My Summary and Recommendations

 So, to summarize my evaluation of the rubric, I would have to fully support the software features as follows:

Site License, Installation, Help Features, Grade Level, Active Learning, Save Features, Hardware Compatibility and Cost all gained full scores of 5.  This is because with the Site License, educators do not have to pay a fee to subscribe to Duolingo; neither is is there any difficulty installing the software.  For the Help Features while there in no live online chat immediately available, you can receive support emails if you had indicated that there is a challenge and there is also a support forum.  The software is not set for a specific Grade Level, but it is beneficial across various age-groups and proficiency levels.  Also the Active Learning allows for feedback, progress-tracking and interactive exercises and with the Save Features, students' results are automatically or manually saved as they move from lesson to lesson; this will let them pick up from where they left off, review what was done previously and practice it, thus promoting continuity.  As far as Hardware Compatibility is concerned, there is versatility; Duolingo can work on smartphones, tablets and computers no extra hardware is needed.  The Cost is ideal since it is free and there is only a nominal fee for the use of Duolingo For Schools.

The Documentation and the Standards were rated at 4.  I felt that the Documentation was logical and easy to follow, but it was not easy to find information that related specifically to Barbados.  Also there were no specific regional standards addressed by this software; but it generally covered the main aspects of language-learning; namely grammar, vocabulary, listening , speaking, reading and writing skills.

The Technical Support was rated at 3, because there was no local phone support readily available.  However, there is 24-hour online which can be accessed by submitting a support ticket.  You may have to wait a while for the assistance.

Recommendations

Let me first say, that the benefits of Duolingo as Academic Software for language-learning far outweigh the limitations.  I would therefore strongly recommend this piece of software for use in schools as a tool for language acquisition, based on the rubric in my Duolingo Evaluation.

However, I would encourage educators to let us lobby for local telephone support which would provide assistance much faster.

I would also strongly recommend that as language-learning practitioners we use Duolingo in conjunction with other resources and practice methods to provide an even deeper language experience that will allow for greater cultural understanding and an all-round holistic acquisition of the language.