NOVA STARTALK 2009

Powering Up Your Chinese and Arabic Language Courses with Technology

Presented by

Northern Virginia Community College

Contact: Laura Franklin, Professor, Northern Virginia Community College

lfranklin@nvcc.edu

Workshop 1- June 22-26, 2009 (beginners and returning students)

Workshop 2- July 6-10, 2009 (2009 continuing students and advanced)

Hours: 9:00 –5:00 (with a one hour lunch break)

Location: Northern Virginia Community College Arlington Center (behind Holiday Inn)

Address and Phone: 4600 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington Virginia (703) 933-5050

Program Description

NOVA STARTALK is a summer institute in its third year designed to help teachers integrate technology tools and 21^st century language pedagogy in the Arabic and Chinese curricula. Arabic and Chinese teachers in each language will create a collection of activities to expand the curriculum presently in place. The networking that has resulted from this course in the two past years has enriched instruction and created a bond between teachers who have worked in teams in and out of our STARTALK setting.

Program Director

Dr. Laura Franklin, Professor, Northern Virginia Community College and Editor, MERLOT World Languages

Content Instructors and Facilitators:

• Ruihua Dong, Lead Trainer World Bank, Chinese consultant
• Dr. Mohamed Esa, Associate Professor, McDaniel College, Arabic consultant
• Dr. Marjorie Hall Haley, Professor, Foreign Language Licensure, George Mason University, Foreign Language Methods consultant

Instructional Technology Coordinator and Instructor

Takako Shigehisa, Assistant Dean, World Languages, Northern Virginia Community College

Rationale

In order to keep young learners engaged, teachers must include the most effective, standards-based activities, emphasizing all modes of communication and culture. The infusion of technology-enhanced methodologies in Arabic and Chinese programs helps to promote time on task among students and motivates them to persist in their study of difficult languages. Technology also facilitates communication with native speakers and opens up real world contact with the target cultures.

Description of target population

This established STARTALK program targets teachers of Chinese and Arabic K-20 who work in the metropolitan Washington DC area, but is available to other teachers who can get to the venue during the weeks it is offered. All participants must attend all five days of each session they attend and must participate in product showcase. The first week of the program is appropriate for beginners and former students who wish to repeat basic training. The second week is designed for more advanced users of instructional technology.

Major goals

• Faculty participants will apply Foreign Language Standards and Multiple Intelligence theory while creating Chinese and Arabic materials.

• Faculty participants will learn to use technology tools that promote student engagement in Chinese and Arabic classes .(i.e.QUIA, MERLOT, wikis, blogs, video, slideshare, asynchronous voice tools, Photo Story, Nings, netvibes, social bookmarking and others)
• Faculty participants will create a personal toolkit of materials to be used in Arabic and Chinese courses and shared with colleagues in the target languages.
• Faculty participants will integrate activities that they discover in the daily workshops in syllabi for Arabic and Chinese courses during summer 09 and beyond.

Program description

• Curriculum

Teacher trainees will experience a face to face workshop with hands-on instruction by experienced leaders in technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Overt instruction will be provided on how to integrate technology and the five C’s of the National Standards at the same time.

• Meeting needs of diverse learners
  Expert facilitator in teaching diverse learners, Professor Marjorie Hall Haley, will provide a full day hands-on workshop on differentiated instruction with more participant microteaching and more feedback. In honoring the learning styles of the teacher trainees, we will model how they should honor their own students’ learning styles. Teachers can expect this session to be hands-on and tailored to their needs.

Assessing learning outcomes

A needs assessment questionnaire will be collected before the workshop. Formative assessment will consist of FAST surveys and in-lab observation of participants during the workshop. Trainee self-assessments will also help us gauge their technology mastery. Performance-based summative assessment in the form of a trainee product showcase will close the loop. Anecdotal evidence has shown that the product showcase has given teachers the confidence to recreate what they learn in subsequent classes, to include other STARTALK programs.

Indicators of success/outcomes:

· Teachers will have technology products to share on the last day of each week of the program.

· Teachers will be able to demonstrate how they will use their technology product in the curriculum.

· Returning teachers will build on last year’s training and hone their skills.

All facilitators are returning to NOVA STARTALK for its third year.

The Program Director, Facilitators and Technology Coordinator are all experienced Foreign Language professionals and faculty developers on the national, regional and local levels. All are frequent presenters on technology topics at FL conferences to include ACTFL, NECTFL, GWATFL, FLAVA and MFLA. Three out of five have been President of their state or local professional organizations and have planned multi-language workshops. Two have been or are presently on the board of the Northeast Conference where they have presented or planned events on technology topics. Most have published on technology topics.

Roles and responsibilities of Key Personnel

• The Program Director is responsible for registration, hiring and organization of the program. She will also participate in instruction, troubleshoot and teach in both weeks of the program.

• The Chinese and Arabic facilitators will be responsible for all language-specific parts of the program. They will be responsible for the content of the target language sessions and for the teaching of standards-based instruction as it pertains to their languages. When not the lead teacher, they will assist and troubleshoot.

• The MI facilitator will be responsible for teaching the multiple intelligences and how to teach and reach students with diverse learning styles.

• The Instructional Technology Coordinator and Instructor will assist the Program Director in choosing the technologies to be taught and actually be the lead teacher for many of these. When not the lead teacher, she will assist and troubleshoot.

Send e-mail today to reserve a place in NOVA STARTALK 2009. Seats will go fast in this hands-on environment.

Contact: Laura Franklin, Professor, Northern Virginia Community College

lfranklin@nvcc.edu

NOVA STARTALK 2009 Registration Form

Northern Virginia Community College

NOVA STARTALK 2009

Powering Up Your Chinese and Arabic Language Courses with Technology

a technology-enhanced professional development course for teachers of Arabic and Chinese funded by STARTALK

Choose Session(s) that you will attend. You may take both or just one. You must attend all five days for any session you attend. All participants will participate in showcase.

------ Session 1- June 22-26, 2009 (beginners and returning students)

----- Session 2- July 6-10, 2009 (continuing students and advanced)

Hours: 9:00 –5:00 (with a one hour lunch break)

Location: Northern Virginia Community College Arlington Center (behind Holiday Inn)

Address and Phone: 4600 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington Virginia (703) 933-5050

Participant Information

Name:

Institution:

Address:

E-mail:

Phone:

Courses currently teaching:

Please answer the following questions with yes or no:

• I will be available for all five days
• I have web and e-mail access
• I am a new user of technology
• I am a proficient tech user
• I have a blog or a wiki
• I use technology in teaching
• I use a learning style inventory

Signature: ______________________________________________________________

Please return ASAP to Laura Franklin at lfranklin@nvcc.edu or by fax at 703-845-6186. Registration is first come first served and will close when course is filled. Act today.