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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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Web-based Materials Development in French and Italian
Heather Allen and Veronica Dristas, French & Italian Language & Literature, plan to enhance teaching and learning in introductory and intermediate language courses through their project, Web-based Materials Development in French and Italian. The project will foster the collection and digitization of print, audio, and video resources, making them available online to instructors and students in undergraduate French and Italian courses. In addition to replacing present inefficient methods of storing print materials, the project will enrich the instructional resources, according to Allen and Dristas. As materials are put into a database, they will be accompanied by descriptions of activities for various levels of instruction. The Web-based materials will be accessible in language laboratories, classrooms, and outside of class. The materials can supplement or be used independently of a textbook, providing visual images and dialogue that is “much more interesting than the one-dimensional dialogue usually found in textbooks,” notes Allen. These materials will expose students to the naturalness of language and the cultural differences of diverse geographical regions, Dristas adds. They explain that cultural traditions are taught in conjunction with language. For example, Allen, while visiting France this summer, will take digital photos at a food market, providing “more culturally relevant images than are generally found in a textbook.” Visiting Italy, Dristas will use a video camera to record conversations with locals such as market vendors and other native speakers about cultural practices that vary depending on geographic region. Teaching Assistants and other faculty in the department will be encouraged
to use the equipment and add to the database. More than one third of
teaching assistants in the department are French or Italian, and the
American teaching assistants and faculty frequently travel abroad, note
the project co-directors. | |||||||||||||||||
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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for Instructional Development & Distance Education |
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