Using Technology to Facilitate Teaching and Learning in a Language Class
“[A] dozen ways technology can support teaching and learning.
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Give students access to on-line or multimedia resources
Enhance lectures
Teach concepts that are difficult to convey with words or on a chalkboard
Vary how content is presented and applied
Facilitate discussion, problem-solving, simulations, and other learning activities
Help students work collaboratively
Drill students on basic concepts, e.g., give quizzes with built-in feedback
Support real-world learning experiences
Extend interactions and activities beyond the classroom
Save time on grading and course administration
Provide skill-building exercises and tutorials
Reach new students who can’t come to campus
Use the Internet to individualize learning.”
From: “Teaching Using Technology” written by Kazue Masuyama, who is an Associate Professor of Japanese at classes at
California State University http://www.csus.edu/indiv/m/masuyama/Technology/technology_pedagogy.htm#3
Most important consideration when using technology to enhance a course:
Are there sound pedagogical reasons that support the use of this technology?
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What learning goals will be met with the use of this technology? How will this technology
facilitate these goals, exactly?
Are there other, better ways to achieve this learning goal?
How will the success of this technology in meeting learning goals be measured?
Also, don’t fall into the
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Toy trap: The technology is new, exciting and cool, so let’s use it.
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Tool trap: We understand the nuts & bolts of how to use it, so that’s all we need. Just because
you know how to use a hammer and a saw doesn’t necessarily mean you can build a house.
Take your time!
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Don’t try to implement all multiple new strategies and technologies in a single semester.
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Give yourself sufficient time to determine where these technologies might fit in your course and
to plan how to implement these changes.
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Try just one, and expect it to go wrong (and to work) in ways that you couldn’t predict.
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Experiment to see what works with your class, your teaching style, your course content.
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Get together a group of others teaching your same courses who are also interested in
incorporating Web 2.0 technologies and collaborate.
Questions that can help you select the appropriate strategies/technologies:
What do you want your students to learn?
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What are the course learning goals or objectives?
What should students be able to do, understand, explain, apply, etc. after completing the
course?
What class activities and/or assignments would help students meet the course learning goals?
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How do you present information to students? (lectures, handouts, demonstrations, etc.)
What activities might students participate in (group work, discussion, experiments, writing
activities, etc.) and how could those activities provide the scaffolding for larger assignments or
learning outcomes?
How would increased student interaction and knowledge sharing contribute to the assignments and
course goals?
What technologies would facilitate student interaction in your course? Consider the following when
answering this question:
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class size
class structure (lecture, discussion, lab, etc.)
classroom configuration
student/course level (introductory, advanced, graduate, etc.)
in what form you want students to share knowledge—i.e., text, video, audio, still images
How do you assess classroom technology?
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How do you/would you like to measure outcomes of technology uses in the classroom?
Course Management Systems (CMS)
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RamCT: the “official” CSU CMS, http://help.ramct.colostate.edu/
Writing Studio*: CSU CMS developed specifically for writing intensive courses,
http://writing.colostate.edu
*If you want to learn more about this site, there is a Master Teacher Initiative event coming up April 12th, 12-1 pm, Tilt 104:
“MTI | College of Liberal Arts Noon Workshop: The CSU Writing Studio,” “Catered noon-hour discussion on Writing@CSU
(http://writing.colostate.edu), the home of Colorado State University's online learning environment… This session will introduce
the various features and tools of the Writing Studio.” Registration is required, so contact Pam Coke, 491.6848,
Pamela,Coke@Colostate.edu
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Moodle: an Open Source CMS, “a Free web application that educators can use to create
effective online learning sites,” http://moodle.org/
Google Groups: http://groups.google.com/
Blogs: Wordpress http://wordpress.com/
Wikis (extreme collaboration): pbworks
http://pbworks.com/content/edu+overview?utm_campaign=Three+Boxes&utm_source=Edu+o
verview
o www.frede.wikispaces.com (Frederique)
Some specific strategies/technologies that might be useful in a language course:
University of Illinois class “Educational Psychology 490 ATL: “Autonomous Technology-Assisted Language Learning (ATALL)”,
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/epsy490atl/), http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ATALL
Read
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Listen
Blogs
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Spanish: A mis 95 años / 95 years old blogger http://amis95.blogspot.com/ Selected as
“Best Weblog in Spanish” in 2007 by Deutsche Welle International’s Best of the Blogs.
