--- Forwarded Message from Samantha Earp <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 10:45:45 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Samantha Earp <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #5661Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize learning
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
------------------
I've kicked around an idea for years to have students
move through language instruction at their own page,
supported by lots of technology work and smaller,
lab-like (or travaux pratiques sessions, for you
French-speakers) sessions with teachers. They would
move through based on mastery, and all the materials
would help move them in this direction.
(A former colleague and I at a previous institution
briefly considered putting on a small pilot project
sequence in German in this way, but the institutional
barriers and resistance from other colleagues shot us
down in a big way, very fast.)
Writing this very basic description in this way
glosses over a whole lot of learning & SLA theory that
would need to be examined carefully, not to mention
the logistics of organization and extremely careful
instructional design that takes into account the
unique technology-enhanced learning environment
(rather than tacking technology onto a pre-existing
pedagogical structure). But I'm still very interested
in this idea, and along with Rachel would love to hear
more about any forays into this area...
Best,
Samantha Earp
Duke University
--- LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> --- Forwarded Message from Rachel Saury
> <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:00:01 -0400
> >To: Language Learning and Technology International
> Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
> >From: Rachel Saury <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Using technology to save $$ 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
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