Leveraging Technology into Student Outcomes

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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

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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.

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• 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?

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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

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CSL Enrollments 2007-2009 CSL Enrollments 2007-2009 CSL Enrollments 2007-2009 CSL Enrollments 2007-2009

Language Spring 07 Fall 07 Spring 08 Fall 08 Spring 09 Fall 09

Arabic 31 40 30 44 29 33
Chinese 160 155 148 159 158 156
French 137 131 129 122 141 145
German 41 71 40 74 51 79
Hebrew 7 12 8 9 7 0
Hindi 32 30 34 44 40 34
Italian 30 64 31 79 42 52
Japanese 29 36 32 49 28 57
Korean 33 27 30 22 49 29
Portuguese 24 32 21 20 29 25
Russian 14 34 33 35 23 37
Spanish 388 390 372 398 372 408
TOTAL 926 1022 908 1055 969 1055
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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.

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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)

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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.

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CSL-initiated Projects

• Certificate of Language Proficiency

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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.

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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
  videoconferencing sessions with Mexico, France
  and China, or in a study abroad context.

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• 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

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Whats included?

• Faculty evaluations by students (available to all
  Rice ID holders)
• Classroom observations via on-line video
• OPI Certifications
• Summary of technology used need to develop
  better assessment criteria what are best
  practices, question we need to ask continuously

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Other data

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

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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.

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Lets 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 staying current and safe with
  technology does have a cost.

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Language Resource Center (LRC) CSL Technology
Division
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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.

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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)

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How its 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

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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

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• LRC Servers Web, Media server, Wimba,
  applications, SQL, Cold Fusion, Apache, PHP
  MySQL

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• Voice Boards

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• Multimedia Video and Recording Tool

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• 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

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

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Blog, Hindi 202
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• Videoconferences with Students in other countries
• China, Xianning University, Hubei
• France, INSA, Lyon
• Mexico, Monterrey Tecnológico

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• Rice Skype Session with China

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• Skype Session with Monterrey Tecnológico, Mexico

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(No Transcript)
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• Scientific and Commercial
• Spanish Digital Portfolios
• José J. Salazar

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• Criteria Associated with Technology
• for
• Accreditation Matrix

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Professional Development

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

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Budget funding history

Collect data about funding history over as many years as you can
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Server Statistics
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Statistics Comparing Language Technologies with
other Technologies Used on Campus (Rice Students
Digital Habits, 829 responses)
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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?optioncom_c
  ontenttaskviewid35

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Number of exams, exercises submitted
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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

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Sample results
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Sample results
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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)

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Showcase Faculty Projects

• Summer Workshop 2010

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Past Projects

• http//lang.rice.edu/CSLShowcase/

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Student Performance

• Student On-line Audio Video Projects

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Other Student Projects

• In-Country Students Produced Cultural
  Documentaries
• Kalliste, Almería, Lijiang

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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 Technologico
  Instituto (video )
• Skype exchange with Monterrey, Skype video
  recording
• Surveys Skype session Rice students, Monterrey
  students

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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?

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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?

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• Thank you
• merci
• ??
• danke
• gracias
• ????
• ?????