institution: University of Puget Sound

language: Spanish

status: Full-time, tenure track

type: CourseRelease

title: Spanish 202: Assessing Instructional Technology

duration: Spring-Summer 1999

description: Spanish 202: Assessing Instructional Technology The purpose of this project is twofold. On the one hand it aims to reproduce the pilot program for Spanish 202 (see enclosed addendum) integrating the lessons learned last year. More importantly, this project aims to serve as showcase of assessment techniques within the NWLC. Shelley Owen and I plan to study three different sections of Spanish 202 students, two in which instructional technology will be used (one taught by myself and one by Brian Gollnick) and one taught traditionally, without recourse to technology. Evaluation, diagnostic exercises, and feedback questionnaires will be administered and collected throughout.

We hope to present the results of our project at Syllabus 99, the premier conference and exposition covering the use of technology in the curriculum. The conference will take place on July 24-28, 1999 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in San Jose, California. Syllabus '99 is a conference for faculty, department chairs, administrators, and technology support staff who want to learn about the latest technology and how it can be used to improve teaching and learning ().

ADDENDUM:
SPANISH 202 PILOT PROGRAM - SPRING '98

Spanish 202: :

The curricular goal for this course during the spring of 1998 was to make students experience the range and flexibility of Spanish as a world language. The final project for this course consisted of websites designed by students on topics of their choice. My goals for this course were fully realized. Twenty-two projects were submitted (see: ). Themes developed in these sites include art (Picasso, Frida Kahlo, personal photography), popular culture and music (comics, Ska, Salsa, etc.), politics (activism, US intervention in Latin America, liberation movements), travel, ecology, teratology, etc.

In order to achieve the above stated goals students had to become proficient in the use of several computer programs, namely: Claris Homepage ()and WS FTP (). In addition they needed to use of Eudora Mail and Netscape Navigator.

A secondary goal in Spanish 202 was to increase the students' command of written Spanish. To this end students had to carry out intensive work using a web-based conferencing software, WebBoard. Also, a writing assistant for Spanish, ATAJO, was made available for them to help in the drafting of longer writing assignments.

Students met in a computer laboratory for a total of six days during the first seven weeks of classes. There they received instruction and hands on practice on all the software mentioned above. After this period, they had access to the services of a peer consultant who specialized in one-on-one training. Although this set up led to the attainment of my goals, it is clear that six days is too long a period to devote to the learning of computer skills. In the future, this period needs to be pared down as much as possible. The intensive use of qualified peer consultants from the very beginning appears to be a promising avenue to remedy this situation.

The use of WebBoard as implemented in this class was a resounding success. Students wrote a variety of short assignments (grammar exercises, short expository paragraphs, brief analyses, etc.) an average of 3 times a week. They received immediate feedback on both content and grammatical accuracy via e.mail. The quality of their writing appeared to increase. Requiring them to visit Spanish language and culture sites in order to carry out written assignments also deepened their feel for Hispanic cultures. One problem with WebBoard is the difficulty of tracking individual input to the system. One hopes that the new version of the product will permit such checks.

Although, fully satisfied with the level of success achieved in this pilot Spanish 202 program, there is still work to be don before we can apply it across the board. Some problems include the following:

1. ATAJO, the writing assistant product, proved to be incompatible with the security protocols installed in the PC lab. This rendered the software useless.
2. Access to the internet is a problem for some students. Also, many of them use the net's features on a piecemeal basis. The tool is not yet a part of their everyday routine.
3. Access to computers in the general access labs is competitive. Also, the open nature of the labs does not lend itself to quiet thinking and writing.
4. Training needs to be reformulated, as pointed out above. The use of peer consultants and the reduction of class training sessions from six to a maximum of three is highly desirable.

outcome: Statement of the Purposes and Desired Outcome:

We hope that Spanish 202: Assessing Instructional Technology will play several roles as an NWLC-Mellon funded project. Some of these are:

1. Showcase of student generated web-based projects.
2. Present the work of the NWLC before a wider audience at Syllabus '99.
3. Enhance the level of assessment related activities within the NWLC
4. Vehicle for contacts between the NWLC and special communities. Colleagues like Jason Roderick at high schools such as the Vermont Academy have already inquired as the possibility of pairing college students with high school students as virtual language and technology mentors. This type of collaboration will be encouraged throughout the life of the project.
5. In addition, Spanish 202: Assessing Instructional Technology will be a visible, attractive, and compelling example of the achievements of the NWLC. Alumni, donors, interested foundations will have yet one more example of the benefits of multimedia technology in higher education.

timeline: Planning for Spanish 202: Assessing Instructional Technology will begin during the last month of Fall 1998. Both participating instructors (Brian Gollnick and Harry Vélez Quiñones), the student assistant (Steve Leith), the instructional technology and assessment consultant (Shelley Owen) will meet to plan specific schedules for training sessions, diagnostic tests, and evaluation periods. During Spring '99 the project will take place affecting three sections of Spanish 202. Regularly scheduled meetings of the above named participants (Project Players) will insure that all aspects of the projects work as designed. Towards the end of the term, we will correct, clean up, and upload the HTML projects created by the students in the NWLC server. At the end of the semester, the Project Players will meet for debriefing and self-evaluation. We plan to issue a report that will constitute the bulk of our presentation at Syllabus '99.

amount: Unit off as per Puget Sound pay scale

breakdown: Salary for 1 unit of adjunct language teaching