Recent technological developments have created exciting new
possibilities for second (foreign) language learning, providing new
environments for second language input, output, interaction, practice
and assessment. This course will explore the use of
technology for second language learning with an emphasis on autonomous
learners at intermediate to advanced levels of second language
proficiency. A wide range of technologies will be explored,
including personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), the
Internet, and various forms of terrestrial, satellite and cable radio
and television. We will explore ways in which these widely
available technological tools can be used to enhance language learning
in the areas of (a) input (listening and reading), (b) output (speaking
and writing), (c) interaction, (d) exercise and (e) assessment.
This course is designed to appeal to a wide range of upper-level
undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in second
language learning from one or more of the following four perspectives:
(a) second language teaching and/or teacher training, (b) second
language acquisition research, (c) the development, implementation
and/or evaluation of technical tools (software and hardware) for second
language learning, and/or (d) personal improvement in second language
proficiency in any language at the intermediate to advanced level.
While the course will highlight technologies and techniques that can be
used for autonomous language learners, these same technologies and
techniques can also be used in conjunction with formal foreign-language
courses at the elementary, secondary or college/university level.
Students will participate in one group and one individual project concerning ATALL and be involved in contributing to the ATALL Wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ATALL) and Technology for Language Learning podcast (http://tllpodcast.blogspot.com). Moodle (http://moodles.ed.uiuc.edu/course/view.php?id=137) will be used for course management, collaboration and communication.
Class meetings will take place in the PC Lab of the Instructional
Computing Laboratory in Room 16 Education where we will have access to
state-of-the-art educational technology. The course will be
limited to 20 students.
For course announcements and news will be posted by the instructor to "latest news" forum on Moodle to which all students will be subscribed so that these posts are forwarded to their e-mail address.
Feel free to address the instructor using his first name. He will also use your first name unless you express another preference. If you are uncomfortable addressing the instructor as "Gary," use "Professor Cziko."
The primary objective of this course is to explore ways in which autonomous learners can use technology to facilitate second (foreign) language learning. This will involve stages of motivation, investigation, evaluation and dissemination for the areas of input, output, interaction, exercise and assessment.
I believe that education is a process of intellectual growth that is facilitated by an environment that is free, critical and supportive and in which students are active participants and creators of knowledge and skills rather than passive recipients of information (see the "seven principles"). I will therefore attempt to provide such an environment for this course. I also believe in making use of the best available technology for education.
By a free environment, I mean that students should have an opportunity to reveal the current state of their knowledge and skills. By a critical environment I mean that students should encounter criticism of their knowledge and skills in order to improve them. And by a supportive environment I mean that students should not be discouraged from taking risks and making errors as they improve their knowledge and skills.
To provide such an environment, we will use a project-based, team-learning approach with limited use of formal lectures adapted from the Learning Teams method developed by Professor Larry Michaelsen of the University of Oklahoma. This will allow students to share, critique, and improve their knowledge of the course's topics. My principal role will be that of coordinator of class activities, consultant, critic and fellow investigator (I expect to learn as much from the students in the course as the students learn from me and from each other). For this approach to be effective, it will be crucial that students come to class well prepared and actively participate in the course and group activities. Further information on the format and organization of the course will be discussed during the initial class meetings.
Other reading and reference material will be provided as handouts or online via Moodle (see below).
Students may also need to acquire some new technology for the course and evaluate its use for ATALL. This technology may include software or hardware such as a PDA or WiFi card for existing PDA, MP3 player, webcam, FM radio transmitter or shortwave radio.
The following activities will take place during the course:
Lecture/demo will be used by the instructor to introduce and review topics and concepts.
Students will complete readings and search for relevant information and resources outside of class.
Each student will write a (at least) weekly blog entry on Moodle which is due two hours before each class meeting (i.e., Wednesday at 11 am for Fall 2006). These should summarize the student's activities related to the course during the week and include a summary of any relevant ideas, discoveries or questions related to the course considered during this time. Particularly valuable are insights about ways in which your previous beliefs have been challenged or changed over the previous week as a result of your course activities (including those of the last course meeting). The blog tool is accessible in your profile.
There will be three mini projects, each corresponding to the three of the five major topics of (a) input, (b) output, (c) interaction, (d) exercise and (e) assessment. These will be done either directly on the ATALL Wikibook or as a separate website or wiki with a link to the ATALL Wikibook. Two or three students with common interests may work together on each mini project which would then be presented by one member of each team. Another possibility for a mini project is to produce a podcast episode to be published as part of the TLL Podcast.
