Aksara: Interactive Digital Pocket Books as an Effort to Increase Politeness in Language

Abstract

Research and development of AKSARA: interactive digital pocketbooks, focusing on the development of a mobile application based on ethics of politeness and academic corruption, introduced as a form of early learning for Brawijaya University students. This research method was a mixed-method type. The development of digital pocketbooks was using a Recursive, Reflective, Design and Development model or can be abbreviated as R2D2. In the development of digital pocketbooks, the focus was on the three development focuses of R2D2, namely (1) Focus on determination; (2) Focus on developing product design, as well as its trials, and; (3) Focus on dissemination in accordance with the context of the development’s environment and needs. The results from the research and development process was a pocketbook app using mobile platform, which makes the product more ubiquitous. Applying the concept of gamification, this application has several interesting functions that stimulate user interaction. AKSARA provides ethics of politeness and academic corruption materials which are divided into systematic chapters and subchapters, each of them contains a quiz to measure user's understanding of the material. The correctness of answers and speed in answering the question determined the points received by users which can decide the user’s level and its ranking in the leaderboard. Users can also share their profiles in social media such as Instagram and Facebook.Â