ALTEC | ALTEC FLTP Curriculum Overview

General Information Workshop Schedule Registration Curriculum Overview

Foreign Language Technology Program
Curriculum Overview

Module One Module Two Module Three Module Four

Module Five

Module One
Introduction

The introductory module contains a single required workshop and is offered once in the fall and spring of each academic year. It is a one-hour introduction to the FLTP and to the field of language technology. It will present the curriculum of the FLTP, introduce important organizations and journals, and review job market trends.

Module Two
Pedagogical Foundations

The pedagogy workshops will cover important theoretical foundations pertaining to the use of technology in the foreign language classroom.

Required

Technology and Instructional Design

The two-hour session explores the role of technology in the instructional design process, how to select the most relevant technologies, and how to use them in a pedagogically sound fashion.

Electives (Pick Two)

Media Theory

This session will focus on the various types of media available for instruction, what factors impact their effectiveness as learning tools, how students learn with them, and why some media are preferred as most relevant to language instruction.
Assessment

New technologies such as videoconferencing or podcasting can enhance learning environments by providing access to authentic resources and audiences. However, these new environments call for new assessment methods. This workshop provides an overview of the challenges and possible models one can use to measure learning outcomes.
Collaborative Learning Models

Technology in the classroom often goes hand in hand with some form of group work. This workshop will give you an overview of the various existing models of group work, including case-based learning, role-play, and project-based work. It will also provide tips on creating, managing and assessing group and individual work.
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

This workshop investigates the use of computing in language teaching and learning as a supplement to conventional classroom language instruction. Learn ways of presenting, testing, and reinforcing language materials through interactive technological means.

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Module Three
Technical Skills

These workshops are meant to provide students with the necessary prerequisite skills and knowledge to use various technologies. They will cover both hardware and software applications.

Required

Computer 101

This hands-on workshop teaches procedures and terminologies that students need to master in order to take full advantage of the Language Technology Integration workshops. This two-hour hands-on session will cover the concepts of operating systems, hardware, software, computer structure, folders, and files. It will also address basic procedures such as browsing for files, creating folders, and saving and retrieving documents. Although required, this workshop can be waived if the student has already mastered those terms and procedures.
Web Design Using Dreamweaver

To succeed in the classroom and on the job market, students are well-advised to learn basic information regarding web design. This workshop teaches students how to use Dreamweaver web authoring software in order to design a simple website that is both visually appealing and functional.

Elective (Pick One)

Smart Classrooms

This two-hour session will familiarize attendees with the common setup of equipment in the smart classrooms on the CU-Boulder campus. The goals of the workshop are to enable participants to operate equipment in the classrooms without assistance, to be able to diagnose potential problems, and to devise solutions quickly with minimum class disruptions prior to seeking professional technical assistance.
CULearn for Foreign Language Instruction

This workshop teaches how to use CULearn, the Course Management System (CMS) available at CU Boulder. In addition to defining a course management system and explaining basic functions of the CULearn program, this workshop covers issues of particular interest for foreign language instructors, including how to access foreign characters and symbols, and how to upload audio and video files into CULearn.
Blogging as a Course Management System

Although not originally designed for teaching and learning, blogs happen to be versatile and user-friendly course management tools. In this workshop, participants will learn about the main difference between a blog and a regular CMS, pros and cons of using each one, and receive step-by-step instructions on how to set up a course in Blogger. This workshop is available as an online module.

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Module Four
Language Technology Integration

The great majority of these workshops are hands-on and project-based. They combine instructional theories and technical skills to develop small-scale projects that exemplify the possible contribution of each technology to an area of language acquisition. Students must complete eight technology integration workshops in all.

IMovie: Digital Video

This workshop is a thorough introduction to digital video, including camcorder manipulation and recording formats. Learn the basics of video editing: cut, paste and delete clips; add titles and transitions; create DVD and QuickTime video clips.