“Maria Amelia is a certified phenomenon in the international blogosphere. With the
help of her grandson, this 95-year-old grandmother writes about her long life and tries
to break communication barriers that exist between generations.” (Note: author passed
away in May of 2009, but the blog is still available)
o Generation Y won the BOB award in 2008 for best weblog, and can be translated into
and read in many different languages: http://desdecuba.com/generationy/
o Best of the Blogs 2008 Awards list:
http://www.thebobs.com/index.php?l=en&s=1152969922764209GXICJDTG1244454650637937LREGTXCA (includes Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French,
German, Indonesian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish)
o http://ossiane.blog.lemonde.fr/ (Frederique)
Online Newspapers
o Spanish: http://www.prensaescrita.com/
o Google News http://news.google.com/ provides a continuously updated, usermodifiable selection of news articles that can easily be changed from one language to
another using a drop-down menu, (see top left corner, just above “Top Stories”).
Webcomics
o French: http://aletheia.webcomics.fr/page/aletheia#page
o German: http://www.kevinundkell.de/
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Online resources for Spanish language learning: http://www.e-spanyol.hu/en/, http://www.espanyol.hu/en/expressions.php,
Online radio: site above also includes a page of links to “more than 600 Spanish language online
radios categorized by country.”
Podcasts
o Spanish: http://www.rai.it/dl/portale/radio.html
o German: http://skbpodcast.podspot.de/
Speak
Audacity: a multiplatform, open-source audio editor. You or your students can record audio files using
this program, their computer and a microphone (some laptops, etc. have a microphone built in).
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Download: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Reviews:
o http://download.cnet.com/Audacity/3000-2170_4-10058117.html
o http://podcast-software-review.toptenreviews.com/audacity-review.html
Tutorials:
o http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html
o http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Tutorials
o http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-tutorial.html
Write (and Play)
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Games: http://www.e-spanyol.hu/en/wordsearch.php
Interactive Story: http://members.sitegadgets.com/maite/story.html (Maite)
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~mcorrea/teaching/tech/contents.htm (Maite)
Discuss
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Set up a forum in RamCT or the Writing Studio
Google Groups: http://groups.google.com/ You can control group membership, upload and
share files, create web pages, and maintain discussion forums
Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/ Similar features as in Google Groups, create one or
join one that already exists
Advantages of Using Discussion Forums in Class
 Extends the learning opportunities beyond the context of the scheduled class time and space,
fosters sense of community.
 Allows for different learning styles. Some students might not be comfortable speaking in class
or might need more time to process their ideas.
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Ensures that every student participates in the larger discussion.
Provides a place for regular writing (thinking, communicating and learning) opportunities,
brainstorming or planning for future projects, sharing rough drafts or ideas, posting responses
to course readings, reviewing for exams, asking questions, etc.
Exposes students to alternative viewpoints, as well as giving them the opportunity to see how
other students are working to meet course learning goals.
Important points made can be referenced in class to enrich discussion and to acknowledge
thoughtful ideas.
These types of communication are inherently reflective in nature. They give students the
opportunity to engage with various alternative perspectives, carefully consider a response, and
position that response in the context of the larger, ongoing discussion.
Before students respond to an instructor's initial discussion question or to classmates' posts,
they can refer to their course materials and think through their answers. Because of this extra
time and care a student can take crafting a post or response, they are more likely to reference a
course reading or make a connection to a related topic or concept.
Encourages students to form relationships built around academic work (social networking for an
academic purpose, building classroom community) and develop a shared understanding of
course and content expectations.
Enables collaborative learning. Students often answer each other’s questions with little or no
prompting or intervention from the instructor.
The instructor is a facilitator and participant in this environment and thus is not viewed as
having all of the knowledge and the answers. Power is decentralized as the discourse
encourages interaction and collaboration between peers. There is a distinct shift to studentcentered learning, students as active participants in learning and making of meaning. Students
directly engage with course content and become active learners (as opposed to passive, as in a
lecture-centered/only class).
Discussion Forum Strategies
 Allow time for a discourse community (shared language, common goals, etc.) to form and for
students to “get the hang” of discussion using forums.
 Create effective discussion questions, (open-ended, but specific enough to promote a focused
discussion). Good questions recognize that students will have different perspectives and
interpretations and such questions attempt to engage students in dialogue with each other. Ask
yourself: Will the question stimulate debate; elicit different opinions, varying viewpoints, doubt,
or even soul searching—without causing unnecessary confusion?
 Be present, but don’t dominate the discussion.
 Respond and redirect effectively. Make expectations clear through standards and modeling.
 Connect discussion forums to what’s happening in the classroom.