Creating a Learning Community with Moodle: Languages Across the Curriculum at Skidmore CALICO Annual Symposium: The Many (Inter)Faces of CALL Texas State University - San Marcos May 24, 2007 Cindy Evans - Skidmore College

Overview LAC at Skidmore Instructional challenges Role of technology (moodle) Implementation & development Pedagogy-technology question

LAC at Skidmore Format: Individualized curriculum Goals: Improve reading proficiency Enhance vocabulary in target discipline Address writing proficiency in advanced LAC Provide ongoing L2 learning

The pedagogical challenge Accommodate diversity of proficiency levels content areas Encourage interaction among students Create a sense of common purpose through focus on process

Affordances of moodle Interactivity Supports individual and collaborative work Glossary feature Constructivist philosophy: “People actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their environment.” “Learning is particularly effective when constructing something for others to experience.”

Chickens and eggs Pedagogy-based approaches: “…define first what is needed in terms of functionalities…” Colpaert, J. “Pedagogy-driven design for online language teaching and learning.” CALICO Journal 23 (3): , Technology “…needs to change the way we teach and the way students learn.” Furstenberg, G. and Levet, S., “Implementing a telecollaborative project for the language class.” CALICO Workshop, 22 May 2007.

Implementation & development LAC moodle site Evolution: Feedback: Incorporate more current events More interaction with peers’ content areas Resulting changes: Increased use of wiki for peer editing & presentation in class Increased use of glossary (integration into curriculum) More integration of moodle into classroom work in general. Moodle site became increasingly central for the community as a portable workspace.

Pedagogical paradigm shift Education of the third millennium characterized as “flexible, inclusive, collaborative, authentic, relevant, global, and effective.” Emphasis on core meta-skills and knowledge vs. core content Felix, U. “E-learning pedagogy in the third millennium: The need for combining social and cognitive constructivist approaches.” ReCALL 17(1): , Characteristics of digital learners: Multiprocessors Navigation = key to information literacy Discovery-based learners Bias toward action Brown, J.S. “Growing up digital: How the web changes work, education, and the ways people learn.” Change 10-20, March/April, 2000

Web environment Properties of the web: Two-way medium – users are producers and consumers Honors notion of multiple intelligences Shift in using technology from supporting individuals to supporting relationships between individuals Brown, J.S. “Growing up digital: How the web changes work, education, and the ways people learn.” Change 10-20, March/April, 2000

Confluence of pedagogy & technology