--- Forwarded Message from Bill Thrasher <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 18:24:01 -0500
>From: Bill Thrasher <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum     <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #5661Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize learning
>References: <[log in to unmask]>

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I am a high school Spanish teacher and a doctoral candidate in Instructional Technology at the University
of Alabama.  Two colleagues and I just completed creating an online Spanish course for rural Alabama high
schools.  By using our creative products, linking to established sites, linking to web sites for the
students to practice speaking and listening to Spanish, and planning toll free telephone calls to online
teachers, I think we've created a very good Spanish course.

For info on the course, email [log in to unmask]    or email [log in to unmask]     or  [log in to unmask]

I'm interested in any info on technology impact on language learning.   I hope to do my dissertation on
this subject.  Any suggestions?

Regards,

William H. Thrasher, Jr    (Bill)
Doctoral Candidate
Instructional Technology
The University of Alabama

LLTI-Editor wrote:

> --- Forwarded Message from Rachel Saury <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:00:01 -0400
> >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum    <[log in to unmask]>
> >From: Rachel Saury <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize learning
> >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
>
> ------------------
> Dear colleagues and friends,
>
> I have an interesting nut for everyone to chew on.  It is a commonly
> expressed view in our field that the new digital technologies are primarily
> being used within a curricular model that differs little from when we
> relied on analog technologies.  This manifests as students primarily
> listening to digitized audiotapes and video with some recording of their
> responses.  If the digital technologies are being used in innovative ways,
> it is still within the traditional classroom structure: students meeting in
> class 3-5 hours/week (depending upon the level) with a single instructor
> with homework assignments, both written and oral, to be done at home and in
> the lab.  It is interesting to note that the report from the Mellon
> Foundation in 1998 after years of funding foreign language instructional
> technology projects, came to the conclusion that making the leap into using
> the technology in ways that could truly cut costs is challenging.
>
> I have been intrigued by Virginia Tech's Math Emporium model.  About four
> years ago, VA Tech decided that they needed a more cost-effective way to
> deliver basic math instruction.  They dismantled the traditional structure
> of the class, with students meeting in large lecture halls with a single
> instructor--usually a TA under the supervision of a full-time faculty
> member.  They purchased an old Rose's building (Rose's is a southern
> version of K-Mart), installed a few hundred computers in various
> configurations and groupings to allow for individual, paired and group
> work, created learning modules, and restructured the commitment of faculty
> and TA time.  Students primarily did their work using the computer-based
> learning modules.  They had paired and group projects and could also choose
> to go to lectures on various areas of mathematics, if they felt they needed
> extra help.  Faculty members and TAs held their "office hours" in the lab
> and were available to tutor students.  Small group sessions with
> instructors were also scheduled for group discussion and questions.
>
> Here at UVA, the Spanish Dept. is facing a crisis:  enrollments in first
> year Spanish are up, with the result that each class has 30 students with
> one instructor.  There is no end in sight in terms of enrollment, but
> funding for more TAs is not keeping up with demand.  I have been
> considering whether the Math Emporium model could be applied creatively to
> foreign languages in such a way that students could actually get more
> one-on-one tutoring, more opportunities for communication with an
> instructor and with other students, and more drilling and rote pratice to
> reinforce grammatical forms and vocabulary.  In the end, I don't think what
> students would learn in terms of quantity or quality would be
> sacrificed.  But I do think that learning could be more dynamic, with
> students being exposed to more varied communicative contexts and
> opportunities than in the current structure.
>
> I would be interested in your ideas and thoughts.  Are there any programs
> out there right now that are trying this out?  Do you think this could
> work?  If so, how?  Can you refer me to any sources?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Rachel Saury
>
> Rachel E. Saury, Ph.D.
> Director, Arts & Sciences Center for Instructional Technologies
> P.O. Box 400784
> University of Virginia
> Charlottesville, VA 22904-4784
> (804) 924-6847 ph.
> (804) 924-6875 fax
> www.people.virginia.edu/~res4n