Note: In order to provide enough hands-on practice with the camcorders, this workshop caps at 10 students. Sign up early!
Audacity: Sound Editing

Audacity is a free and user-friendly sound editing program. It allows teachers to create their own recordings or edit those of their students. This workshop covers Audacity's basic features and describes how to create and publish instructional activities for foreign language students. This workshop is available as an online module.
Skype: Videoconferencing

Skype is a free videoconferencing program that allows users to see and speak to a partner through a webcam. This session will cover how to set up a Skype account, how to install a webcam, and how to get started with videoconferencing. It will also explore possible instructional projects and how to go about finding conversation partners (native speakers of course!) for individual students or a whole class.
Podcasting

What are podcasts? Where to find them? What to do with podcasts in the language classroom? This session will explore the instructional potential of podcasts, where to go to find them, and ways to use them for language instruction.
Facebook
Facebook's open-coding environment has spurred a gold rush of new applications (24,000 and counting), from simple social gestures such as virtually poking a friend to a multi-lingual Scrabble game. This workshop demonstrates how to register for your own free account, introduces the basic features of Facebook, and discusses how language teaching professionals can incorporate some of the rich new features Facebook has to offer without invading our students' home turf.
Computer Mediated Communication

E-mail, chat, discussion forums, text messaging. These modes of communication, already very popular among students, are somewhere between the oral and written discourses in terms of formality. This workshop will explore the benefits and challenges of using them to develop students' writing skills.
Voicethread

Voicethread is an emerging social networking tool that allows users to upload pictures and films to a website, record or type comments about these media, and share them with a community of users who can in turn record or type their own comment on that media. In this workshop, foreign language educators will receive hands-on training on how to use this tool to foster the development of oral and written language proficiency in a communicative way.
Webquests

"A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in w hich most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web." (Dodge 1995) This early definition led many teachers to believe that a webquest is nothing more than a knowledge hunt. However, a real webquest is a challenging act ivity that requires a great deal of critical thinking about languages and cultures . This session will teach you how to design an exemplary webquest.
Teaching Foreign Languages With the Web

The web provides foreign language educators with valuable, authentic, and up-to-date teaching resources. However, these resources are not inherently instructional. It is up to instructors to take the necessary steps to realize their teaching potential. This workshop will provide participants with step-by-step instructions on how to select web resources, integrate them into their teaching, and assess the learning outcomes. This workshop is available as an online module.
Using Films in the Classroom

There is a lot more to using films in the classroom than just popping in a DVD and turning off the lights! The discipline of film studies has become an academic field of its own. This workshop, taught by a subject matter expert, will provide you with important course design guidelines that will allow you to realize the instructional potential of films and documentaries.
Hot Potatoes

Hot Potatoes is an application that allows users to create and publish five different kinds of interactive exercises for language classes, including crossword puzzles and multiple-choice quizzes. Workshop attendees will learn how to create various types of online exercises and how to publish them.
PowerPoint

This workshop will discuss the instructional potential of PowerPoint, and walk participants through the creation of a pronunciation tutorial with embedded sound files, a movie clip, and an interactive quiz. Finally, it will cover a number of basic graphic design issues and show you how to insert images and change the layout, colors, and font on your slides.

More workshops will be added in the future.

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Module Five
Portfolio

The portfolio is a requirement to obtain program certification. It gives you an opportunity to place your language technology expertise in the wider context of your academic experience as a student, a teacher, and a scholar. The specific format and components of your portfolio are up to you. A professional portfolio can contain items such as your curriculum vitae, statement of teaching philosophy, sample syllabi, descriptions of class activities, and a dissertation abstract. Since it introduces you professionally, it is unique to you.

Note: a portfolio is NOT an exhaustive and chronological collection of everything you have accomplished in graduate school but rather a careful selection of elements that illustrate your professional profile.

One of the goals of the portfolio is for you to demonstrate what you have learned through the FLTP. Thus, your portfolio must include the presentation of at least one instructional technology project that meets the following criteria:

It is instructional in nature.
It has been used in an actual classroom setting so you can describe and assess its usefulness as a teaching tool.
It makes use of at least three technologies that you have learned to use through the FLTP.

Upon completion of your project, you will prepare a report that includes:

Your learning objectives.
A justification of your design decisions.
A justification of the technology used.
Reflections on project development and management.
Assessment plan and results (learning outcomes).
Suggestions for changes and improvement.

As you begin to develop your project, make sure to meet with the Foreign Language Technology Program Coordinator, Edwige Simon, to talk about your project's scope and timeline. Both instructional design and technological support resources are available to you at ALTEC as you construct your portfolio.

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