PACE and LATIS Presentation: The cool things you can do with Canvas

Part 1
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
12:20 - 1:10 p.m.
Nolte 140
Register Online

Part 2
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
12:20 - 1:10 p.m.
Nolte 140
Register Online

Make the most of your transition to Canvas!

LATIS and the Language Center are teaming up to offer a series of professional development opportunities for language instructors to become familiar with Canvas. In this two-part event, we will explore options to make your implementation of Canvas more effective, and to learn from colleagues who have already worked with this system. You will also become familiar with features specifically applicable for language learning and instruction that you can implement in your Canvas courses.

• Part 1: November 15: a general introduction to new features available in Canvas, and resources for the transition into Canvas

• Part 2: November 29: best practices for managing online content, instructional design, and language options for courses and assignments

Both sessions will be useful to all language instructors, including instructors who teach multi-section courses and those who design their own sites. Come to one or both sessions! Refreshments will be provided.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Spring Semester Reservation Requests Entered Beginning November 15, 2017

The Language Center will begin entering general Spring semester reservations on November 15, 2017. You may submit reservation requests before that date, and they will be held until then. To have the best possibility of receiving the rooms, media, and equipment you need, please submit by that morning.

At the University of Minnesota, the number of language and culture courses scheduled in the evening has declined in recent years. As a result, the Language Center has reduced its evening classroom hours this year. Classrooms may be reserved during the following times:

Monday 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

We will make exceptions for some tests and self-assessments scheduled in advance.

• Here is some additional information about reservation requests:

• These reservations always require a reservation form.

• Please submit a form for each class section.

• Each class is allowed to reserve up to 15 hours in Jones Hall classrooms.

• Teachers of intensive courses may negotiate their needs.

• Reservations for equipment and media are unlimited in terms of amount and frequency (within reason).

• Instructors must intend to use the technology they are reserving.

• There is now a waitlist for when the room requested is not available.

Discover Canvas: Basics Workshop

Tuesday, November 7, 2017
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Online
Please RSVP

New to Canvas? If so, plan to attend an online 90 minute, “Canvas Basics” workshop that will include a review of the Canvas interface, tools and features, course design options, and an introduction to moving content from Moodle to Canvas. This workshop will feature:

• Review of the interface, tools, and features. 

• Exploration of 2-3 course design options that showcase how core design decisions in Canvas impact ease of use and navigation. 

• Should you transition your content from Moodle to Canvas, or start from scratch? 

• Once content has been transitioned, how do you find it in Canvas? 

• How do you modify / move content?

German / English TandemPlus Class Exchanges: What time is it?

This week, students in five German courses here at the U of M will talk individually via Skype with a partner at Leuphana Universität in Germany. It is the first of three exchanges this semester for students in German 3011 and two sections of 1003. While students here on campus are in the midst of midterms, students in Germany just began their “winter semester” 10 days ago. Because the semester schedules differ so much between Germany and the United States, scheduling class-to-class exchanges can be challenging, but the participating instructors agreed upon three conversations between October 30 and December 4, 2017. The instructors assigned the specific weeks for each conversation to occur, but students are responsible for scheduling the exact date and time to meet their partner online. Calculating the time difference between the two countries can be confusing, especially this week! Daylight savings time ends October 29 in Germany, but not until November 5 in Minnesota. When Germans turn their clocks back on Saturday night, the time difference will be six hours - not the usual seven hours. Hopefully, students on both sides of the Atlantic will remember. For anyone wondering which countries use daylight savings time and when it begins or ends, check out https://www.timeanddate.com/time/.

TandemPlus Halloween Movie Night

Thursday, October 26, 2017
5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Keller 3-230

To celebrate the season of scare, TandemPlus is hosting a Halloween movie event in a nontraditional fashion, with a showing of Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.! Participants of the program are invited to join in the festivities, mingle with faces new and old, enjoy Halloween treats, and delight in the show.

TandemPlus English Conversation Hour

In order to provide currently unpaired participants of TandemPlus an opportunity to meet other language learners and practice together, the program is piloting a new English conversation hour each Friday of the semester in Folwell Hall for invited members of TandemPlus. The meetings will be conducted by Megan Schley, the current TandemPlus assistant, who recognized unpaired participants’ desire to have language practice with others of the program, and came up with a plan to fulfill the need for practice. Invited participants can expect to enjoy practicing speaking English based on thematic topics and questions, and interact with participants of other cultures, backgrounds, and native languages, who share a goal of improving spoken English skills.

