Leveraging Technology into Student Outcomes

1. Leveraging Technology into Student Outcomes Possibilities for responding to student needs, departmental visions, and institutional demands Wendy Freeman, Director CSL November 2010 University of Notre Dame http://lang.rice.edu/freeman/NotreDame.pptx

2. Questions we are facing From my position as an administrator: As business models of productivity are applied to educational institutions, how can faculty, department chairs and administrators quantify success in teaching? We want to maintain and attract more funding, improve outcomes and visibility.

3. From my position as an instructor: • How can we engage students in critical thinking with technology? • How can we bring them to speculate on their own positions as past, present, future and virtual language learners?

4. What is the CSL? • 12 languages, 28 faculty, 1000 students per semester • CSL 1st, 2nd, 3rd year language courses and languages for special purposes • Rice has no language requirement • 1st year courses: 5 credits, meet 3 x week, 2 credit hours via technology, other activities • 2nd year courses: 4 credits, meet 3 x week, 1 credit hour via technology, other activities

6. Mission • Educate students to be linguistically and culturally equipped to communicate successfully; • Develop language teaching and promote language learning. • Integrate new technologies and the current national standards for foreign language education into curricula.

7. Projects in Collaboration with the Rice Office of Institutional Effectiveness Review and refine learning assessments, with actual outcomes, across languages and levels (pilot program with Physics department started fall 2010)

8. Implications and Considerations Form committee, representative of the different languages, to establish consistent and coherent set of processes and practices to embed in the curriculum – why? Different practices across languages – from an administrative point of view, problematic to manage.

9. CSL-initiated Projects Certificate of Language Proficiency

10. Issues Identify, assess, sustain and produce evidence of our practices in effort to: • Comply and surpass SACS standards (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools); • Advance our V2C mission to enhance the university (Rice Vision for the Second Century); • Provide students with evidence of their proficiency in another language.

11. Implications and Considerations CSL assessment should explicitly contribute to the Rice Undergraduate Learning Goals and furthering of V2C. Documentation is key: “Appreciation of global culture, politics and history,” met by course projects such as videoconferencingsessions with Mexico, France and China, or in a study abroad context.

12. Issues and implications led to development of an assessment matrix for the CSL to: Identify, assess, sustain and produce evidence of our practices in synthetic format

13. What’s included? • Faculty evaluations by students (available to all Rice ID holders) • Classroom observations via on-line video • OPI Certifications • Summary of technologyused – need to developbetterassessmentcriteria: “what are best practices,” question we need to ask continuously

14. Other data • Review cycle of on-line proficiency tests • Regularly scheduled students surveys • Professional development program • Pool of OPI certified instructors

15. Data new to matrix spring 2011 • Tracking begins to compare 1st to 3rd year digital portfolios (currently reviewing number and what artifacts to include) • Tracking begins to compare on-line “entry” & “exit” proficiency tests ( all 4 skills) • Goal is to better evaluate student progress and language program in manner more consistent with delivery.

16. Let’s ask the question again As business models of productivity are applied to educational institutions, how can faculty and administrators quantify success in the use of technology for language learning. Hot topic as budgets face cuts due to economic downturn – stayingcurrent and safewithtechnologydoes have a cost.

17. Language Resource Center (LRC) CSL Technology Division

18. Mission Provide a wide range of technological resources to enhance and promote the study of foreign language, literature, and culture at Rice University for: the Asian Studies, CSL, Classical Studies, French Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, and Religious Studies.

