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As part of the Transitioning to Teaching Language Online (TTLO) course offered through the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), I have developed materials that address various facets of teaching in an online environment. The documents below highlight the following topics:
- Pre-course considerations for developing an online course
- Transitioning face-to-face materials for online classes
- Activities for teaching Spanish in the online classroom.
Unit 1: Pre-course Considerations
Online Spanish Course Proposal: This infographic details how an online Spanish course can meet the needs of Nashville’s medical community.
ADA Accessibility Considerations: The slides of this PowerPoint presentation explain the standards for creating accessible course websites, readings, and listening activities. In addition, these materials highlight methods for making language classes more accessible. Finally, the slides at the end of the collection provide checklists and resources for ADA Guidelines.
Personal Goals and Best Practices for Online Language Courses: This chart provides a visual representation of my goals for teaching in the online environment.
Intention and Reflection in Online Courses: My first unit reflection essay is dedicated to how we can implement intention and reflection exercises in our online courses. The first unit of the TTLO course focused on the challenges online instructors and learners face. After becoming more familiar with research related to the relationship between online student success and the practice of reflecting on learning objectives, I decided to incorporate structured goal setting and reflection a part of my online course design.
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Unit 2: Transitioning to Online Teaching
Online Resources for Teaching Languages: Working as a team, the members of the TTLO class compiled this list of online teaching tools and websites. These resources focus primarily on reading and listening and are available for a wide variety of languages.
Transitioning a Face-to-Face Activity for the Online Classroom: Listening: For this lesson, students listen to three recordings about pets and answer questions about the videos. After viewing the videos, students survey each other about their pets.
Transitioning a Face-to-Face Activity for the Online Classroom: Writing: In my face-to-face courses, my introduction-level students use a real estate website to practice with house vocabulary and to learn about styles of houses in other countries. Adapted for the online classroom, students complete the same activity and then write for sale ads to post on the class discussion board. The lesson plans for both the face-to-face and the online versions are available in the bottom left corner of the linked webpage.
Transitioning a Participation Rubric for the Online Classroom: This rubric assesses the student’s daily contributions to the class using a yes/no question format.
Reflection on My Time as an Online Student: The second unit of the TTLO positioned participants as language learners. During the week, we completed individual and paired activities as if we were novice-level students. My Unit 2 reflection relates my feelings of accomplishment and frustration in the online classroom, and how I plan to apply my experience to create my own online courses.
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Unit 3: Activities for an Online Spanish Course
Interpretive Activity- EdPuzzle Listening: Students of novice-high or intermediate-low Spanish use this video with embedded comprehension questions to practice listening skills and to engage with key food vocabulary.
Interpretive Activity- UTellStory Reading: Students of novice-level Spanish use the included infographic to learn about the UN’s Sustainability Goals. After viewing the graphic, students use the website UTellStory to create a brief presentation with ways that we can reach the UN’s goals.
Interpersonal Activity- Zoom Speaking: Students of novice-level Spanish use the online meeting platform, Zoom, to practice discussing the weather.
Presentational Activity- Flipgrid Speaking: Students of novice-level Spanish use Flipgrid to share a recipe with the class. This activity engages the presentational mode, models the presentation of information from the Edpuzzle activity, and allows students to practice vocabulary and grammar in context.
Language Support Activity-Vocabulary Quizlet: Students of novice-level Spanish use this set of Quizlet flashcards to review the vocabulary that they saw in the Edpuzzle and Flipgrid activities.
Reflection on Online Activity Design: During Unit 3, we developed a variety of tech-based activities for use in online classes. This essay offers my thoughts on what I call meaningful integration of technology or the creation of digital activities that prioritize language acquisition and coherence.