--- Forwarded Message from "Bob Peckham" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Subject: RE: #8036.5 Fitting lab into language curriculum (!)
>Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 19:31:48 -0500
>Thread-Topic: #8036.5 Fitting lab into language curriculum (!)
>Thread-Index: AcXVq+T/wJuM0nc7SmmbtnnzqM/xjQAGpHIe
>From: "Bob Peckham" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum"   
<[log in to unmask]>



In the

Muriel Tomlinson Language Resource Center
http://www.utm.edu/staff/globeg/lab.shtml

University of Tennessee at Martin Foreign Language students through the thrid
semester in Spanish, French, German and Japanese each spend 2 hours per week. 
They have a number of choices of activities directly related to class or vitally
supplemental to class, according to what their teachers expect. Teachers require
that students account for their time, and they test students on what they have
done.  Before we decided to use the lab this way, all 4 hours of a 4-hour class
were face time.  Since our faculty teach 4 classes per semester, some were
spending 16 hours a week in class.  This was a violation of work rules (official
load is 12 hours) which I considered unfair. We went through faculty senate for
our curriculum change, using a science model 3 hour class + 2 hours lab = 4 hour
course. Because of a 16+% increase in lower-level students this year, and the
fact that building facilities are under repair and being upgraded means that  I
am in charge of facilitating 950 hours per week of student practice time under
difficult conditions.  For lab supervision, this is what we do besides haveing a
good security camera system.  We have work study students, our own advanced and
immersion processed student language specialists, SIs (student instructors =
assistants) who work in association with the lab.  Also, all of our regular
full-time faculty are assigned one of their office hours to be in charge of the
lab.  We chart on the web which languages are deing featured by specialists
during each of the 52 hours we are open.  Those students or faculty do serve a
tutorial function, and can choose to work with students away from the machines
in groups, which we call live lab.  The same can also be done with supervised
viewing of FL television programs in a room ajacent to the lab.  

I am split half time (teaching/lab) and I spend a lot of time after hours
intalling and configuring. I am the person who determans what percent of the the
machines we can count on being able to use and how many machines we need to use
for upper-division students (who are not required to use the lab). I am also the
first line of defence for glitches like when we had some capaciter problems in
some of the machines.

When a whole program is as dependant on the lab as ours is, it is quite
diturbing to find out when you get to work at 7:30 that an eloectrician or a
network wiring contracter has cut your coax network access because they are
systematically wiring with Cat6 and a backbone improvement.  I had to put all
plans on the shelf for the day, make sure that all desktop apps worked, that all
students shifted work mode, and assisted network electricians wiring a temp
through a security camera to a large HP hub, etc. until we can separately rewire
each desk again.  I say all of this because I caution institutions not to create
lab-dependant programs unless you have people on beard who understand the
classroom as well as the machines and who are committed to the overall goals of
the program.

TBob

Robert D. Peckham, Ph.D
Professor of French
Vice President, American Association of Teachers of French
Director, Muriel Tomlinson Language Resource Center
Director, Globe-Gate Intercultural Web Project
Director, Andy Holt Virtual Library
Department of Modern Foreign Languages
Univ. of Tennessee at Martin / Martin TN 38238 
Email: [log in to unmask]


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