Subject Area

Language & Technology

Abstract

Incorporating Online learning as an optional delivery mode of instruction in tertiary institutions with traditional campuses has been the trend in recent years. The question is whether it should be offered universally or with some discrimination. The presenter teaches Spanish at an HBCU which has been offering some general education courses online during the summer.

Needless to say, while online programs are lucrative, it behooves the instructors and institutions to ascertain the viability of the product in terms of the learning needs of the target population. Must enrollment into these courses be open to all or be vetted in order to achieve desirable learning outcomes for students, and the attendant departmental and institutional goals and objectives?

The presentation includes a brief literature review on online teaching, student attitudes and behaviors during the period of instruction in an online course, instructors' observations, and presentation of results of student surveys evaluating the course.

Ultimately, this presentation would constitute a set up for a discussion on finding practical and effective ways to justify and authenticate online teaching of a foreign language, and providing an opportunity for a collaborative investigation that will establish and enable mechanisms that make the online instructional mode a valid and morally defensible alternative in any and every teaching and learning environment.

Brief Bio Note

Started my career teaching English, French, Spanish in my native Ghana, subsequently in Spain and Canada before settling here. My interest has consistently been using and teaching language for its own sake, as a communicative tool wherever needed. Teaching, translating, and interpreting multiple tongues in myriad environments is a passion.

Keywords

Face-to-face, hybrid, blended, flip, synchronous, asynchronous, zoom, Learning Management System (LMS), HBCU

Presentation Year

2020

Start Date

10-22-2020 2:55 PM

End Date

10-22-2020 3:35 PM

Embargo

9-28-2019

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Oct 22nd, 2:55 PM Oct 22nd, 3:35 PM

The validity of Online Learning and teaching of a Spanish using an online delivery mode

Incorporating Online learning as an optional delivery mode of instruction in tertiary institutions with traditional campuses has been the trend in recent years. The question is whether it should be offered universally or with some discrimination. The presenter teaches Spanish at an HBCU which has been offering some general education courses online during the summer.

Needless to say, while online programs are lucrative, it behooves the instructors and institutions to ascertain the viability of the product in terms of the learning needs of the target population. Must enrollment into these courses be open to all or be vetted in order to achieve desirable learning outcomes for students, and the attendant departmental and institutional goals and objectives?

The presentation includes a brief literature review on online teaching, student attitudes and behaviors during the period of instruction in an online course, instructors' observations, and presentation of results of student surveys evaluating the course.

Ultimately, this presentation would constitute a set up for a discussion on finding practical and effective ways to justify and authenticate online teaching of a foreign language, and providing an opportunity for a collaborative investigation that will establish and enable mechanisms that make the online instructional mode a valid and morally defensible alternative in any and every teaching and learning environment.