and translation lesson-style games.
8. Multi-User Support
ACORNS does not have any built in support for multiple users, such as edit tracking, edit syncing, or file comparison.
Users are able to save or export files from ACORNS which can be shared with other users (via email, Dropbox, USB drives, etc.), who can then make edits to the file in ACORNS on their own computers.
Data & Compatibility
9. Software Compatibility
This software supports tools created by the developer such as WOLF, HARE, and ELK, but does not support the use of other tools.
10. Import
Users can load MP3 files when importing audio, MP4 files for importing video, and either JPEG, PNG, or GIF files for images.
All text must be entered manually. It is not possible to import text data from other software.
11. Export
The final product of ACORNS is designed to be housed online and accessed on a computer or mobile device browser. Users can make a webpage on ACORNS by selecting the “make webpage” option. This will save the games as an HTML file. The resulting HTML file can be shared with users directly or hosted online. If the file is shared with users directly, they can open it in their browser on their own computer or mobile device. Anyone with an internet connection can visit the URL if the file is hosted online.
According to Oppenneer (2014), ACORNS version 8.0 added functionality, allowing a completed lesson to be sent directly to a user through email, Dropbox, or web-based hyperlinks.
A record of the product can be exported to an XML file if desired. A function allows the information from the final product to be printed as a physical document. The printed version does not work as a game but may be helpful for educators as a reference for which words are covered in the game.