Onsite and Online Canvas Training

Wednesday, October 25, 2017
9:00 - 4:00 p.m.
St. Paul Campus, Cargill 105 & Online

Thursday, October 26, 2017
9:00 - 4:00 p.m.
West Bank, HHH 50 & Online

Please RSVP for the day that works best in your schedule.

This full day training will be an introduction to Canvas that cover the basics, and beyond. A trainer from Canvas will be visiting the Twin Cities campus and will also be streaming on YouTube Live to provide attendees a solid foundation to begin using Canvas to its full effectiveness.

Agenda

• Hour 1: Create and organize course content

• Hour 2: Communication and discussion

• Hour 3: Assess, grade, and monitor student work

• Hour 4: Lunch (on your own)

• Hour 5: Facilitate collaborative learning with groups

• Hour 6: Advanced topics

• Hour 7: Questions & Canvas work time

CARLA Presentation & Open House: Two PACE Poster Sessions

CARLA Presentation & Open House: Two PACE Poster Sessions

Tuesday, October 10, 2017
4:00 – 6:30 p.m.
McNamara Alumni Center

The 2017 CARLA Open House features a Keynote Presentation, The Challenge of Globalization in Foreign Language Education by Claire Kramsch, Professor Emerita of German and Education at University of California–Berkeley, and research poster sessions highlighting CARLA-Funded Research Initiatives and University of Minnesota Language Community Research Initiatives.

The PACE project will present two posters at this event:

Interweaving Assessment and Advanced Language Proficiency: Lessons Learned and Views to the Future by Adolfo Carrillo Cabello

Proficiency Assessment for Curricular Enhancement: Large-Scale Proficiency Testing by Dan Soneson

There are a variety of poster sessions from other UMN researchers. Please see the CARLA website for full details. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with colleagues and learn about language program research initiatives.

BOSSA: Prepare for Your Upcoming Session

Instructors: do you have an upcoming BOSSA session? Are you interested in getting one-on-one training or a refresher in preparation? If so, please email bossa@umn.edu.

During this training, you will become familiar or reacquainted with all the pieces of the BOSSA protocol, and how they fit together. The training session will present how students record and listen to their recordings, and how instructors can go about conducting the pair and group discussions which prepare students for the final, all-important piece: the self-assessment questionnaire.

Using the DiLL System for Assessments

Are you using the DiLL system this semester for assessments? Please keep in mind that it is always a good idea to do a test recording before engaging your students in the recording of any tasks. Doing a test is simple, and it allows your students to get familiar with the DiLL interface before completing their recordings to be submitted.

Conducting a test involves asking students if they can hear you through the all call feature, asking them to record a sentence or two and then play it back. This simple test helps to ensure that your class activity will be successful.

If you're unfamiliar with the DiLL or other software, please contact Adolfo Carrillo Cabello, our Classroom Support Coordinator at carri093@umn.edu, for training and time to practice before your class meets.

Congratulations to Jonathan Prestrud

On September 30, 2017, Language Center Student Support Specialist, Jonathan Prestrud married Yuning Zhang at Cedar Lake, outside of New Prague, Minnesota. Yuning is a graduate of the University of Minnesota CEHD education program, and she is currently a teacher at Yinghua Academy, a K-8 Chinese immersion school. Congratulations and best wishes to Jonathan and Yuning!

Farewell to Anna Olivero-Agney

After working at the Language Center in many capacities for a few years, Anna Olivero-Agney is returning to teaching Italian part-time and exploring other work opportunities. Anna first joined the department in 2010 as part of a Language Proficiency Exam (LPE) development team to create a new Italian LPE. In 2013, she returned to assist with the development of multiple LPEs and other instruments. This led to her involvement in the BOSSA self-assessment protocol as one of the five original developers. In 2014, she joined the PACE project sustainability team, further developing BOSSA and other self-assessment instruments. In 2015, she became the departmental Assessment Specialist, which included supporting not only PACE, but also managing test development projects for many languages, including Korean and Somali. She also was one of the original raters for the Critical Reflection Essays required by the Certificate of Advanced Proficiency programs, and her work was essential to the refinement of this instrument. Because of Anna’s diverse talents, her generosity and her good nature, she has made valuable contributions to countless projects that benefit language students. She will be greatly missed by our staff, and the many language instructors and students who turned to her for guidance and expertise.

First TandemPlus Event of Fall 2017

The first TandemPlus event of the semester, held on September 27, 2017, was a massive success! Around 90 participants attended, and the night was full of fun and socializing. We dined on Mesa Pizza and cookies, chatted, and just generally had a lovely evening. Many people met new language partners, and everyone was satisfied with the relaxed, laid-back feel.

A big thank you to the TandemPlus Student Group for organizing it!