19. LRC Staff • Director • Manager (students, staff, purchases, licenses,) • Language Technology Consultant, Faculty Development Lab • Systems Administrator/Developer (servers and ExTemplate) • Junior Systems Administrator (computers, server administration, backups, backup for Systems Administrator)

20. How it’s done • Selecting and implementing technologies for language credits earned outside classroom. • Providing about 250 class orientations per semester • Developing, supporting, and maintaining technologies for language assessment (placement, OPIs, quizzes, midterms, finals) • Enhancing and reinforcing language learning outside of the classroom • Assessing efficacy of use of technology for language learning via action research • Providing opportunities for students to meet on-line with native speakers

21. What is supported • 2 computer labs, 1 Faculty Development Lab and recording studio • 12 servers in LRC, 2 back up servers in Primary Data Center (off campus) with large storage system • Collection of 3,500 films most on DVDs – 500 feature films put on-line each semester • 60 foreign language software programs • On-line collection of audio/video for language courses • On-line assessment tools: ExTemplate, E-portfolios, Wikis, BBS and Blogs • Testing administration • Video production • Web server for faculty webpages

22. LRC Servers: Web, Media server, Wimba, applications, SQL, Cold Fusion, Apache, PHP & MySQL

23. Voice Boards

24. Multimedia: Video and Recording Tool

25. Digital Story Telling Using pictures, audio recordings, music and texts, students tell brief stories to the world in the language they are studying Chinese, German, Italian, Korean, and Spanish http://lang.rice.edu/bartlett/stories/index.html

26. Use of On-line Communicative/collaborative Tools, Web 2.0 • Wiki • Blogs/Podcasting • Voice Board • Skype

27. Blog, Hindi 202

28. Videoconferences with Students in other countries China, Xianning University, Hubei France, INSA, Lyon Mexico, Monterrey Tecnológico

29. Rice Skype Session with China

30. Skype Session with Monterrey Tecnológico, Mexico

32. Scientific and Commercial Spanish Digital Portfolios José J. Salazar

33. Criteria Associated with Technology for Accreditation Matrix

34. Professional Development • Faculty workshops, 5 per semester • Two-week Faculty Summer Technology Workshop with stipend • Technology Luncheons, showcase of best faculty projects

35. Budget funding history

36. Server Statistics Center for the Study of Languages Rice University

37. Statistics Comparing Language Technologies with other Technologies Used on Campus (Rice Students Digital Habits, 829 responses) Center for the Study of Languages Rice University

38. Collect Data from Course Management systems • Number of faculty using CMS • Percentage of language faculty using CMS vs. other of faculty on campus • Data Collected from Rice Sakai http://edtech.rice.edu/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35

39. Number of exams, exercises submitted

40. Extemplate On-line Proficiency TestingUsed for Accreditation Reports 2000 – Present • Test via ExTemplate, Rice language learning assessment tool • Assess speaking, listening, reading and writing • All levels of proficiency: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Superior • Tests reviewed by ACTFL and approved as following proficiency guidelines ExTemplate

41. Sample results

42. Sample results

43. Surveys • Using surveys to assess the use of technology in language learning • Software programs: SurveyMonkey (free or commercial version), Inquisite, SnapSurvey, PollDaddy (free), etc… • Rice Example (SurveyMonkey.com)

44. Showcase Faculty Projects Summer Workshop 2010

45. Past Projects • http://lang.rice.edu/CSLShowcase/

46. Student Performance • Student On-line Audio & Video Projects

47. Other Student Projects In-Country Students Produced Cultural Documentaries: Kalliste, Almería, Lijiang

48. In sum, document, document, document • International Exchanges and Special Events Real Player required to view links to audio/video files below • Skype exchange with Xianning College (video and pictures) • Skype exchange with Monterrey TechnologicoInstituto (video ) • Skype exchange with Monterrey, Skype video recording • Surveys Skype session: Rice students, Monterrey students

49. Conclusion: Quantifying Success? • Vision and goals clearly stated • Collection of data • History • Tests results, external and internal • Portfolios (students and faculty) • Enrollment • Accountability • Surveys and reflections • Success stories and anecdotes • Research?

50. Final thoughts Today more than ever, now that funding is becoming very competitive, how can language learning technology facilitate student learning AND accreditation process at other institutions?