Each student will complete an Individual Project related to his or her particular interests as they relate to ATALL. This will be due before the second-to-last class meeting. Like the Mini Projects, the Individual Project will be done either directly on the ATALL Wikibook or as a separate website (such as a publshed Google Document) with a link to the ATALL Wikibook.
Each student will complete a final individual report as a journal (blog) entry that contains commentary on what was learned in the course and a list of resources and suggested activities for ATALL. This will be due a week after the last course meeting, although earlier submission are encouraged.
The primary purpose of this report is for you to document what you have learned in the course, how you have used and will continue to use what you have learned, and your future plans for continued learning about how to use technology to improve your own foreign-language proficiency and/or that of your students (if you are a teacher or plan to be one). One way to organize this is to use the major course divisions of Input, Ouput, Interaction, Exercise and Assessment and start each section describing what you knew about using technology that area before you took the course, what you know now and how you are using what you know.
My regular office hours are Monday 2 to 3 pm, Tuesday from 11 am to 12 noon, and to 4 pm and Friday from 2 to 3 pm. It is best to reserve a time via email (I also check my telephone voicemail, but less regularly). I addition, I can often be found and contacted via Skype (http://www.skype.com) using audio or text chat where my name is garyjazz.
Final grades will be based on: the three Mini Projects (40%); a Term inal Project (20%); a Final Report (15%); weekly journals (10%); and class, forum, and ATALL Wikibook participation (15%). Letter grades with plus/minus options will be given for final grades using the following grading scheme:
A+ for 99-100; A for 93-98.9; A- for 90-92.9;
B+ for 87-89.9; B for 83-86.9; B- for 80-82.9;
C+ for 77-79.9; C for 73-76.9; C- for 70-72.9;
D+ for 67-69.9; D for 63-66.9; D- for 60-62.9;
F for 59.9 and below
We will use Moodle (http://www.moodle.org) to organize the course topics, provide resources, and to communicate for all class and group activities. Moodle is a virtual learning environment (VLE) or course management system (CMS) that is free/libre and open-source. Please note that although you won't see much on our course Moodle site at the beginning of the course, more content, resources and activities will be made visible as the semester progresses.
To get to the Moodle site for EPSY 490ATL, click here (or the above heading). Or go to http://moodles.ed.uiuc.edu > (left side) Resident Courses > EPSY 490ATL: Autonomous Technology-Assisted Language Learning. The following link (perhaps easier to remember) should also take you to the course Moodle site: http://epsy490atlmoodle.notlong.com. For more information about Moodle see http://moodle.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle .
The ATALL Wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ATALL) was begun in March 2005 by Gary Cziko with original contributions by him and students of the Spring 2005 version of this course. Since then the ATALL Wikibook has grown to be a comprehensive, up-to-date resource for using technology to facilitate language learning. The ATALL Wikibook was given an Honorable Mention for the Access to Language Education (ALE) Award as announced at the 2006 CALICO Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Gary Cziko accepted the award certificate on behalf of all ATALL Wikibookians who have contributed to this project.
The ATALL Wikibook is a public wiki project hosted under Wikimedia's Wikibook project. As such, anyone can edit or contribute to it, whether one is logged in or not. One of the principal goals of this course is to have students contribute to and improve the ATALL Wikibook. In order for students to get credit for their contributions, they will need to create an account under an identifiable username. Students should therefore create a three-part username in the form of "netID epsy490atl fa06" (e.g, jsmith 490atl fa06). The "epsy490atl fa06" part will allow me to easily identify members of this course, and your netID will let me know who you are without making your identify and e-mail address obvious to anyone who is not in the course (there is no problem having spaces to separate the three parts of your username). You should create and use another username of your choice after the end of the course so I don't confuse your contributions with new students in the course.
NOTE: You must remember to log in to Wikibooks before making any contributions to the ATALL Wikibook, otherwise you will not be given credit for your contribution.
This is a listing of the topics and their related readings we will cover and the sequence in which we will cover them. The actual time spent on each topic will vary according to student and instructor interest and the amount of relevant useful resources to investigate. Unless otherwise noted, the readings are from Ducate, L., & Arnold, N. (Eds.). (2006). Calling on CALL: From theory and research to new directions in foreign language teaching (CALICO Monograph Series Volume 5). San Marcos, TX: CALICO (Computer-Assisted Language Instruction Consortium). ISSN: 1085-2999
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