STARTALK 2013: Designing Blended Language Instruction for Anywhere/Anytime Learners

An Online Professional Development Training Program for LCTL Instructors

Thank you to all enrolled participants for your enthusiastic and prompt response. Enrollment for this summer STARTALK session is closed. We hope to offer this training in future sessions, beginning in the fall.

Are you interested in:

* Furthering your technology literacy skills for teaching world languages?
* Designing instruction content in order to teach online and in blended contexts?
* Delivering and assessing ACTFL standards-based learning using digital tools and strategies?
* Imparting a range of 21st century skills to your "digitally native" students?
* Enrolling in a nationally recognized program?

If your answer is YES!, then this workshop is for you! Our program, delivered in English but featuring various target language examples, is designed by experts in blended/distance language learning. Topics to be covered include: online learning environments, learning management, digital citizenship, student orientation, backward design for blended contexts, student-centered instruction, assessment, trouble-shooting, and teacher effectiveness evaluation. Instruction will closely reference ACFTL standards, communicative skills, language assessment, and integration of culture and content. Individual and collaborative work will offer opportunities to utilize tools like Google Moderate, Google Hangouts, Edmodo, and Rich Internet Applications, among others, to deliver blended instruction in target languages.

This STARTALK Teacher Program, offered free-of-charge, is fully online. There is no face-to-face meeting or residential component requiring travel. You can participate from the comfort of your home or office, provided you set aside the required time, have the necessary computer hardware and accessories, and have the minimum degree of computing skills.

Our 2012 STARTALK program was focused on technology integration in traditional face-to-face (F2F) classroom contexts. This year, our 2013 program concentrates on cultivating best practices in blended/distance learning and 21st century skills in internet-mediated language instruction.

The program is comprised of two components. The first part, open to all LCTL instructors, is a new two-week asynchronous workshop featuring instructional video clips, discussion forums, quizzes, and assignments to be completed within a timely manner according to your personal availability. The second part is open to a limited number of top-performers from the first part who are Arabic, Persian and Chinese instructors, and involves professional goal-setting and three days of preparation for micro-teaching, and three days of micro-teaching and peer feedback. Micro-teaching will be in the form of delivering a lesson to students at California State University, San Bernardino using the distance learning tools covered and modeled in the program.

Our Lead Instructors are:

* Lauren Rosen - Director of the University of Wisconsin System Collaborative Language Program
* Jeremy Wildenberg - Education Technology and Blended Learning specialist; Arabic & Russian instructor
* Barbara Lindsey - Past President, Connecticut Council of Language Teachers; Education Technology author

Dates	Online Format	Curriculum	Target Capacity
June 2-15*	Asynchronous (self-paced learning & collaboration)	Instructional videos, readings, quizzes, assignments related to best practices in blended/distance learning, emphasizing ACTFL standards and 21st century skills	75 Participants (all LCTLs)
July 1-3* & July 8-10*	Synchronous (live meetings & collaboration)	Collaborative lesson planning with online tools; delivery of online micro-teaching to remote students	10 Arabic Teachers 5 Persian Teachers 5 Chinese Teachers

* Dates are subject to change

In order to participate in our 2013 program focused on blended/distance teaching,
you should be comfortable with the following:

* signing up for user accounts at online services
* downloading and installing software or browser plug-ins on your computer
* using Google Drive (Google Docs) for creating various document types
* modifying images in basic ways (cropping, resizing, saving, uploading)
* copying and pasting URL links from digital projects into blogs or websites
* using social media platforms in basic ways (Twitter, Facebook)
* using a webcam and built-in or attached microphone

For a refresher on these skills and training on how to integrate technology in face-to-face (F2F) teaching,
consider enrolling in our online course Teaching Languages with Technology (April 13-May 11).

STARTALK is a nationally recognized program of the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland.

If you have not previously participated in a STARTALK program offered by CLASSRoad ...

You will need to Register/Sign-up for a CLASSRoad user ID. Then, email your Résumé (in PDF) to startalk@classroad.com in order to be eligible for enrollment. After receipt of your Résumé, you will be emailed the enrollment code for this program, at which point you will be able to login above and complete your enrollment. Note: If you already have a CLASSRoad ID because you took one of our online courses, you do not need to create a new user ID, but you do need to email us your Résumé.